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A few nice real estate commission images I found:

16d Rental Cottage (E)

Image by Kansas Sebastian
Rental Cottage, 1912
3506 Albatross St, San Diego, CA (Banker's Hill)
Irging J Gill
__________

The homes on Seventh Street, further up the hill from these houses, showcase the architect's early career with Hebbard. These five homes on Albatross highlight Gill's development to what we now think of quintessential Gill. Alice Lee, who was an early San Diego, female real estate developer, commissioned Gill to create this mini, master-planned development.

The house at 3367 is considered to be one of Gill's best. The assymetrically-balanced design shows Gill's confidence. Thin-wall construction was used for the house at 3407, to maximize interior space. The rental cottage on the next block is perfectly balanced with a projecting arched entry. All the homes are mostly stripped bare of exterior embellishments, marking his leadership in the pre-Modernist movement.

1.) Alice Lee House #2
3353 Albatross St, San Diego, CA

2.) Alice Lee House #4
3367 Albatross St, San Diego, CA

3.) Katherine Teats Residence #3
3407 Albatross St, San Diego, CA

4.) Katherine Teats Residence #2
3415 Albatross St, San Diego, CA

5.) Rental Cottage
3506 Albatross St, San Diego, CA

Wikipedia: Irvin J Gill: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irving_Gill
Wikipedia: List of Historic Landmarks in San Diego: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_San_Diego_Historic_Landmarks
rel="nofollow">en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Register_of_Historic_Place...
Save our Heritage Organization (SOHO): sohosandiego.org/histdistricts/index.htm

16c Rental Cottage (E)

Image by Kansas Sebastian
Rental Cottage, 1912
3506 Albatross St, San Diego, CA (Banker's Hill)
Irging J Gill
__________

The homes on Seventh Street, further up the hill from these houses, showcase the architect's early career with Hebbard. These five homes on Albatross highlight Gill's development to what we now think of quintessential Gill. Alice Lee, who was an early San Diego, female real estate developer, commissioned Gill to create this mini, master-planned development.

The house at 3367 is considered to be one of Gill's best. The assymetrically-balanced design shows Gill's confidence. Thin-wall construction was used for the house at 3407, to maximize interior space. The rental cottage on the next block is perfectly balanced with a projecting arched entry. All the homes are mostly stripped bare of exterior embellishments, marking his leadership in the pre-Modernist movement.

1.) Alice Lee House #2
3353 Albatross St, San Diego, CA

2.) Alice Lee House #4
3367 Albatross St, San Diego, CA

3.) Katherine Teats Residence #3
3407 Albatross St, San Diego, CA

4.) Katherine Teats Residence #2
3415 Albatross St, San Diego, CA

5.) Rental Cottage
3506 Albatross St, San Diego, CA

Wikipedia: Irvin J Gill: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irving_Gill
Wikipedia: List of Historic Landmarks in San Diego: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_San_Diego_Historic_Landmarks
rel="nofollow">en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Register_of_Historic_Place...
Save our Heritage Organization (SOHO): sohosandiego.org/histdistricts/index.htm

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NYC - Battery: Whitehall Building

Image by wallyg
The twenty-story Whitehall Building (1-17 West Street & 17 Battery Place), named for Peter Stuyvesant's seventeenth-century house that had been located nearby, was constructed in 1902-04 and designed by the preeminent turn-of -the-century architect Henry J. Hardenbergh. This highly visible site at the southernmost tip of Manhattan, overlooking Battery Park, inspired the architect to create a building with bold design features and a dramatic color scheme. Built as a speculative office tower by the real estate and development firm of Robert A. and William H. Chesebrough, the building was an immediate success and the developers began plans to build an addition. They hired the prolific architectural firm of Clinton & Russell to design a thirty-one-story addition facing West Street, with a tower overlooking the original building. Constructed in 1908-10, the Greater Whitehall, as the addition was called, was the largest office structure in the city at the time of its completion. The building's huge size coupled with its location on landfill at the edge of Manhattan island created the need for unusual types of foundations and methods for their installation. The elegant limestone facade, designed in a neo-Renaissance style with a traditional organization of base, shaft, and capital complements the original structure. Together the two sections of the building create a dramatic visual introduction to the towers of Manhattan.

The Whitehall building was designated a landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 2000.

Clyde J. McCary

Image by Dystopos
Clyde J. McCary, one of the most enterprising and successful of the young business men of Birmingham, is a native of Alabama.

He was born near Montgomery, August 8, 1861. His family name originated in Scotland, and their descendants were settlers in the early days of the republic.

The parents of our subject were Dr. J. M. and Hertaline E. (Motley) McCary, both being natives of Alabama. His father, a successful physician, entered the Southern service early in the war, and was killed in battle near Atlanta, Georgia, in the year 1863, leaving his mother and himself, an only son.

The subject of this sketch attended school until he was fifteen years old, when he kept books for his stepfather, J. P. Allen, at Jemison, Alabama. At the end of the year he attended Goodman's Commercial College at Nashville Tennessee, where he graduated in 1877. He then went to Montgomery, Alabama, and accepted a position as bill clerk for Goetter, Weil & Co., a large wholesale dry goods house. By hard work and faithful attention to his duties he won the good will of his employers, and was promoted from one position to another. In about two years the Pratt Saw Mill Company of Verbena, Alabama, recognizing his superior business qualities, offered him a good position at an advanced salary, which he accepted, and remained there two years. He returned to Montgomery and accepted a position with Hobbie & Teague, wholesale grocers, where he made many friends in the Capital City and throughout the State.

In June, 1884, Mr. McCary concluded to branch out into the world for himself, and located in the city of Anniston, in the real estate, commission, and insurance business, where, by his indomitable energy, pleasant address, and superior business qualities, he established a fine paying business, and won the confidence of the companies, houses and parties whom he represented.

But Anniston was too small a place for such an enterprising and active gentleman as Mr. McCary, so he came to Birmingham, and in June, 1886, he accepted a partnership in the firm of J. R. Adams & Co., savings bank, real estate, and insurance agents.

On the 1st of September last, Mr. McCary withdrew from the firm and opened up for himself, under the firm name of C J. McCary & Co., at 1924 First Avenue, "ground floor." He fitted up his office in elegant style, making it one of the most convenient and attractive real estate and insurance offices in the city.

Mr. McCary has displayed such fine business tact and energy, and by his integrity and fidelity to the Interest of his patrons, that he has made a host of friends in the Magic City, and his business has grown to large proportions. He is one of the most thorough and reliable business men in Birmingham, and he has, in a very short period, accumulated a handsome fortune.

On January 1st, of this year, Mr. McCary associated with him as a partner, Mr. John S. Storrs, late with the Shelby Iron Company, Shelby Iron Works, Alabama, and the firm is now McCary, Storrs & Co.

Seldom are found, associated in one business, two men with such energy and fine business qualifications, and by their hard work, ability, and integrity, they have been wonderfully successful.

A few minutes in their offices, watching the eager inquiries for real estate, stocks and bonds, recalls very forcibly scenes in the New York Exchange.

- from Jefferson County and Birmingham Alabama: History and Biographical, edited by John Witherspoon Dubose and published in 1887 by Teeple & Smith / Caldwell Printing Works, Birmingham, Alabama

NYC - Battery: Whitehall Building

Image by wallyg
The twenty-story Whitehall Building (1-17 West Street & 17 Battery Place), named for Peter Stuyvesant's seventeenth-century house that had been located nearby, was constructed in 1902-04 and designed by the preeminent turn-of -the-century architect Henry J. Hardenbergh. This highly visible site at the southernmost tip of Manhattan, overlooking Battery Park, inspired the architect to create a building with bold design features and a dramatic color scheme. Built as a speculative office tower by the real estate and development firm of Robert A. and William H. Chesebrough, the building was an immediate success and the developers began plans to build an addition. They hired the prolific architectural firm of Clinton & Russell to design a thirty-one-story addition facing West Street, with a tower overlooking the original building. Constructed in 1908-10, the Greater Whitehall, as the addition was called, was the largest office structure in the city at the time of its completion. The building's huge size coupled with its location on landfill at the edge of Manhattan island created the need for unusual types of foundations and methods for their installation. The elegant limestone facade, designed in a neo-Renaissance style with a traditional organization of base, shaft, and capital complements the original structure. Together the two sections of the building create a dramatic visual introduction to the towers of Manhattan.

The Whitehall building was designated a landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 2000.

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San Francisco Freeway Plan (1948)

Image by Telstar Logistics
From "A Report to the City Planning Commission on a Transportation Plan for San Francisco," published in 1948.

Image via Wikipedia.

Bertine Block

Image by Emilio Guerra
Bertine Block, 136th Street, Mott Haven, Bronx

The Bertine Block Historic District consists of thirty-one residential buildings lining both sides of East 136th Street between Willis Avenue and Brown Place in the Mott Haven section of the Bronx.

Within the boundaries of the district are four groups of rowhouses and two groups of tenements. Erected between 1877 and 1899, the buildings reflect the history of real estate development in the southwestern portion of the Bronx. The buildings in the historic district comprise fine examples of neo-Grec, Queen Anne, Romanesque Revival, and Renaissance Revival design, illustrating the stylistic trends in residential architecture in New York City in the final three decades of the nineteenth century.

The buildings of the historic district retain their architectural integrity to a high degree and survive today as a reflection of the character of Bronx architecture in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, when the Mott Haven area was beingú developed, and as a physical manifestation of the variety of people, from varied ethnic and national backgrounds, who have lived, and continue to live, in this neighborhood.

Among the earliest new residences was the trio of rowhouses in the neo-Grec style at 408 to 412 East 136th Street of 1877-78, the first buildings erected within the Bertine Block Historic District. Although designed and built as an ensemble. each of these three houses was commissioned by a separate individual, two of whom moved their families into the completed homes; It was rare for a row of houses to be erected for individual owners, rather ~ for a speculative builder. Perhaps developers were still not willing to risk investing money in this neighborhood, with its poor mass transit facilities and its location far to the north of New York City's business, shopping, and social centers. The three houses were designed by the firm of Rogers & Browne whosepartners were the architects John Rogers and Edward H. Browne. Although the firm had its office on Nassau Street in Manhattan, both architects lived in Morrisania. Early in the 1880s,John Rogers would design several additional rowhouses nearby in what is now the Mott Haven Historic District.

The three rowhouses on East 136th Street are identical two-story-and-basement dwellings designed in the neo-Grec style which was at the height of its popularity in the late 1870s. Neo-Grec rowhouses share the rectilinear form, rhythmic bay arrangement, three-dimensional carved window and doorway enframements, and heavy projecting bracketed cornices popular on the Italianate rowhouses of the 1850s and 18605, but the character of their ornamental detail. sets these neo-Grec buildings apart from their predecessors. Rather than the sculptural relief ornament of Italianate rowhouse facades. the detail on neoGrec facades has a stylized, angular form, evident 00: the East 136th Street row at the brackets that support the entrance pediments and at the massive galvanized-iron cornices. Original plans show that each of these houses had the kitchen and dining room in the basement, front and rear parlors on the first story. and three rooms on the second story.

In the 1890s, three rows were erected on East 136th Street between Willis Avenue and Brown Place. These three rows, comprising a total of twenty houses, were built by developer Edward D. Bertine who spent ,500 amassing property on 136th Street in 1891. Little is known about Edward Bertine. Listings in New York City directories indicate that he had been a Manhattan milk dealer in the 1870s and early 1880., branching into groceries by 1883. In 1889-90, Bertine first appears in the directory as a builder. All of the buildings that Bertine is known to have erected are in the Bronx, and, following the completion of his first row on East 136th Street, he moved into a house on the block.

