Preservationists Take Hardline Against Restaurant in Cooper Molera Adobe

When Frances Molera died in 1968, she donated the Cooper Molera Adobe in downtown Monterey to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, a Washington, D.C. nonprofit. With it, she gave $50,000.

That’s barely pocket change when it comes to maintaining historic properties, says David Brown, chief preservation officer for the National Trust. More typical: about $1 million a year from endowments.

“We have maintenance needs we’re not able to fund because there is no ongoing source of support,” Brown says. The trust’s hope for turning that around is Foothill Partners developer Doug Wiele, who’s proposing retail, a cafe and a restaurant at Cooper Molera.

California State Parks operates the adobe at a loss, and Monterey State Historic Park Association (MSHPA) volunteers run an 1840s-era store and lead interpretive history tours.

MSHPA representatives bristle at parts of the proposal—specifically, turning the main house into a restaurant.

“We know that to keep the property viable, you have to make some changes,” MSHPA co-president Jan Houser says. “Our concern is the Cooper House; they’re proposing to take the historic furniture out. That, to us, is a crime.”

It might have seemed that way to Frances Molera, too, whose will stipulates the property can’t be leased for food or beverage sales.

Brown speculates a judge would modify that provision. “Donors have specific things in mind that, upon reflection, perhaps need to be reconsidered,” he says.

Wiele says he’s ready to show plans to the public, but is waiting for trust approval. He predicts the specifics will mitigate MSHPA’s concerns.

“Since they don’t know what’s in it, they assume that it’s the worst,” he says, “when in fact what’s in it is a very light hand.”

Note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that Frances Molera died in 1976; she died in 1968.