Lavish Victorian homes and a golf course the size of Lower Campus surround the tranquil and cool acres of Rancho Los Cerritos, Long Beach's only national historic landmark.
A museum since 1955, the site is quiet and full of blooming vegetation, reflecting what the two-story adobe ranch was like more than 100 years ago when the noise, congestion and traffic of modern Long Beach did not exist.
Some of this vegetation includes trees from Italy, Australia, China and Brazil. With flaring branches and wide trunks, some trees are more than 100 years old and 100 feet tall. One cactus is almost 40 feet tall.
People are encouraged to visit the site for its serenity, if not for its history, said Ellen Calomiris, historic sites officer of the Department of Parks, Recreation and Marine.
"We had one person who [came here to do] yoga. Others who [come here] to just contemplate the day. Others who read books," said Calomiris.
Over the years, the ranch has had inhabitants and owners of various cultures, including Chinese, Native American, Mexican, Basque, Portuguese, Irish and English, said Stephen C. Iverson, historical curator for the Department of Parks, Recreation and Marine.
Lectures and tours of the museum discuss how those cultures contributed to the development of the ranch and Long Beach, Iverson said.
With free admission, the site has about 17,000 visitors each year, Calomiris said.
In addition, the museum is offering career and educational opportunities to the Long Beach community.
The historic site offers internships to college students in areas such as public relations, museum studies and historical research, Calomiris said.
It also offers positions to volunteers. These volunteers can learn plant identification, pruning techniques and garden design by working with the museum's horticulturist, or they can learn story-telling and theatrical techniques and improve their public-speaking skills as tour guides.
"This [job] has made me respect how Long Beach has grown," said Valerie Hoffman, museum volunteer and Cal State Long Beach alumna.
"It . . . amazes me this place is still here in the middle of this big city. And to think that years ago this was the only house out here. So, I feel in touch with my city."
The historic site allows visitors to use its California History Research Library, which contains about 3000 volumes of rare books on California and local history, Iverson said. The books cannot be checked out but can be used during the museum's business hours or upon appointment.
"We can help people locate information on specific topics of California history," Iverson said.
Students also have used the site itself to write master's theses, and the site has opened up its archives and resources for this purpose, Calomiris said.
Other opportunities available to the public include workshops and lectures, she said.
One workshop teaches visitors about textile preservation.
"Say your grandmother left you her wedding dress... and you want to keep it forever. [We'll teach you] how to take care of it," she said.
Other workshops teach visitors how to restore furniture, how to make baskets, how to research the history of their families, and how to use beneficial insects instead of pesticides to kill off crop-destroying insects, Calomiris said.
The museum is located at 4600 Virginia Road, Long Beach. For more information, one may call the museum at (562) 570-1755.