In 1891 Bertine began construction on a row often houses on the south side of East 136thStreet. Designed by architect George Keister, this is one of the finest rows erected in New York City in the late nineteenth century. The row was illustrated in The Great North Side or Borough of the Bronx in 1897 and was given the appellation, "Bertine Block," in the first edition of the A1A Guide to New York only in 1967. The row, at 414 to 432 East 136th Street, is designed in the Queen Anne style. Each house is faced with tawny brick above a rock-faced stone base, and ornamented with trim in brick, stone, stained glass, and slate. A Queen Anne aesthetic is especially evident in the variety of design elements, including those of Romanesque, Gothic, and Flemish origin, combined within the unified row; in the picturesque rooftop silhouette, consisting of flat roofs, mansards, and pedimented, stepped, and scrolled gables; in the dynamic texture created by the flat brickwork contrasting with patterned brick and other materials; in the juxtaposition of a variety of fenestration patterns; and in the use of tall chimneys, a favorite Queen Anne design conceit employed to lend the houses an air of comfortable domesticity.

Responsibility for the creation of this unusual row lies with architect George Keister, one of the most talented architects active in New York City at the end of the nineteenth century, but a man about whom relatively little is known. It In the 1890s Keister designed several exceptional buildings with the same unusual massing and innovative use of form seen on the Bertine row. Surviving examples of these are the First Baptist Church (1891) on Broadway and West79th Street, an eccentric Romanesque Revival work: with asymmetrical towers and large expanses of stained glass, and The Gerard (1893-94) at 123 West 44th Street, an apartment hotel that combines Romanesque Revival and Northern Renaissance features and has a striking silhouette of projecting dormers and gables. Through much of his career, Keister appears to have specialized in the design of theaters.

The ten houses of the so-called "Bertine Block" are each fifteen feet wide and three stories tall with basements that extend slightly below ground level. Six of the houses were built with two-story feat extensions that were ten-and-one-half feet wide and fourteen feet deep. A low stoop (each is extant) leads to each entrance and. at the first story. each house was planned with a front parlor and rear dining room (six houses have small rooms to the rear) and a central' stair hall." This plan, with a sizable stair ball (often with a fireplace) between the front and rear rooms, became popular in the 18805 and is a characteristic feature of Queen Anne style houses. At the second story. each house had two rooms with closets and at the third story were a large front room, a: small central room, and two small rear rooms.

There were two rooms (including a kitchen) and a central stair hall the basement. The original location of the toilets is not known.

With the completion of the ten houses on the south side of the street, Bertine began construction in 1892 of a row of six single-family houses at 415 to 425 East 136th Street. These were not designed by Keister. Rather, Bertine commissioned John Hauser, a local architect with an office at 1441 Third Avenue, to complete the row. Hauser is first listed as Ian architect in city directories in 1892 and was active at least until 1922.14 In the 18908 and the first decade of the twentieth century, Hauser was a prolific designer of rowhouses and apartment buildings, primarily in the Bronx and in northern Manhattan. The row that Hauser designed for Bertine must have been among his earliest works. The six brick-faced houses are articulated with the round arches common to the Romanesque Revival style, and all have molded-brick and stone trim and high stoops lined with wrought-iron railings.

Bertine's third and final row in the historic district comprises the four Renaissance Revival style houses at 434 to 440 East 136th Street, designed in 1895by Adolph Balschun, Jr., an architect whose office was located around the comer on East 135th Street. In 1895, an Adolph Balschun (without the "Jr. ") is listed in the New York: City directory as a carpenter located on East 135th Street; in the following year Balschun is listed as a builder.

- From the 1994 NYCLPC Historic District Designation Report

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Riccarton House, Edinburgh (c.1904)

Image by pellethepoet
Real photo postcard. Postally used. Stamp intact. Cancellation date of 10th of February, 1904.

Published by A. P. Montgomery, Juniper Green.

Found at the Camberwell Markets, Melbourne.

Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland - Canmore ID: 50266

Riccarton House was built in the 15th century and greatly extended in 1621 and 1827. The Gibson-Craig family were not permanently in residence when the estate was requisitioned by the army during the Second World War and by the end of this time it had fallen into an extreme state of disrepair. This resulted in the house being demolished in 1956. - www.hw.ac.uk/ppr/docs/garden_trail.pdf

The house was located where the library of Heriot-Watt University now stands.

Tomb of Jasper Newton Smith

Image by dolescum
Tomb of Jasper Newton Smith at Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta, October 2006. Smith was in real estate in Atlanta and commissioned this life-size statue of himself for his tomb. Apparently Smith hated wearing neckties and initially refused to pay the sculptor because the statue had a tie. The impasse was resolved when the sculptor chiseled it off.

Smith's statue is perched above the entrance to his mausoleum and the tour guide suggested it was because he wanted to keep an eye on the city.

Help me Rhonda!

Image by sandyfeet
Commissioned sculpture for SPI Real Estate Agent Rhonda Overton (remax) at Wanna Wanna today...

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NYC - East Village: Cooper Park - Peter Cooper Monument

Image by wallyg
Since the 19th century, this statue of Peter Cooper (1791–1883), a philanthropist, industrialist, and inventor, has watched over the park and school that bear his name. Cooper was a native New Yorker and workingman’s son who, with less than a year of formal schooling, became one of the most successful American businessmen of his day. He made his fortune in iron, glue, railroads, real estate, and communications. His inventions include the first trans-Atlantic telegraph cable and Tom Thumb, America’s first functioning steam engine. Cooper also invented Jell-o, with help from his wife, Sarah, who added fruit to his clarified gelatin.

Despite his many successful ventures, Cooper failed in an 1876 presidential bid on the Greenback ticket; he secured just 81,737 popular votes. The real contest was between Republican Rutherford B. Hayes and Democrat Samuel Jones Tilden. Although Tilden won a majority of the popular vote, he was denied the presidency by a partisan Electoral Commission.

Cooper dedicated his life and wealth to philanthropy. He wanted to ensure that immigrants and children of the working class would have access to the education which he never received. He believed that education should be “as free as water or air,” and in 1859 he established the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, a coeducational college that continues to provide students with full-tuition scholarships in architecture, art, and engineering. Celebrated features of the institution included a free reading room and the Great Hall, the latter providing the setting for one of Abraham Lincoln’s most important speeches in which he established his anti-slavery platform. He delivered it on February 27, 1860 during his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination.

Following Cooper’s death in 1883, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, the preeminent 19th century sculptor and one of the earliest alumni of Cooper Union (class of 1864), was commissioned to design a monument in honor of the great visionary. Saint-Gaudens collaborated with the renowned architect Stanford White who created the piece’s marble and granite canopy.

Saint-Gaudens was born in Dublin and came with his family to the United States that same year. Besides studying drawing at the Cooper Union, he also trained at the National Academy of Design in New York and at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He returned to New York City in 1873, and in addition to the Cooper Monument he created such notable public works as Admiral Farragut in Madison Square Park, the Shaw Memorial on the Boston Common, and General Sherman in Manhattan’s Grand Army Plaza. A founding member of the National Sculpture Society in 1893, he also maintained a home and studio in Cornish, New Hampshire.

Saint-Gaudens labored for the Cooper Monument, completing 27 sketches of different versions before settling on the final impressive design. The monument committee raised ,000 in popular subscriptions, exceeding the construction cost of ,000, and expended the remainder on park beautification. The official dedication took place on May 29, 1897 at the northern end of Cooper Park.

The park was deeded to the City in 1828 for use as a public space by Charles H. Hall, a descendant of Governor Peter Stuyvesant. Named Stuyvesant Square at the time it was acquired by Parks in 1850, it was referred to as Fourth Avenue Park when it was first planted in the late 1870s, and renamed Cooper Park in 1883.

In 1935, coinciding with reconstruction of the park, the newly created Parks Monuments Crew, with funding from the federal Works Progress Administration, performed extensive repairs and cleaned the monument. The monument was again restored in 1987 under the Adopt-a-Monument Program, a joint project of the Municipal Art Society, the Art Commission, and Parks.

Ben Thompson, 1918

Image by UA Archives | Upper Arlington History
Ben Sells Thompson, one of the founders of Upper Arlington, was born in Georgetown, Ohio in 1879. As a young man, he moved to Mansfield and worked in the hardware business. Later he attended the engineering college at The Ohio State University. In 1907, Ben joined his brother, King Thompson, in the real estate business.

In 1913, Ben Thompson and his brother, King, purchased 840 acres of land from James Terrell Miller to develop an "ideal residential community for Columbus." The land appealed to the Thompsons as a residential site because of its location on high ground, its proximity to both downtown Columbus and The Ohio State University campus, and its position upwind from larger cities. The beautiful land that was once a "well-managed, immaculately kept, working farm" was subdivided into 2500 lots. In 1914 the King Thompson Company was formed to sell this new community to the public. In August of 1914, laborers and teams of horses were hired by the Thompson brothers to construct the first street, named Roxbury Road, leading into this pristine new subdivision. Ben Thompson's home, located on Cambridge Boulevard, was completed in 1916.

In 1917, the Upper Arlington Company was established, with King Thompson as president and Ben Thompson as vice president, to manage the streets, sewers, and water lines. Ben Thompson also served as president of the Northwest Boulevard Company, which deeded the land that was eventually used to construct Northwest Boulevard. This road, known by many Upper Arlington residents as a crucial step in the development of the village, provided a convenient route from Upper Arlington directly to downtown Columbus.

On March 20, 1918 the village of Upper Arlington, with two hundred residents, was incorporated. Before the establishment of a police force, Ben Thompson was elected to the "high office of Marshal of Upper Arlington" for which he took no salary. Ben and King Thompson were very active in the life of their new community, entertaining residents, sponsoring athletic competitions, and organizing holiday activities for the families. Ben Thompson was a member of the first Village Commission, an appointed member of the Upper Arlington Park Board, and served as treasurer of the Men's Brotherhood, predecessor of the Upper Arlington Civic Association. Ben Thompson later accepted a secretarial position with the Y.M.C.A., and was stationed overseas in that capacity.

Ben Thompson was married to the former Catherine Pinney, of Flint, Ohio, and the couple resided at 1919 Cambridge Boulevard. Mrs. Thompson served as chairwoman of the Upper Arlington Red Cross Unit, established in 1917, which met weekly to socialize, as well as to sew towels, hospital clothes, and bandages in their contribution to the war effort. In addition to his work in real estate, Ben Thompson was an outdoorsman who enjoyed baseball, hunting and fishing. Ben once gave a "short and very interesting account of his northern hunting trip and the methods and difficulties encountered in bagging a grizzly bear."

This image available online at the UA Archives >>

Read the "Norwester" magazine's profile of Ben Thompson at the UA Archives >>

----------------------------------------

Identifier: hinw12p024i01
Date (yyyy-mm-dd): c. 1918-10
Original Dimensions: 3.3 cm x 6.4 cm
Format: Black and White Halftone Photograph
Source: Norwester, October 1918, page 24
Original Publisher: Upper Arlington Community (Ohio)
Location/s: Upper Arlington (USA, Ohio, Franklin County)
Repository: Upper Arlington Historical Society
Digital Publisher: UA Archives - Upper Arlington Public Library

Credit: UA Archives - Upper Arlington Public Library (Repository: UA Historical Society)

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Looking W at 7th St NW - Chinatown - DC

Image by Tim Evanson
Looking west at the west side of 7th Street NW in Washington, D.C.'s Chinatown. All of these buildings are owned by local real estate developer Douglas Jemal. (Note his name over the big dark red building.)

D.C.'s Chinatown was established in 1884. But it wasn't where it is now.

The original Chinatown existed along the south side of Pennsylvania Avenue between 4th and 7th Streets, with the heaviest concentration of residences and businesses near where 4th Street, C Street, and Pennsylvania Avenue met. This was the site of Center Market. Back in the days before refrigeration and corporate ownership of food distribution, people around the United States shopped at privately or publicly owned farmer's markets. D.C.'s food markets were almost all privately owned, and suffered from poor hygiene. Shopping for food meant hoping you didn't come down with the hershey-squirts from the diseases your food would be infected with. The city itself decided to act by building a state-of-the-art market, complete with running water, ice house, and mechanical refrigeration. This was Center Market, and it was so immensely popular that nearly all the downtown trolley lines converged there.

