Home Design: Historic Homes Tour 2006
The 2006 Historic Homes Tour focuses on Tait Avenue in the Almond Grove, gracious Glen Ridge Avenue, and a home on Hernandez one block from Glen Ridge. Craftsman and Victorian styles are represented, but all six homes have been remodeled and modernized, some more extensively than others. The annual tour offers a peek inside lovely homes, beautifully decorated.
The tour runs through Sunday, November 5, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tickets are $30, available at any of the homes or at the Tait Avenue Museum. The price includes Pat Dunning’s expertly-researched program.
Built by Mary Fowler, the widow of State Senator Thomas Fowler, around 1890. Mary was the sister of town father Eben Farley, for whom Farley Road is named. She raised four children here.
William Pierce Summer House
William Pierce, a San Francisco attorney, commissioned this “neoclassical cottage”-style summer home in 1904. It was converted to a duplex in 1937, and restored to single family use in 1991.
Docent Ellen Gibson presents the Pierce house in period dress.
Naeplass Hoose
Docent Pat Jones greets visitors to Naeplass Hoose on Tait Avenue
The gracious home of former town councilmember MarLyn Rasmussen was built new in 1993 to replace an 1890 Victorian that did not survive the 1989 earthquake. Architect Charles Huff designed a “neo-Victorian” to fit neatly into the Almond Grove neighborhood. The name is meant to be prounced with a Scottish accent; it expresses MarLyn’s love for Los Gatos and her home.
The house seems designed for entertaining.
Frank Dixon House
Craftsman on Glen Ridge flies an unusual flag: stars and stripes with a Union Jack where the stars usually go.
One of the most genuine homes on the tour this year, this two-story Craftsman was built for fruit packing executive Frank Dixon in 1907. The current owner earned a Sunset magazine award for her redesigned kitchen and master bedroom addition in 1994, but much of the house is original.
High wainscot and other details are reminiscent of the Gamble House in Pasadena, a contemporary of the Dixon house and an inspiration for the remodeled kitchen.
Rene Doolittle House
Originally built in 1923, this home was a “Los Gatos Remodel”–that is, almost a new house–in 1995
Rene Doolittle, a builder, built this late-Craftsman in 1923 and lived in it until 1965. The current house was designed by Berkeley architect Chris Spaulding.
The current owners bought the house during the remodel and were able to select colors and finishes.
David Crummey’s Modern House
The good news–it’s for sale. The bad news? The price.
David Crummey, John Bean’s son-in-law and a founder of today’s FMC, built this house in 1909. He moved here from just down the street, and sold it a year later. The current owners remodeled in 1994. The design, by Avi Agasi and Amnon Levy (recently in the news for their remodel of Steve Wozniak’s first Los Gatos home), retains the craftsman feel but packs 5000 square feet in a home that feels more intimate.
Precise attention to detail, the latest amenities, and a spectacular setting make this an extremely impressive residence.
Offered by Asante Real Estate Group, 884-3775. The rumored asking price–$7 million.
Many of the homes featured live pianists, including professional Erik Hoyer (Music By Erik, 650-968-9698) and Jessica Tong, playing for fun at the Frank Dixon House. Vintage cars graced the curb in front of each home, including John Pencer’s 1911 Chalmers Touring Car, a 1937 Packard, Rodger Griffith’s 1930 Model A Ford, Sam Caires’ 1930 Chevrolet, the Breein’s 1964 Porsche, and a $495 1929 Model A offered for sale for just $12,000 (354-3875).
