File:Abel Sterns adobe, panoramic (00078776).jpg

English: Panoramic view of Abel Stearns adobe known as "El Palacio", located on the southeast corner of Main and Arcadia streets; four men stand scattered in the area, and two others sit in a horse-drawn carriage. Stearns purchased the land from Francisco O'Campo and built his adobe, gradually expanding the home over the years until it took on the proportions of a mansion - which the natives gave the name of "El Palacio de Don Abel", or simply "El Palacio". Photograph dated: 1857.

Historical Notes: "La Mansion de Don Abel" or "El Palacio de Don Abel", was the home of Don Abel Sterns and his bride Donña Arcadia Bandini, which stood on the present site of the Baker Block, located on the southeast corner of Arcadia and Main Streets. Stearns purchased the land from Francisco O'Campo and built a three-room adobe with an attached kitchen. He gradually expanded the adobe from 1835-1838, and the home eventually became U-shaped with a wide-open cobblestone court, and contained a grand ballroom at least 100 feet long. At the time, it was the largest and most magnificent house in the pueblo, which the natives gave the name of "El Palacio de Don Abel", or simply "El Palacio". It became the site of the Baker Block in 1878.