Chinese and other Asian immigrants began moving into the area around Center Market in noticeable numbers as early as 1880. By 1884, the area was known as "Chinatown." As many as 15,000 people lived there. That's an astonishing number, considering that most buildings were only two or three stories high. People were just jammed into Chinatown.

D.C.'s original Chinatown existed as a vibrant community until 1935. Interestingly, throughout the 1800s, the federal government was so small that it could be housed in just five or six three-story office buildings. By 1900, however, it was clear that the federal government needed to grow. In 1926, Congress finally approved construction of six new massive federal office buildings. After two years of discussion, it was decided that the area south of Pennsylvania Avenue had to be totally torn down and these new office buildings constructed there. That was the beginning of Federal Triangle -- the largest conglomeration of federal office buildings anywhere in the country. The first buildings constructed were the Department of Commerce, the Internal Revenue Service building, and the Labor/ICC building (now the headquarters of the EPA). At first these buildings just uprooted the brothels, criminal hideouts, and gambling dens that formed D.C.'s infamous Murder Bay. But as Federal Triangle construction moved eastward, Chinatown had to go. Construction of the National Archives and the Apex Building (which houses the Federal Trade Commission) forced Chinatown to move.

Chinatown had a very well-organized community, however, composed of business leaders, religious leaders, politicians, and well-respected citizens. They quite literally looked for a place in the city where everyone could move together -- lock, stock, and barrel. They chose the current location on H Street NW.

At its peak, the "new" Chinatown extended from G Street NW north to Massachusetts Avenue NW, and from 9th Street NW east to 5th Street NW. But this only lasted for about 50 years. The 1968 riots which came after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. caused many businesses to flee downtown D.C. Chinatown's businesses, too, fell on hard times and many of them closed. Wealthy and middle-class Asian citizens fled for the suburbs, leaving many houses and apartments unoccupied. A mainstay of the community was the OCA Bank, but when it closed Chinatown emptied even further.

Chinatown was saved when the Gallery Place Metro station (Blue and Orange lines) opened in 1976. Determined to save Chinatown as a tourist attraction, in 1986 the city authorized the construction of the Friendship Archway, a million traditional Chinese gate designed by local architect Alfred H. Liu. Symoblizing not only Chinatown but D.C.'s "sister city" status with Beijing, the Friendship Arch is the largest freestanding traditionally constructed Chinese-style arch anywhere in the world.

But Chinatown now is in serious decline. In 1993, Abe Pollin built the MCI Center on two whole city blocks bounded by 6th and 7th Streets NW and F and H Streets NW. The arena opened in 1997, and was renamed the Verizon Center after Verizon purchased the near-bankrupt MCI communications company.

In 1999, wealthy regional real estate investors built a vast new 13-story mixed-use shopping and housing complex over the Gallery Place-Chinatown Metro station. Gallery Place (the building) opened in the fall of 2004. It not only revitalized Chinatown, but revitalized the entire East End. Extensive construction began throughout the area as consumers, tourists, and young people flooded the area. Huge swaths of Chinatown were renovated and turned into restaurants, trendy bars, and up-scale shops.

Unfortunately, this caused rents to skyrocket, and pushed most of the Chinese population of D.C's Chinatown into Maryland and Northern Virginia. The Da Hua market, the last full-service Chinese grocery, closed in 2005. The D.C. Office of Planning created a "cultural redevelopment plan" aimed at bringing Chinese food street vendors back to the area and building an Asian-American international business center. But that was in 2008, and nothing has been implemented as of 2012.

The huge video screens, bright neon lights, trendy stores, and fast-food restaurants (like Chopt, Fuddruckers, TGI Friday's, Chipotle, etc.) draw hundreds of rowdy teenagers to Chinatown. The area is now rife with crime, and D.C. Police, D.C. Housing Police, and anti-gang detectives constantly work and patrol the area to stop street brawls between rival gangs. The Gallery Place metro station is the worst in the system for crime (largely stolen iPods, wallets, and cell phones). Many teens hang out on the steps of the National Portrait Gallery, a block south of this intersection -- taunting one another, eating food from McDonald's, and planning thefts.

I kid you not.

Chinatown has been called "D.C.'s Times Square." It has become a terrible problem.

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NYC - Theatre District: Majestic Theatre

Image by wallyg
The Majestic Theatre was originally built in 1927 by real-estate magnates, the Chanin Brothers, as part of a three-theatre complex that also included the Royale and the Theatre Masque, now the John Golden. The Majestic, one of the largest on Broadway with a capacity of 1645, complemented the small and mid-sized venues, enabling producers to move shows based on their ticket sales. In 1930, the Chanins transferred ownership of all three houses to the Shuberts.

The Chanins commissioned Herbert Krapp to design the theatre complex in what he called a “modern Spanish” style, complete with terra-cotta base and Spanish brick-wall ornamentation, and arched windows. The Majestic's exterior also includes a stylized Palladian motif above the entrance. The interior features the Adam-style detailing common in many Shubert houses. Decades before the current vogue for stadium seating in movie theaters, Krapp had conceived of a similar concept for the theatre's orchestra. With its steep rake, it offers ideal sight lines for audience members. Another forward-thinking aspect of the design was the creation of a single large balcony rather than two smaller ones—today’s producers are hesitant to book two-balcony houses because second-balcony seating is less desirable to modern audiences.

The Magestic's inaugural production was a revue, Rufus LeMaire's Affairs, in 1927. Among the notable shows that have premiered at the Majestic are South Pacific (1949), The Music Man (1957), Camelot (1960) and The Wiz (1975–1977). It was also the second home of 42nd Street and the third home of 1776. In 1988, the Majestic was renovated to house Andrew Lloyd Weber's The Phantom of the Opera. Phantom opened on January 26, 1988; on January 9, 2006 it became the longest running show in Broadway history with 7,486 performances.

Based on the novel The Phantom of the Opera, by Gaston Leroux, Weber's musical debuted in London in 1986 and focuses on a beautiful singer Christine Daaé as she is seduced by a mysterious disfigured musical genius known as "The Phantom of the Opera". The Phantom lives beneath the Paris Opera and terrorizes those who work there, demanding Christine be the star of the theatre's productions. When the young singer rebuffs the Phantom's advances and her lover Raoul intervenes, the Phantom sets no limits in his quest for revenge and Christine's love.

The Majestic Theatre was designated a landmark by the New York Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1987.

Junipero Serra statue at Mission Santa Ines

Image by TepeyacFarm
This is one of a series of statues of Blessed Junipero Serra which have been place at all the California missions by the William H. Hannon Foundation.

From their website:
"William Hannon had a special dedication to one of California’s founding fathers-Franciscan Friar Junípero Serra, the founder of California’s Missions.

William’s fascination with early California history and real estate led to his admiration for Father Serra. He often said, “Father Serra was the first developer of California. If you buy real estate, buy within a twenty mile radius of a Mission. California’s twenty-one Missions are all near fertile soil and water.”
To promote the spirit and contributions of Father Serra, the William H. Hannon Foundation commissioned an artist to design a life life size bronze statue of Father Serra. From this single mold, the Foundation had almost one hundred more statues cast and placed at the California Missions and at various Catholic schools and universities. The William H. Hannon Foundation has placed statues from Santa Clara University in Northern California to the University of San Diego in Southern California.

One can find the statues of Father Serra in the playground areas of many of Los Angeles' Catholic elementary schools. William and other Foundation Directors would travel to the schools personally to inspect where Father Serra would stand, and they later would attend the dedication ceremonies for the statues. William called Father Serra, “the drinking fountain father,” since he wanted the statue placed close to a school’s drinking fountains so that children could see Father Serra every day. At dedication ceremonies, where a school’s student body often was assembled, William would encourage the children to rub Father Serra’s toe for good luck. He would tell the children, “After all, he walked all across California, so those toes are lucky; maybe rubbing his toe will help on your next big test.”

A devout Catholic, William wanted to renew an interest in Father Serra and eventually have Father Serra declared a Saint by the Roman Catholic Church. Today, the Catholic Church is going through the lengthy process of establishing Sainthood for Father Junípero Serra."
www.hannonfoundation.org/juniperoserra.html

Cool Real Estate Commission images

Some cool real estate commission images:

27b Guthery House - 2628 Van Buren Pl - Transitional Craftsman (E)

Image by Kansas Sebastian
Adams-Normandie Historic Preservation Overlay Zone (HPOZ)

We began our adventure to ANNA (Adams-Normandie Historic Preservation Overlay Zone) at our former favorite old haunt, La Barca, for Carne Asada and Carnitas Burritos. After a very unsatisfying lunch (they’ve gone down hill since we were last there several years ago) we headed into ANNA with a goal to photograph the Van Buren National Register Historic District.

Along the way we found some wonderful things: ghost signs, a house moved from the West Adams Heights neighborhood a few blocks away, two worn and aging grand dames on West Adams Boulevard, a wonderful hidden estate on Budlong (now sadly carved into apartments), and more than a few fabulous houses on Raymond and (of course) Van Buren.

01. Commercial Building, 1907 to 1913
1419 W 24th St
T. Widd’s Sub
“Dye Works and Trading Co.” reads the ghost sign. A little lower is, “Suits Dresses, and _____.”

02. Commercial Building, 1912 to 1920
1425 W 24th St
T. Widd’s Sub
The ghost signs here are a little harder to make out. “Napps Van_tio_aul” Below is, “Feed and Fuel,” which is a clue to it’s age. The later vertical sign attached to the front reads, “Storage & Moving.”

03. House, 1912 (Moved, remodeled and divided into apartments)
2401 Catalina St
Kenwood Park Tract
Possibly Dennis and Farwell
We know this house, because we first saw it in an early 1900's promotion of a nearby tract called West Adams Heights. The house in the photo is reverse, but that wasn’t uncommon for the time. If it’s the same house (and we’re pretty sure it is), then it was built earlier and probably moved to this location in 1912, when the main streets around West Adams Heights were beginning to go commercial. After further investigation, if it turns out to be the same house, then it was probably built around 1905 by the architecture team of Dennis and Farwell. Anyone up for a friendly wager?

04. House, c. 1899
1514 W Adams Blvd
Montgomery Tract
The Tax Assessor’s Office indicate this stately Victorian was built in 1908. An obvious mistake. It’s not impossible, but highly doubtful the owners would commission a house in one of the most fashionable districts, in a style ten years out of date. It’s currently undergoing renovation. Lets hope it’s for the best.

05. House, 1899
1528 W Adams Blvd
Montgomery Tract
This faded Shingle Styled late Victorian Grand Dame recalls a bygone era. You can imagine just how proud the neighborhood must have been in it’s heyday. Now, most of it’s neighbors are gone, and these two houses at the corner of Juliette and West Adams Boulevard look a little . . . stranded.

06. House (Former Estate), 1908
2739 S Budlong Ave
Reeds Sub
The houses south of West Adams Boulevard on Juliette and Budlong are a strange collection, which appear to have been transported here and set down, jumbled without much thought or reason, or planning. Most of them are FUBAR, but it’s evident that most were designed for lots larger than the ones they now occupy. Perhaps they were in the path of the Santa Monica Freeway and saved (sort of). But, among this odd collection, on Budlong, is a large house set back far from the street, with a charming (but dilapidated) river rock wall and a massive Moreton Bay Fig. It’s a wonderful estate now converted to apartments. Who lived here? No idea, but the house seem familiar in a Maxim de Winter-Manderley sort of way. The shape, size, and style are indicative of an architecture team like Hunt and Burns or Hunt and Eager. Caroline Eve (a lovely name) was employed here as a domestic, according to the 1915 City Directory. If you know anything about this house, please leave a note. We’d love to know.

08. House, 1905
2756 Raymond Ave
Blaisdell and Weiss Tract
A fine example of a transitional English Styled (or Elizabethan as it was often called then, or sometimes Tudor) house as styles were moving from the Victorian to the Craftsman.

