University Hills is nestled among shifting and swirling hills on a site that once housed one of California's 36 original adobes.

The district is amorphous, with quaint commerce and history cheek by jowl, and original adobes intermixed with reconstructions and buildings moved from other sites.

The foundations of the original adobe were unearthed beneath Lankershim Boulevard during construction of the Metro Red Line subway.

One of the original 36 adobes in California was built on Rancho Rosa de Castilla.

Before 1846, the original adobe consisted of what is now the living room.

Prior to 1900, Dr. Nichols added redwood frame additions to the house; of the 14 rooms in the house, five are part of the original adobe.

The campus is located on the site of one of California's 36 original adobes, built in 1776 by Franciscan missionaries and destroyed by fire in 1908.

Many of the original adobe buildings were still standing, converted into dormitories and storage areas.

Seven or eight dusty streets are studded with low-slung buildings, and some are still the original unplastered adobe of the 1860's.

Five original adobes are part of the complex, which includes shops, restaurants and museums.