09. Repath Residence, 1907
2750 Raymond Ave
Blaisdell and Weiss Tract
According to the 1909 City Directory Chas. H. And Ruth M. Repath resided in this charming Craftsman Chalet home. Mr. Repath appears to have been a partner in Repath and MeGregor, Mechanical Engineers, located at 606 S Hill St. By 1915 a Mark B. Smith, Oil, was in residence. The house is asymmetrical, with mild chalet features.

10. Lang Residence, 1909
2749 Raymond Ave
Akin and Cass Sub
Transitional Victorian/Craftsman with Tudor elements.
Frank M. Tyler (Tyler and Company)
Even without pulling the property permits, we can confidently tell you this house was designed by Frank M. Tyler, and probably built on spec by Tyler and Company. It’s a typical, well-executed Tyler plan. Although this one was originally a single-family house. It was the home of Aug. T. Lang, President of the Iroquois Bottling Co, according to the 1909 City Directory.

11. Couch House, 1904
2744 Raymond Ave
Blaisdell and Weiss Tract
A solid and masculine Craftsman home. Notice the inventive support (or lack thereof) on the left side of the porch, and the charming widows weep. According to the 1909 City Directory, Geo S Couch was listed as living here.

12. Laupheimer House, 1907
2740 Raymond Ave
Blaisdell and Weiss Tract
The clean lines, strong porch column, asymmetrical facade, open gables, and especially the sideways double gable point to Hudson and Munsell as the architect of this beautiful Craftsman home. More investigation here is needed. It appears Mrs. Effie E Laupheimer was the resident here, according to the 1909 City Directory.

13. Montanya House, 1906
2734 Raymond Ave
Blaisdell and Weiss Tract
Mrs. Loretta de la Montanya is listed in the 1909 City Directory as residing in this charming Craftsman home, which is now unfortunately painted blue. Picture the creosote shingles, and the architecture pops! Again, the Hudson and Munsell hallmarks are present, so more investigation is needed.

14. Hood House, 1905
2729 Raymond Ave
Blaisdell and Weiss Tract
Mr. Walter T. Hook, in mining, may have been the first owner of this picturesque transitional Victorian/Craftsman. Although since it was built in 1905 and Mr. Hook is listed in the 1909 City Directory, he may not have been the original owner.

15. Foster House, 1906
2708/10 Raymond Ave
Blaisdell and Weiss Tract
A full-on Colonial among Craftsman homes. The way the windows line up on the south side of the house would indicate the house was always a duplex, however in the 1909 City Directory only one family is listed here. It was the home of Newton H Foster, purchasing agent for the Salt Lake Rte. (Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad, incorporated in 1901 by Senator Clark). Either the Fosters had no neighbors in 1909, or the house was carefully converted early on. Their domestic was a Ms. Clara Vance.

16. Osborne House, 1904/11
2703 Raymond Ave
Akin and Cass Sub
One of the earlier houses on Raymond, it’s obviously had some remodeling. The roof line is incorrect, and it’s now an apartment building. It’s pure Craftsman. According to the 1909 City Directory it was owned by Fredk (Frederick) J Osborne, Salesman for Haas, Baruch & Co. (Grocers). He must have done well, because he could afford an avant guarde house and a domestic in the name of Ms. Kate E McGovern.

17. Raymond House, 1907
1610 27th St
Blaisdell and Weiss Tract
To see this house as it should be, it takes a little imagination. Picture all the stucco removed, with natural shingles. It could be a gorgeous home, with a bit of elbow grease. According to the 1915 City Directory it was the home of Stephen S and Ruth Raymond. Mr. Raymond was a manager at the Fairfield Oil Co. I would guess the street name is merely coincidental.

18. Van Buren Historic District
National Register of Historic Places No. 89001103, 1989.
The gates are new. (An attempt to stave off urban blight). The street scape looks much like it would have when the neighborhood was new, which is one reason why it’s deserving of it’s National Register status. Most of the houses were built by the Los Angeles Building Company. Although most were built to the original owner’s specifications, some were built on speculation, which was typical in Los Angeles at the time.

19. The Furlong House, 1910, Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monument No. 678.
2657 Van Buren Pl
West Adams Street Tract
Frank M. Tyler
Gracing the corner of 27th and Van Buren Place is the Furlong House, designed in the local vernacular, a transitional Victorian/Craftsman style, by prolific architect Frank M Tyler. The house is named for the second or third owner, Thomas J Furlong, who was the city clerk and treasurer for the city of Vernon, until the 1950's. According to the 1915 city directory the home’s occupants were Shelly W and Bella Keiser, and were believed to live here 1910 to 1921. Mr. Keiser was in real estate and loans.

20. Bowen House, 1907
2651 Van Buren Pl
West Adams Street Tract
This straight-forward Craftsman sports clean lines and an a-symmetric facade. The windows are unfortunate, but it’s in great condition otherwise. The home was built for William Alvin and Grace D Bowen. Mr. Bowen was a successful attorney at Gray Barker and Bowen.

21. Minton House, 1904
2645 Van Buren Pl
West Adams Street Tract
One of the largest houses on the street, the facade of this Chalet-like Craftsman is imposing and strong. The bay window and dropping roof line help break up what otherwise could be a big box. The peaked window on the south side is charming. Clarence H Minton, Real Estate, is listed here in the 1905 City Directory.

22. Percy H. Clark House, 1903, Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monument No. 672.
2633 Van Buren Pl
West Adams Street Tract
As a major developer in Los Angeles, and specifically the developer of this tract on Van Buren Pl, you’d assume the Clark House would be the largest, but it’s not. Instead this craftsman is sedate, with strong clean lines. The front box window is especially unusual. Mr. Clark, not to be confused with the many other Clarks along West Adams Boulevard, was a giant of the early Los Angeles real estate community.

23. Long House, 1904
2633 Van Buren Pl
West Adams Street Tract
Oath Long is listed in the 1904 City Directory as the resident of this lovely Craftsman house. It’s hipped roof is unusual for a style that favored open gables. The only gable appears directly above the entrance.

24. Hutchason-Cheap House, 1904
2627 Van Buren Pl
West Adams Street Tract
Ribbed siding, rather than shingles, the shape and size, and the charming front window make this Victorian/Craftsman house appear more Victorian than Craftsman. Small windows tucked up under the eaves in various places give it a whimsical touch. According to the 1905 City Directory this was the home of Dr. And Mrs. Willis E Hutchason, Mr. Hutchason being a dentist. Later, in the 1920's and 30's it was the home Albert and Alice Cheep (and 8 children), according to the 1935 Blue Book. In between, the 1909 City Directory a lists Mrs. Blanch Trimble.

25. Lane House, 1904
2621 Van Buren Pl
West Adams Street Tract
The front bay window and a-symmetrical gable over the door provide a focal point for this well-crafted Craftsman house. It was the home of J. Lansing and Linda H Lane in the 1904 City Directory.

26. Daniels House, 1903
2624 Van Buren Pl
West Adams Street Tract
Somewhere under the unfortunate Sear’s siding is a stately late Victorian, transitional Craftsman, with Colonial touches, ready to blossom. The portico, with strong columns, was built to impress. In the 1904 City Directory Dr. And Jrs. Jared W Daniels were the residents.

27. Guthery House, 1906
2638 Van Buren Pl
West Adams Street Tract
Charlotte Guthery was the owner of this beautiful transitional Victorian/Craftsman 2-1/2 story house, which recalls what was called in Los Angeles at the time as the Elizabethan Style. The widows weep was closed in with windows early on, but otherwise it’s picture perfect.

28. Greenbaum House, 1906
2638 Van Buren Pl
West Adams Street Tract
Textiles appeared to have been profitable in early Los Angeles, as Abraham Greenbaum, a salesman for the Harris and Frank Clothing Store, was able to afford this luxurious Craftsman. Later, in the 1909 City Directory, Simon S. Spier, Millinery, is listed.

29. Leeds House, 1903
2642 Van Buren Pl
West Adams Street Tract
Nestled in among the trees (and hard to photograph) is the lovely transitional Victorian/Craftsman owned by W. R. And Anna F. Leeds from 1903 to 1909. Mr. Leeds was an attorney. From 1909 to the 1920's George D. And Elizabeth R. Cadwalader made I their home. Mr. Cadwalader was involved with the general machinery at the Los Angeles Brick Co.

30. Corelyou House 1905
2650 Van Buren Pl
West Adams Street Tract
George A. Corelyou was in real estate. The home is mostly Craftsman, with just a few transitional hold overs, and in fine shape, except for the unfortunate window replacements. The front door and sidelights are it’s most attractive and unusual feature.

31. McKinney House, 1906
2656 Van Buren Pl
West Adams Street Tract
This was one of the houses built on speculation by the Los Angeles Building Company. The architect is unknown, but more than likely it was designed by someone like Frank M. Tyler, by Tyler and Company, which built many houses on spec. It’s a charming and well-planned transitional Victorian/Craftsman home. The half-timbering lean toward a Tudor or Elizabethan Style.

25a Lane House - 2621 Van Buren Pl - Craftsman (E)

Image by Kansas Sebastian
Adams-Normandie Historic Preservation Overlay Zone (HPOZ)

We began our adventure to ANNA (Adams-Normandie Historic Preservation Overlay Zone) at our former favorite old haunt, La Barca, for Carne Asada and Carnitas Burritos. After a very unsatisfying lunch (they’ve gone down hill since we were last there several years ago) we headed into ANNA with a goal to photograph the Van Buren National Register Historic District.

Along the way we found some wonderful things: ghost signs, a house moved from the West Adams Heights neighborhood a few blocks away, two worn and aging grand dames on West Adams Boulevard, a wonderful hidden estate on Budlong (now sadly carved into apartments), and more than a few fabulous houses on Raymond and (of course) Van Buren.

01. Commercial Building, 1907 to 1913
1419 W 24th St
T. Widd’s Sub
“Dye Works and Trading Co.” reads the ghost sign. A little lower is, “Suits Dresses, and _____.”

02. Commercial Building, 1912 to 1920
1425 W 24th St
T. Widd’s Sub
The ghost signs here are a little harder to make out. “Napps Van_tio_aul” Below is, “Feed and Fuel,” which is a clue to it’s age. The later vertical sign attached to the front reads, “Storage & Moving.”

03. House, 1912 (Moved, remodeled and divided into apartments)
2401 Catalina St
Kenwood Park Tract
Possibly Dennis and Farwell
We know this house, because we first saw it in an early 1900's promotion of a nearby tract called West Adams Heights. The house in the photo is reverse, but that wasn’t uncommon for the time. If it’s the same house (and we’re pretty sure it is), then it was built earlier and probably moved to this location in 1912, when the main streets around West Adams Heights were beginning to go commercial. After further investigation, if it turns out to be the same house, then it was probably built around 1905 by the architecture team of Dennis and Farwell. Anyone up for a friendly wager?

04. House, c. 1899
1514 W Adams Blvd
Montgomery Tract
The Tax Assessor’s Office indicate this stately Victorian was built in 1908. An obvious mistake. It’s not impossible, but highly doubtful the owners would commission a house in one of the most fashionable districts, in a style ten years out of date. It’s currently undergoing renovation. Lets hope it’s for the best.

05. House, 1899
1528 W Adams Blvd
Montgomery Tract
This faded Shingle Styled late Victorian Grand Dame recalls a bygone era. You can imagine just how proud the neighborhood must have been in it’s heyday. Now, most of it’s neighbors are gone, and these two houses at the corner of Juliette and West Adams Boulevard look a little . . . stranded.

06. House (Former Estate), 1908
2739 S Budlong Ave
Reeds Sub
The houses south of West Adams Boulevard on Juliette and Budlong are a strange collection, which appear to have been transported here and set down, jumbled without much thought or reason, or planning. Most of them are FUBAR, but it’s evident that most were designed for lots larger than the ones they now occupy. Perhaps they were in the path of the Santa Monica Freeway and saved (sort of). But, among this odd collection, on Budlong, is a large house set back far from the street, with a charming (but dilapidated) river rock wall and a massive Moreton Bay Fig. It’s a wonderful estate now converted to apartments. Who lived here? No idea, but the house seem familiar in a Maxim de Winter-Manderley sort of way. The shape, size, and style are indicative of an architecture team like Hunt and Burns or Hunt and Eager. Caroline Eve (a lovely name) was employed here as a domestic, according to the 1915 City Directory. If you know anything about this house, please leave a note. We’d love to know.

08. House, 1905
2756 Raymond Ave
Blaisdell and Weiss Tract
A fine example of a transitional English Styled (or Elizabethan as it was often called then, or sometimes Tudor) house as styles were moving from the Victorian to the Craftsman.

09. Repath Residence, 1907
2750 Raymond Ave
Blaisdell and Weiss Tract
According to the 1909 City Directory Chas. H. And Ruth M. Repath resided in this charming Craftsman Chalet home. Mr. Repath appears to have been a partner in Repath and MeGregor, Mechanical Engineers, located at 606 S Hill St. By 1915 a Mark B. Smith, Oil, was in residence. The house is asymmetrical, with mild chalet features.

10. Lang Residence, 1909
2749 Raymond Ave
Akin and Cass Sub
Transitional Victorian/Craftsman with Tudor elements.
Frank M. Tyler (Tyler and Company)
Even without pulling the property permits, we can confidently tell you this house was designed by Frank M. Tyler, and probably built on spec by Tyler and Company. It’s a typical, well-executed Tyler plan. Although this one was originally a single-family house. It was the home of Aug. T. Lang, President of the Iroquois Bottling Co, according to the 1909 City Directory.

11. Couch House, 1904
2744 Raymond Ave
Blaisdell and Weiss Tract
A solid and masculine Craftsman home. Notice the inventive support (or lack thereof) on the left side of the porch, and the charming widows weep. According to the 1909 City Directory, Geo S Couch was listed as living here.

12. Laupheimer House, 1907
2740 Raymond Ave
Blaisdell and Weiss Tract
The clean lines, strong porch column, asymmetrical facade, open gables, and especially the sideways double gable point to Hudson and Munsell as the architect of this beautiful Craftsman home. More investigation here is needed. It appears Mrs. Effie E Laupheimer was the resident here, according to the 1909 City Directory.

13. Montanya House, 1906
2734 Raymond Ave
Blaisdell and Weiss Tract
Mrs. Loretta de la Montanya is listed in the 1909 City Directory as residing in this charming Craftsman home, which is now unfortunately painted blue. Picture the creosote shingles, and the architecture pops! Again, the Hudson and Munsell hallmarks are present, so more investigation is needed.

14. Hood House, 1905
2729 Raymond Ave
Blaisdell and Weiss Tract
Mr. Walter T. Hook, in mining, may have been the first owner of this picturesque transitional Victorian/Craftsman. Although since it was built in 1905 and Mr. Hook is listed in the 1909 City Directory, he may not have been the original owner.

15. Foster House, 1906
2708/10 Raymond Ave
Blaisdell and Weiss Tract
A full-on Colonial among Craftsman homes. The way the windows line up on the south side of the house would indicate the house was always a duplex, however in the 1909 City Directory only one family is listed here. It was the home of Newton H Foster, purchasing agent for the Salt Lake Rte. (Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad, incorporated in 1901 by Senator Clark). Either the Fosters had no neighbors in 1909, or the house was carefully converted early on. Their domestic was a Ms. Clara Vance.

16. Osborne House, 1904/11
2703 Raymond Ave
Akin and Cass Sub
One of the earlier houses on Raymond, it’s obviously had some remodeling. The roof line is incorrect, and it’s now an apartment building. It’s pure Craftsman. According to the 1909 City Directory it was owned by Fredk (Frederick) J Osborne, Salesman for Haas, Baruch & Co. (Grocers). He must have done well, because he could afford an avant guarde house and a domestic in the name of Ms. Kate E McGovern.

17. Raymond House, 1907
1610 27th St
Blaisdell and Weiss Tract
To see this house as it should be, it takes a little imagination. Picture all the stucco removed, with natural shingles. It could be a gorgeous home, with a bit of elbow grease. According to the 1915 City Directory it was the home of Stephen S and Ruth Raymond. Mr. Raymond was a manager at the Fairfield Oil Co. I would guess the street name is merely coincidental.

18. Van Buren Historic District
National Register of Historic Places No. 89001103, 1989.
The gates are new. (An attempt to stave off urban blight). The street scape looks much like it would have when the neighborhood was new, which is one reason why it’s deserving of it’s National Register status. Most of the houses were built by the Los Angeles Building Company. Although most were built to the original owner’s specifications, some were built on speculation, which was typical in Los Angeles at the time.

19. The Furlong House, 1910, Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monument No. 678.
2657 Van Buren Pl
West Adams Street Tract
Frank M. Tyler
Gracing the corner of 27th and Van Buren Place is the Furlong House, designed in the local vernacular, a transitional Victorian/Craftsman style, by prolific architect Frank M Tyler. The house is named for the second or third owner, Thomas J Furlong, who was the city clerk and treasurer for the city of Vernon, until the 1950's. According to the 1915 city directory the home’s occupants were Shelly W and Bella Keiser, and were believed to live here 1910 to 1921. Mr. Keiser was in real estate and loans.

20. Bowen House, 1907
2651 Van Buren Pl
West Adams Street Tract
This straight-forward Craftsman sports clean lines and an a-symmetric facade. The windows are unfortunate, but it’s in great condition otherwise. The home was built for William Alvin and Grace D Bowen. Mr. Bowen was a successful attorney at Gray Barker and Bowen.

21. Minton House, 1904
2645 Van Buren Pl
West Adams Street Tract
One of the largest houses on the street, the facade of this Chalet-like Craftsman is imposing and strong. The bay window and dropping roof line help break up what otherwise could be a big box. The peaked window on the south side is charming. Clarence H Minton, Real Estate, is listed here in the 1905 City Directory.

22. Percy H. Clark House, 1903, Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monument No. 672.
2633 Van Buren Pl
West Adams Street Tract
As a major developer in Los Angeles, and specifically the developer of this tract on Van Buren Pl, you’d assume the Clark House would be the largest, but it’s not. Instead this craftsman is sedate, with strong clean lines. The front box window is especially unusual. Mr. Clark, not to be confused with the many other Clarks along West Adams Boulevard, was a giant of the early Los Angeles real estate community.

23. Long House, 1904
2633 Van Buren Pl
West Adams Street Tract
Oath Long is listed in the 1904 City Directory as the resident of this lovely Craftsman house. It’s hipped roof is unusual for a style that favored open gables. The only gable appears directly above the entrance.

24. Hutchason-Cheap House, 1904
2627 Van Buren Pl
West Adams Street Tract
Ribbed siding, rather than shingles, the shape and size, and the charming front window make this Victorian/Craftsman house appear more Victorian than Craftsman. Small windows tucked up under the eaves in various places give it a whimsical touch. According to the 1905 City Directory this was the home of Dr. And Mrs. Willis E Hutchason, Mr. Hutchason being a dentist. Later, in the 1920's and 30's it was the home Albert and Alice Cheep (and 8 children), according to the 1935 Blue Book. In between, the 1909 City Directory a lists Mrs. Blanch Trimble.

25. Lane House, 1904
2621 Van Buren Pl
West Adams Street Tract
The front bay window and a-symmetrical gable over the door provide a focal point for this well-crafted Craftsman house. It was the home of J. Lansing and Linda H Lane in the 1904 City Directory.

26. Daniels House, 1903
2624 Van Buren Pl
West Adams Street Tract
Somewhere under the unfortunate Sear’s siding is a stately late Victorian, transitional Craftsman, with Colonial touches, ready to blossom. The portico, with strong columns, was built to impress. In the 1904 City Directory Dr. And Jrs. Jared W Daniels were the residents.

27. Guthery House, 1906
2638 Van Buren Pl
West Adams Street Tract
Charlotte Guthery was the owner of this beautiful transitional Victorian/Craftsman 2-1/2 story house, which recalls what was called in Los Angeles at the time as the Elizabethan Style. The widows weep was closed in with windows early on, but otherwise it’s picture perfect.

28. Greenbaum House, 1906
2638 Van Buren Pl
West Adams Street Tract
Textiles appeared to have been profitable in early Los Angeles, as Abraham Greenbaum, a salesman for the Harris and Frank Clothing Store, was able to afford this luxurious Craftsman. Later, in the 1909 City Directory, Simon S. Spier, Millinery, is listed.

29. Leeds House, 1903
2642 Van Buren Pl
West Adams Street Tract
Nestled in among the trees (and hard to photograph) is the lovely transitional Victorian/Craftsman owned by W. R. And Anna F. Leeds from 1903 to 1909. Mr. Leeds was an attorney. From 1909 to the 1920's George D. And Elizabeth R. Cadwalader made I their home. Mr. Cadwalader was involved with the general machinery at the Los Angeles Brick Co.

30. Corelyou House 1905
2650 Van Buren Pl
West Adams Street Tract
George A. Corelyou was in real estate. The home is mostly Craftsman, with just a few transitional hold overs, and in fine shape, except for the unfortunate window replacements. The front door and sidelights are it’s most attractive and unusual feature.

31. McKinney House, 1906
2656 Van Buren Pl
West Adams Street Tract
This was one of the houses built on speculation by the Los Angeles Building Company. The architect is unknown, but more than likely it was designed by someone like Frank M. Tyler, by Tyler and Company, which built many houses on spec. It’s a charming and well-planned transitional Victorian/Craftsman home. The half-timbering lean toward a Tudor or Elizabethan Style.

Cool Real Estate Commission images

Check out these real estate commission images:

16c - 2703 Raymond Ave - Craftsman Chalet (E)

Image by Kansas Sebastian
Adams-Normandie Historic Preservation Overlay Zone (HPOZ)

We began our adventure to ANNA (Adams-Normandie Historic Preservation Overlay Zone) at our former favorite old haunt, La Barca, for Carne Asada and Carnitas Burritos. After a very unsatisfying lunch (they’ve gone down hill since we were last there several years ago) we headed into ANNA with a goal to photograph the Van Buren National Register Historic District.

Along the way we found some wonderful things: ghost signs, a house moved from the West Adams Heights neighborhood a few blocks away, two worn and aging grand dames on West Adams Boulevard, a wonderful hidden estate on Budlong (now sadly carved into apartments), and more than a few fabulous houses on Raymond and (of course) Van Buren.

01. Commercial Building, 1907 to 1913
1419 W 24th St
T. Widd’s Sub
“Dye Works and Trading Co.” reads the ghost sign. A little lower is, “Suits Dresses, and _____.”

02. Commercial Building, 1912 to 1920
1425 W 24th St
T. Widd’s Sub
The ghost signs here are a little harder to make out. “Napps Van_tio_aul” Below is, “Feed and Fuel,” which is a clue to it’s age. The later vertical sign attached to the front reads, “Storage & Moving.”

03. House, 1912 (Moved, remodeled and divided into apartments)
2401 Catalina St
Kenwood Park Tract
Possibly Dennis and Farwell
We know this house, because we first saw it in an early 1900's promotion of a nearby tract called West Adams Heights. The house in the photo is reverse, but that wasn’t uncommon for the time. If it’s the same house (and we’re pretty sure it is), then it was built earlier and probably moved to this location in 1912, when the main streets around West Adams Heights were beginning to go commercial. After further investigation, if it turns out to be the same house, then it was probably built around 1905 by the architecture team of Dennis and Farwell. Anyone up for a friendly wager?

04. House, c. 1899
1514 W Adams Blvd
Montgomery Tract
The Tax Assessor’s Office indicate this stately Victorian was built in 1908. An obvious mistake. It’s not impossible, but highly doubtful the owners would commission a house in one of the most fashionable districts, in a style ten years out of date. It’s currently undergoing renovation. Lets hope it’s for the best.

05. House, 1899
1528 W Adams Blvd
Montgomery Tract
This faded Shingle Styled late Victorian Grand Dame recalls a bygone era. You can imagine just how proud the neighborhood must have been in it’s heyday. Now, most of it’s neighbors are gone, and these two houses at the corner of Juliette and West Adams Boulevard look a little . . . stranded.

06. House (Former Estate), 1908
2739 S Budlong Ave
Reeds Sub
The houses south of West Adams Boulevard on Juliette and Budlong are a strange collection, which appear to have been transported here and set down, jumbled without much thought or reason, or planning. Most of them are FUBAR, but it’s evident that most were designed for lots larger than the ones they now occupy. Perhaps they were in the path of the Santa Monica Freeway and saved (sort of). But, among this odd collection, on Budlong, is a large house set back far from the street, with a charming (but dilapidated) river rock wall and a massive Moreton Bay Fig. It’s a wonderful estate now converted to apartments. Who lived here? No idea, but the house seem familiar in a Maxim de Winter-Manderley sort of way. The shape, size, and style are indicative of an architecture team like Hunt and Burns or Hunt and Eager. Caroline Eve (a lovely name) was employed here as a domestic, according to the 1915 City Directory. If you know anything about this house, please leave a note. We’d love to know.

08. House, 1905
2756 Raymond Ave
Blaisdell and Weiss Tract
A fine example of a transitional English Styled (or Elizabethan as it was often called then, or sometimes Tudor) house as styles were moving from the Victorian to the Craftsman.

09. Repath Residence, 1907
2750 Raymond Ave
Blaisdell and Weiss Tract
According to the 1909 City Directory Chas. H. And Ruth M. Repath resided in this charming Craftsman Chalet home. Mr. Repath appears to have been a partner in Repath and MeGregor, Mechanical Engineers, located at 606 S Hill St. By 1915 a Mark B. Smith, Oil, was in residence. The house is asymmetrical, with mild chalet features.

10. Lang Residence, 1909
2749 Raymond Ave
Akin and Cass Sub
Transitional Victorian/Craftsman with Tudor elements.
Frank M. Tyler (Tyler and Company)
Even without pulling the property permits, we can confidently tell you this house was designed by Frank M. Tyler, and probably built on spec by Tyler and Company. It’s a typical, well-executed Tyler plan. Although this one was originally a single-family house. It was the home of Aug. T. Lang, President of the Iroquois Bottling Co, according to the 1909 City Directory.

11. Couch House, 1904
2744 Raymond Ave
Blaisdell and Weiss Tract
A solid and masculine Craftsman home. Notice the inventive support (or lack thereof) on the left side of the porch, and the charming widows weep. According to the 1909 City Directory, Geo S Couch was listed as living here.

12. Laupheimer House, 1907
2740 Raymond Ave
Blaisdell and Weiss Tract
The clean lines, strong porch column, asymmetrical facade, open gables, and especially the sideways double gable point to Hudson and Munsell as the architect of this beautiful Craftsman home. More investigation here is needed. It appears Mrs. Effie E Laupheimer was the resident here, according to the 1909 City Directory.

13. Montanya House, 1906
2734 Raymond Ave
Blaisdell and Weiss Tract
Mrs. Loretta de la Montanya is listed in the 1909 City Directory as residing in this charming Craftsman home, which is now unfortunately painted blue. Picture the creosote shingles, and the architecture pops! Again, the Hudson and Munsell hallmarks are present, so more investigation is needed.

14. Hood House, 1905
2729 Raymond Ave
Blaisdell and Weiss Tract
Mr. Walter T. Hook, in mining, may have been the first owner of this picturesque transitional Victorian/Craftsman. Although since it was built in 1905 and Mr. Hook is listed in the 1909 City Directory, he may not have been the original owner.

15. Foster House, 1906
2708/10 Raymond Ave
Blaisdell and Weiss Tract
A full-on Colonial among Craftsman homes. The way the windows line up on the south side of the house would indicate the house was always a duplex, however in the 1909 City Directory only one family is listed here. It was the home of Newton H Foster, purchasing agent for the Salt Lake Rte. (Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad, incorporated in 1901 by Senator Clark). Either the Fosters had no neighbors in 1909, or the house was carefully converted early on. Their domestic was a Ms. Clara Vance.

16. Osborne House, 1904/11
2703 Raymond Ave
Akin and Cass Sub
One of the earlier houses on Raymond, it’s obviously had some remodeling. The roof line is incorrect, and it’s now an apartment building. It’s pure Craftsman. According to the 1909 City Directory it was owned by Fredk (Frederick) J Osborne, Salesman for Haas, Baruch & Co. (Grocers). He must have done well, because he could afford an avant guarde house and a domestic in the name of Ms. Kate E McGovern.

17. Raymond House, 1907
1610 27th St
Blaisdell and Weiss Tract
To see this house as it should be, it takes a little imagination. Picture all the stucco removed, with natural shingles. It could be a gorgeous home, with a bit of elbow grease. According to the 1915 City Directory it was the home of Stephen S and Ruth Raymond. Mr. Raymond was a manager at the Fairfield Oil Co. I would guess the street name is merely coincidental.

18. Van Buren Historic District
National Register of Historic Places No. 89001103, 1989.
The gates are new. (An attempt to stave off urban blight). The street scape looks much like it would have when the neighborhood was new, which is one reason why it’s deserving of it’s National Register status. Most of the houses were built by the Los Angeles Building Company. Although most were built to the original owner’s specifications, some were built on speculation, which was typical in Los Angeles at the time.

19. The Furlong House, 1910, Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monument No. 678.
2657 Van Buren Pl
West Adams Street Tract
Frank M. Tyler
Gracing the corner of 27th and Van Buren Place is the Furlong House, designed in the local vernacular, a transitional Victorian/Craftsman style, by prolific architect Frank M Tyler. The house is named for the second or third owner, Thomas J Furlong, who was the city clerk and treasurer for the city of Vernon, until the 1950's. According to the 1915 city directory the home’s occupants were Shelly W and Bella Keiser, and were believed to live here 1910 to 1921. Mr. Keiser was in real estate and loans.

20. Bowen House, 1907
2651 Van Buren Pl
West Adams Street Tract
This straight-forward Craftsman sports clean lines and an a-symmetric facade. The windows are unfortunate, but it’s in great condition otherwise. The home was built for William Alvin and Grace D Bowen. Mr. Bowen was a successful attorney at Gray Barker and Bowen.

21. Minton House, 1904
2645 Van Buren Pl
West Adams Street Tract
One of the largest houses on the street, the facade of this Chalet-like Craftsman is imposing and strong. The bay window and dropping roof line help break up what otherwise could be a big box. The peaked window on the south side is charming. Clarence H Minton, Real Estate, is listed here in the 1905 City Directory.

22. Percy H. Clark House, 1903, Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monument No. 672.
2633 Van Buren Pl
West Adams Street Tract
As a major developer in Los Angeles, and specifically the developer of this tract on Van Buren Pl, you’d assume the Clark House would be the largest, but it’s not. Instead this craftsman is sedate, with strong clean lines. The front box window is especially unusual. Mr. Clark, not to be confused with the many other Clarks along West Adams Boulevard, was a giant of the early Los Angeles real estate community.

23. Long House, 1904
2633 Van Buren Pl
West Adams Street Tract
Oath Long is listed in the 1904 City Directory as the resident of this lovely Craftsman house. It’s hipped roof is unusual for a style that favored open gables. The only gable appears directly above the entrance.

24. Hutchason-Cheap House, 1904
2627 Van Buren Pl
West Adams Street Tract
Ribbed siding, rather than shingles, the shape and size, and the charming front window make this Victorian/Craftsman house appear more Victorian than Craftsman. Small windows tucked up under the eaves in various places give it a whimsical touch. According to the 1905 City Directory this was the home of Dr. And Mrs. Willis E Hutchason, Mr. Hutchason being a dentist. Later, in the 1920's and 30's it was the home Albert and Alice Cheep (and 8 children), according to the 1935 Blue Book. In between, the 1909 City Directory a lists Mrs. Blanch Trimble.

25. Lane House, 1904
2621 Van Buren Pl
West Adams Street Tract
The front bay window and a-symmetrical gable over the door provide a focal point for this well-crafted Craftsman house. It was the home of J. Lansing and Linda H Lane in the 1904 City Directory.

26. Daniels House, 1903
2624 Van Buren Pl
West Adams Street Tract
Somewhere under the unfortunate Sear’s siding is a stately late Victorian, transitional Craftsman, with Colonial touches, ready to blossom. The portico, with strong columns, was built to impress. In the 1904 City Directory Dr. And Jrs. Jared W Daniels were the residents.

27. Guthery House, 1906
2638 Van Buren Pl
West Adams Street Tract
Charlotte Guthery was the owner of this beautiful transitional Victorian/Craftsman 2-1/2 story house, which recalls what was called in Los Angeles at the time as the Elizabethan Style. The widows weep was closed in with windows early on, but otherwise it’s picture perfect.

28. Greenbaum House, 1906
2638 Van Buren Pl
West Adams Street Tract
Textiles appeared to have been profitable in early Los Angeles, as Abraham Greenbaum, a salesman for the Harris and Frank Clothing Store, was able to afford this luxurious Craftsman. Later, in the 1909 City Directory, Simon S. Spier, Millinery, is listed.

29. Leeds House, 1903
2642 Van Buren Pl
West Adams Street Tract
Nestled in among the trees (and hard to photograph) is the lovely transitional Victorian/Craftsman owned by W. R. And Anna F. Leeds from 1903 to 1909. Mr. Leeds was an attorney. From 1909 to the 1920's George D. And Elizabeth R. Cadwalader made I their home. Mr. Cadwalader was involved with the general machinery at the Los Angeles Brick Co.

30. Corelyou House 1905
2650 Van Buren Pl
West Adams Street Tract
George A. Corelyou was in real estate. The home is mostly Craftsman, with just a few transitional hold overs, and in fine shape, except for the unfortunate window replacements. The front door and sidelights are it’s most attractive and unusual feature.

31. McKinney House, 1906
2656 Van Buren Pl
West Adams Street Tract
This was one of the houses built on speculation by the Los Angeles Building Company. The architect is unknown, but more than likely it was designed by someone like Frank M. Tyler, by Tyler and Company, which built many houses on spec. It’s a charming and well-planned transitional Victorian/Craftsman home. The half-timbering lean toward a Tudor or Elizabethan Style.

13b 2734 Raymond Ave - Craftsman (E)

Image by Kansas Sebastian
Adams-Normandie Historic Preservation Overlay Zone (HPOZ)

We began our adventure to ANNA (Adams-Normandie Historic Preservation Overlay Zone) at our former favorite old haunt, La Barca, for Carne Asada and Carnitas Burritos. After a very unsatisfying lunch (they’ve gone down hill since we were last there several years ago) we headed into ANNA with a goal to photograph the Van Buren National Register Historic District.

Along the way we found some wonderful things: ghost signs, a house moved from the West Adams Heights neighborhood a few blocks away, two worn and aging grand dames on West Adams Boulevard, a wonderful hidden estate on Budlong (now sadly carved into apartments), and more than a few fabulous houses on Raymond and (of course) Van Buren.

01. Commercial Building, 1907 to 1913
1419 W 24th St
T. Widd’s Sub
“Dye Works and Trading Co.” reads the ghost sign. A little lower is, “Suits Dresses, and _____.”

02. Commercial Building, 1912 to 1920
1425 W 24th St
T. Widd’s Sub
The ghost signs here are a little harder to make out. “Napps Van_tio_aul” Below is, “Feed and Fuel,” which is a clue to it’s age. The later vertical sign attached to the front reads, “Storage & Moving.”

03. House, 1912 (Moved, remodeled and divided into apartments)
2401 Catalina St
Kenwood Park Tract
Possibly Dennis and Farwell
We know this house, because we first saw it in an early 1900's promotion of a nearby tract called West Adams Heights. The house in the photo is reverse, but that wasn’t uncommon for the time. If it’s the same house (and we’re pretty sure it is), then it was built earlier and probably moved to this location in 1912, when the main streets around West Adams Heights were beginning to go commercial. After further investigation, if it turns out to be the same house, then it was probably built around 1905 by the architecture team of Dennis and Farwell. Anyone up for a friendly wager?

04. House, c. 1899
1514 W Adams Blvd
Montgomery Tract
The Tax Assessor’s Office indicate this stately Victorian was built in 1908. An obvious mistake. It’s not impossible, but highly doubtful the owners would commission a house in one of the most fashionable districts, in a style ten years out of date. It’s currently undergoing renovation. Lets hope it’s for the best.

05. House, 1899
1528 W Adams Blvd
Montgomery Tract
This faded Shingle Styled late Victorian Grand Dame recalls a bygone era. You can imagine just how proud the neighborhood must have been in it’s heyday. Now, most of it’s neighbors are gone, and these two houses at the corner of Juliette and West Adams Boulevard look a little . . . stranded.

06. House (Former Estate), 1908
2739 S Budlong Ave
Reeds Sub
The houses south of West Adams Boulevard on Juliette and Budlong are a strange collection, which appear to have been transported here and set down, jumbled without much thought or reason, or planning. Most of them are FUBAR, but it’s evident that most were designed for lots larger than the ones they now occupy. Perhaps they were in the path of the Santa Monica Freeway and saved (sort of). But, among this odd collection, on Budlong, is a large house set back far from the street, with a charming (but dilapidated) river rock wall and a massive Moreton Bay Fig. It’s a wonderful estate now converted to apartments. Who lived here? No idea, but the house seem familiar in a Maxim de Winter-Manderley sort of way. The shape, size, and style are indicative of an architecture team like Hunt and Burns or Hunt and Eager. Caroline Eve (a lovely name) was employed here as a domestic, according to the 1915 City Directory. If you know anything about this house, please leave a note. We’d love to know.

08. House, 1905
2756 Raymond Ave
Blaisdell and Weiss Tract
A fine example of a transitional English Styled (or Elizabethan as it was often called then, or sometimes Tudor) house as styles were moving from the Victorian to the Craftsman.

09. Repath Residence, 1907
2750 Raymond Ave
Blaisdell and Weiss Tract
According to the 1909 City Directory Chas. H. And Ruth M. Repath resided in this charming Craftsman Chalet home. Mr. Repath appears to have been a partner in Repath and MeGregor, Mechanical Engineers, located at 606 S Hill St. By 1915 a Mark B. Smith, Oil, was in residence. The house is asymmetrical, with mild chalet features.

10. Lang Residence, 1909
2749 Raymond Ave
Akin and Cass Sub
Transitional Victorian/Craftsman with Tudor elements.
Frank M. Tyler (Tyler and Company)
Even without pulling the property permits, we can confidently tell you this house was designed by Frank M. Tyler, and probably built on spec by Tyler and Company. It’s a typical, well-executed Tyler plan. Although this one was originally a single-family house. It was the home of Aug. T. Lang, President of the Iroquois Bottling Co, according to the 1909 City Directory.

11. Couch House, 1904
2744 Raymond Ave
Blaisdell and Weiss Tract
A solid and masculine Craftsman home. Notice the inventive support (or lack thereof) on the left side of the porch, and the charming widows weep. According to the 1909 City Directory, Geo S Couch was listed as living here.

12. Laupheimer House, 1907
2740 Raymond Ave
Blaisdell and Weiss Tract
The clean lines, strong porch column, asymmetrical facade, open gables, and especially the sideways double gable point to Hudson and Munsell as the architect of this beautiful Craftsman home. More investigation here is needed. It appears Mrs. Effie E Laupheimer was the resident here, according to the 1909 City Directory.

13. Montanya House, 1906
2734 Raymond Ave
Blaisdell and Weiss Tract
Mrs. Loretta de la Montanya is listed in the 1909 City Directory as residing in this charming Craftsman home, which is now unfortunately painted blue. Picture the creosote shingles, and the architecture pops! Again, the Hudson and Munsell hallmarks are present, so more investigation is needed.

14. Hood House, 1905
2729 Raymond Ave
Blaisdell and Weiss Tract
Mr. Walter T. Hook, in mining, may have been the first owner of this picturesque transitional Victorian/Craftsman. Although since it was built in 1905 and Mr. Hook is listed in the 1909 City Directory, he may not have been the original owner.

15. Foster House, 1906
2708/10 Raymond Ave
Blaisdell and Weiss Tract
A full-on Colonial among Craftsman homes. The way the windows line up on the south side of the house would indicate the house was always a duplex, however in the 1909 City Directory only one family is listed here. It was the home of Newton H Foster, purchasing agent for the Salt Lake Rte. (Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad, incorporated in 1901 by Senator Clark). Either the Fosters had no neighbors in 1909, or the house was carefully converted early on. Their domestic was a Ms. Clara Vance.

16. Osborne House, 1904/11
2703 Raymond Ave
Akin and Cass Sub
One of the earlier houses on Raymond, it’s obviously had some remodeling. The roof line is incorrect, and it’s now an apartment building. It’s pure Craftsman. According to the 1909 City Directory it was owned by Fredk (Frederick) J Osborne, Salesman for Haas, Baruch & Co. (Grocers). He must have done well, because he could afford an avant guarde house and a domestic in the name of Ms. Kate E McGovern.

17. Raymond House, 1907
1610 27th St
Blaisdell and Weiss Tract
To see this house as it should be, it takes a little imagination. Picture all the stucco removed, with natural shingles. It could be a gorgeous home, with a bit of elbow grease. According to the 1915 City Directory it was the home of Stephen S and Ruth Raymond. Mr. Raymond was a manager at the Fairfield Oil Co. I would guess the street name is merely coincidental.

18. Van Buren Historic District
National Register of Historic Places No. 89001103, 1989.
The gates are new. (An attempt to stave off urban blight). The street scape looks much like it would have when the neighborhood was new, which is one reason why it’s deserving of it’s National Register status. Most of the houses were built by the Los Angeles Building Company. Although most were built to the original owner’s specifications, some were built on speculation, which was typical in Los Angeles at the time.

19. The Furlong House, 1910, Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monument No. 678.
2657 Van Buren Pl
West Adams Street Tract
Frank M. Tyler
Gracing the corner of 27th and Van Buren Place is the Furlong House, designed in the local vernacular, a transitional Victorian/Craftsman style, by prolific architect Frank M Tyler. The house is named for the second or third owner, Thomas J Furlong, who was the city clerk and treasurer for the city of Vernon, until the 1950's. According to the 1915 city directory the home’s occupants were Shelly W and Bella Keiser, and were believed to live here 1910 to 1921. Mr. Keiser was in real estate and loans.

20. Bowen House, 1907
2651 Van Buren Pl
West Adams Street Tract
This straight-forward Craftsman sports clean lines and an a-symmetric facade. The windows are unfortunate, but it’s in great condition otherwise. The home was built for William Alvin and Grace D Bowen. Mr. Bowen was a successful attorney at Gray Barker and Bowen.

21. Minton House, 1904
2645 Van Buren Pl
West Adams Street Tract
One of the largest houses on the street, the facade of this Chalet-like Craftsman is imposing and strong. The bay window and dropping roof line help break up what otherwise could be a big box. The peaked window on the south side is charming. Clarence H Minton, Real Estate, is listed here in the 1905 City Directory.

22. Percy H. Clark House, 1903, Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monument No. 672.
2633 Van Buren Pl
West Adams Street Tract
As a major developer in Los Angeles, and specifically the developer of this tract on Van Buren Pl, you’d assume the Clark House would be the largest, but it’s not. Instead this craftsman is sedate, with strong clean lines. The front box window is especially unusual. Mr. Clark, not to be confused with the many other Clarks along West Adams Boulevard, was a giant of the early Los Angeles real estate community.

23. Long House, 1904
2633 Van Buren Pl
West Adams Street Tract
Oath Long is listed in the 1904 City Directory as the resident of this lovely Craftsman house. It’s hipped roof is unusual for a style that favored open gables. The only gable appears directly above the entrance.

24. Hutchason-Cheap House, 1904
2627 Van Buren Pl
West Adams Street Tract
Ribbed siding, rather than shingles, the shape and size, and the charming front window make this Victorian/Craftsman house appear more Victorian than Craftsman. Small windows tucked up under the eaves in various places give it a whimsical touch. According to the 1905 City Directory this was the home of Dr. And Mrs. Willis E Hutchason, Mr. Hutchason being a dentist. Later, in the 1920's and 30's it was the home Albert and Alice Cheep (and 8 children), according to the 1935 Blue Book. In between, the 1909 City Directory a lists Mrs. Blanch Trimble.

25. Lane House, 1904
2621 Van Buren Pl
West Adams Street Tract
The front bay window and a-symmetrical gable over the door provide a focal point for this well-crafted Craftsman house. It was the home of J. Lansing and Linda H Lane in the 1904 City Directory.

26. Daniels House, 1903
2624 Van Buren Pl
West Adams Street Tract
Somewhere under the unfortunate Sear’s siding is a stately late Victorian, transitional Craftsman, with Colonial touches, ready to blossom. The portico, with strong columns, was built to impress. In the 1904 City Directory Dr. And Jrs. Jared W Daniels were the residents.

27. Guthery House, 1906
2638 Van Buren Pl
West Adams Street Tract
Charlotte Guthery was the owner of this beautiful transitional Victorian/Craftsman 2-1/2 story house, which recalls what was called in Los Angeles at the time as the Elizabethan Style. The widows weep was closed in with windows early on, but otherwise it’s picture perfect.

28. Greenbaum House, 1906
2638 Van Buren Pl
West Adams Street Tract
Textiles appeared to have been profitable in early Los Angeles, as Abraham Greenbaum, a salesman for the Harris and Frank Clothing Store, was able to afford this luxurious Craftsman. Later, in the 1909 City Directory, Simon S. Spier, Millinery, is listed.

29. Leeds House, 1903
2642 Van Buren Pl
West Adams Street Tract
Nestled in among the trees (and hard to photograph) is the lovely transitional Victorian/Craftsman owned by W. R. And Anna F. Leeds from 1903 to 1909. Mr. Leeds was an attorney. From 1909 to the 1920's George D. And Elizabeth R. Cadwalader made I their home. Mr. Cadwalader was involved with the general machinery at the Los Angeles Brick Co.

30. Corelyou House 1905
2650 Van Buren Pl
West Adams Street Tract
George A. Corelyou was in real estate. The home is mostly Craftsman, with just a few transitional hold overs, and in fine shape, except for the unfortunate window replacements. The front door and sidelights are it’s most attractive and unusual feature.

31. McKinney House, 1906
2656 Van Buren Pl
West Adams Street Tract
This was one of the houses built on speculation by the Los Angeles Building Company. The architect is unknown, but more than likely it was designed by someone like Frank M. Tyler, by Tyler and Company, which built many houses on spec. It’s a charming and well-planned transitional Victorian/Craftsman home. The half-timbering lean toward a Tudor or Elizabethan Style.

05a 1528 W Adams Blvd - Shingle Style (E)

Image by Kansas Sebastian
Adams-Normandie Historic Preservation Overlay Zone (HPOZ)

We began our adventure to ANNA (Adams-Normandie Historic Preservation Overlay Zone) at our former favorite old haunt, La Barca, for Carne Asada and Carnitas Burritos. After a very unsatisfying lunch (they’ve gone down hill since we were last there several years ago) we headed into ANNA with a goal to photograph the Van Buren National Register Historic District.

Along the way we found some wonderful things: ghost signs, a house moved from the West Adams Heights neighborhood a few blocks away, two worn and aging grand dames on West Adams Boulevard, a wonderful hidden estate on Budlong (now sadly carved into apartments), and more than a few fabulous houses on Raymond and (of course) Van Buren.

01. Commercial Building, 1907 to 1913
1419 W 24th St
T. Widd’s Sub
“Dye Works and Trading Co.” reads the ghost sign. A little lower is, “Suits Dresses, and _____.”

02. Commercial Building, 1912 to 1920
1425 W 24th St
T. Widd’s Sub
The ghost signs here are a little harder to make out. “Napps Van_tio_aul” Below is, “Feed and Fuel,” which is a clue to it’s age. The later vertical sign attached to the front reads, “Storage & Moving.”

03. House, 1912 (Moved, remodeled and divided into apartments)
2401 Catalina St
Kenwood Park Tract
Possibly Dennis and Farwell
We know this house, because we first saw it in an early 1900's promotion of a nearby tract called West Adams Heights. The house in the photo is reverse, but that wasn’t uncommon for the time. If it’s the same house (and we’re pretty sure it is), then it was built earlier and probably moved to this location in 1912, when the main streets around West Adams Heights were beginning to go commercial. After further investigation, if it turns out to be the same house, then it was probably built around 1905 by the architecture team of Dennis and Farwell. Anyone up for a friendly wager?

04. House, c. 1899
1514 W Adams Blvd
Montgomery Tract
The Tax Assessor’s Office indicate this stately Victorian was built in 1908. An obvious mistake. It’s not impossible, but highly doubtful the owners would commission a house in one of the most fashionable districts, in a style ten years out of date. It’s currently undergoing renovation. Lets hope it’s for the best.

05. House, 1899
1528 W Adams Blvd
Montgomery Tract
This faded Shingle Styled late Victorian Grand Dame recalls a bygone era. You can imagine just how proud the neighborhood must have been in it’s heyday. Now, most of it’s neighbors are gone, and these two houses at the corner of Juliette and West Adams Boulevard look a little . . . stranded.

06. House (Former Estate), 1908
2739 S Budlong Ave
Reeds Sub
The houses south of West Adams Boulevard on Juliette and Budlong are a strange collection, which appear to have been transported here and set down, jumbled without much thought or reason, or planning. Most of them are FUBAR, but it’s evident that most were designed for lots larger than the ones they now occupy. Perhaps they were in the path of the Santa Monica Freeway and saved (sort of). But, among this odd collection, on Budlong, is a large house set back far from the street, with a charming (but dilapidated) river rock wall and a massive Moreton Bay Fig. It’s a wonderful estate now converted to apartments. Who lived here? No idea, but the house seem familiar in a Maxim de Winter-Manderley sort of way. The shape, size, and style are indicative of an architecture team like Hunt and Burns or Hunt and Eager. Caroline Eve (a lovely name) was employed here as a domestic, according to the 1915 City Directory. If you know anything about this house, please leave a note. We’d love to know.

08. House, 1905
2756 Raymond Ave
Blaisdell and Weiss Tract
A fine example of a transitional English Styled (or Elizabethan as it was often called then, or sometimes Tudor) house as styles were moving from the Victorian to the Craftsman.

09. Repath Residence, 1907
2750 Raymond Ave
Blaisdell and Weiss Tract
According to the 1909 City Directory Chas. H. And Ruth M. Repath resided in this charming Craftsman Chalet home. Mr. Repath appears to have been a partner in Repath and MeGregor, Mechanical Engineers, located at 606 S Hill St. By 1915 a Mark B. Smith, Oil, was in residence. The house is asymmetrical, with mild chalet features.

10. Lang Residence, 1909
2749 Raymond Ave
Akin and Cass Sub
Transitional Victorian/Craftsman with Tudor elements.
Frank M. Tyler (Tyler and Company)
Even without pulling the property permits, we can confidently tell you this house was designed by Frank M. Tyler, and probably built on spec by Tyler and Company. It’s a typical, well-executed Tyler plan. Although this one was originally a single-family house. It was the home of Aug. T. Lang, President of the Iroquois Bottling Co, according to the 1909 City Directory.

11. Couch House, 1904
2744 Raymond Ave
Blaisdell and Weiss Tract
A solid and masculine Craftsman home. Notice the inventive support (or lack thereof) on the left side of the porch, and the charming widows weep. According to the 1909 City Directory, Geo S Couch was listed as living here.

12. Laupheimer House, 1907
2740 Raymond Ave
Blaisdell and Weiss Tract
The clean lines, strong porch column, asymmetrical facade, open gables, and especially the sideways double gable point to Hudson and Munsell as the architect of this beautiful Craftsman home. More investigation here is needed. It appears Mrs. Effie E Laupheimer was the resident here, according to the 1909 City Directory.

13. Montanya House, 1906
2734 Raymond Ave
Blaisdell and Weiss Tract
Mrs. Loretta de la Montanya is listed in the 1909 City Directory as residing in this charming Craftsman home, which is now unfortunately painted blue. Picture the creosote shingles, and the architecture pops! Again, the Hudson and Munsell hallmarks are present, so more investigation is needed.

14. Hood House, 1905
2729 Raymond Ave
Blaisdell and Weiss Tract
Mr. Walter T. Hook, in mining, may have been the first owner of this picturesque transitional Victorian/Craftsman. Although since it was built in 1905 and Mr. Hook is listed in the 1909 City Directory, he may not have been the original owner.

15. Foster House, 1906
2708/10 Raymond Ave
Blaisdell and Weiss Tract
A full-on Colonial among Craftsman homes. The way the windows line up on the south side of the house would indicate the house was always a duplex, however in the 1909 City Directory only one family is listed here. It was the home of Newton H Foster, purchasing agent for the Salt Lake Rte. (Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad, incorporated in 1901 by Senator Clark). Either the Fosters had no neighbors in 1909, or the house was carefully converted early on. Their domestic was a Ms. Clara Vance.

16. Osborne House, 1904/11
2703 Raymond Ave
Akin and Cass Sub
One of the earlier houses on Raymond, it’s obviously had some remodeling. The roof line is incorrect, and it’s now an apartment building. It’s pure Craftsman. According to the 1909 City Directory it was owned by Fredk (Frederick) J Osborne, Salesman for Haas, Baruch & Co. (Grocers). He must have done well, because he could afford an avant guarde house and a domestic in the name of Ms. Kate E McGovern.

17. Raymond House, 1907
1610 27th St
Blaisdell and Weiss Tract
To see this house as it should be, it takes a little imagination. Picture all the stucco removed, with natural shingles. It could be a gorgeous home, with a bit of elbow grease. According to the 1915 City Directory it was the home of Stephen S and Ruth Raymond. Mr. Raymond was a manager at the Fairfield Oil Co. I would guess the street name is merely coincidental.

18. Van Buren Historic District
National Register of Historic Places No. 89001103, 1989.
The gates are new. (An attempt to stave off urban blight). The street scape looks much like it would have when the neighborhood was new, which is one reason why it’s deserving of it’s National Register status. Most of the houses were built by the Los Angeles Building Company. Although most were built to the original owner’s specifications, some were built on speculation, which was typical in Los Angeles at the time.

19. The Furlong House, 1910, Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monument No. 678.
2657 Van Buren Pl
West Adams Street Tract
Frank M. Tyler
Gracing the corner of 27th and Van Buren Place is the Furlong House, designed in the local vernacular, a transitional Victorian/Craftsman style, by prolific architect Frank M Tyler. The house is named for the second or third owner, Thomas J Furlong, who was the city clerk and treasurer for the city of Vernon, until the 1950's. According to the 1915 city directory the home’s occupants were Shelly W and Bella Keiser, and were believed to live here 1910 to 1921. Mr. Keiser was in real estate and loans.

20. Bowen House, 1907
2651 Van Buren Pl
West Adams Street Tract
This straight-forward Craftsman sports clean lines and an a-symmetric facade. The windows are unfortunate, but it’s in great condition otherwise. The home was built for William Alvin and Grace D Bowen. Mr. Bowen was a successful attorney at Gray Barker and Bowen.

21. Minton House, 1904
2645 Van Buren Pl
West Adams Street Tract
One of the largest houses on the street, the facade of this Chalet-like Craftsman is imposing and strong. The bay window and dropping roof line help break up what otherwise could be a big box. The peaked window on the south side is charming. Clarence H Minton, Real Estate, is listed here in the 1905 City Directory.

22. Percy H. Clark House, 1903, Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monument No. 672.
2633 Van Buren Pl
West Adams Street Tract
As a major developer in Los Angeles, and specifically the developer of this tract on Van Buren Pl, you’d assume the Clark House would be the largest, but it’s not. Instead this craftsman is sedate, with strong clean lines. The front box window is especially unusual. Mr. Clark, not to be confused with the many other Clarks along West Adams Boulevard, was a giant of the early Los Angeles real estate community.

23. Long House, 1904
2633 Van Buren Pl
West Adams Street Tract
Oath Long is listed in the 1904 City Directory as the resident of this lovely Craftsman house. It’s hipped roof is unusual for a style that favored open gables. The only gable appears directly above the entrance.

24. Hutchason-Cheap House, 1904
2627 Van Buren Pl
West Adams Street Tract
Ribbed siding, rather than shingles, the shape and size, and the charming front window make this Victorian/Craftsman house appear more Victorian than Craftsman. Small windows tucked up under the eaves in various places give it a whimsical touch. According to the 1905 City Directory this was the home of Dr. And Mrs. Willis E Hutchason, Mr. Hutchason being a dentist. Later, in the 1920's and 30's it was the home Albert and Alice Cheep (and 8 children), according to the 1935 Blue Book. In between, the 1909 City Directory a lists Mrs. Blanch Trimble.

25. Lane House, 1904
2621 Van Buren Pl
West Adams Street Tract
The front bay window and a-symmetrical gable over the door provide a focal point for this well-crafted Craftsman house. It was the home of J. Lansing and Linda H Lane in the 1904 City Directory.

26. Daniels House, 1903
2624 Van Buren Pl
West Adams Street Tract
Somewhere under the unfortunate Sear’s siding is a stately late Victorian, transitional Craftsman, with Colonial touches, ready to blossom. The portico, with strong columns, was built to impress. In the 1904 City Directory Dr. And Jrs. Jared W Daniels were the residents.

27. Guthery House, 1906
2638 Van Buren Pl
West Adams Street Tract
Charlotte Guthery was the owner of this beautiful transitional Victorian/Craftsman 2-1/2 story house, which recalls what was called in Los Angeles at the time as the Elizabethan Style. The widows weep was closed in with windows early on, but otherwise it’s picture perfect.

28. Greenbaum House, 1906
2638 Van Buren Pl
West Adams Street Tract
Textiles appeared to have been profitable in early Los Angeles, as Abraham Greenbaum, a salesman for the Harris and Frank Clothing Store, was able to afford this luxurious Craftsman. Later, in the 1909 City Directory, Simon S. Spier, Millinery, is listed.

29. Leeds House, 1903
2642 Van Buren Pl
West Adams Street Tract
Nestled in among the trees (and hard to photograph) is the lovely transitional Victorian/Craftsman owned by W. R. And Anna F. Leeds from 1903 to 1909. Mr. Leeds was an attorney. From 1909 to the 1920's George D. And Elizabeth R. Cadwalader made I their home. Mr. Cadwalader was involved with the general machinery at the Los Angeles Brick Co.

30. Corelyou House 1905
2650 Van Buren Pl
West Adams Street Tract
George A. Corelyou was in real estate. The home is mostly Craftsman, with just a few transitional hold overs, and in fine shape, except for the unfortunate window replacements. The front door and sidelights are it’s most attractive and unusual feature.

31. McKinney House, 1906
2656 Van Buren Pl
West Adams Street Tract
This was one of the houses built on speculation by the Los Angeles Building Company. The architect is unknown, but more than likely it was designed by someone like Frank M. Tyler, by Tyler and Company, which built many houses on spec. It’s a charming and well-planned transitional Victorian/Craftsman home. The half-timbering lean toward a Tudor or Elizabethan Style.