HomeMy WebLinkAboutSaratoga's Heritage booka
i
r
V'
la
Al01,
tm4 F. j IE
CITY OF SARATOGA
HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION
JANUARY 1993
A CJMEN W M L EDGIR rE, TIN
Written by —
Elizabeth Ansnes
Illustrations b},
Peter Sabin
Photography —
Wayne Carpenter
Ben Strong
George White
Photo Processing —
Tinker Photo
Lay -out and Graphics –
Fritz Maurer
Norman Paul Printing
Administrative Assistance —
Carrie Dean, Volunteer Coordinator
Dottie Carpenter
Diane Carnekie
Josephine Morales
Clair Waite
Research by Saratoga Heritage
Preservation Commission, 1982 -1992 —
Elizabeth Ansnes
Steven Benzing
Edward Bolger
Roy Cameron
Linda Davis
Larry Fine
Warren Heid
Louisa Henderson
Norman Koepernik
Jeanne Kvamme
Sharon Landsness
Seonaid McArthur- Bielinski
Bruce Mitchell
Willys Peck
Robert Peepari
Peter Sabin
Dick Tyrrell
Barbara Voester
Eugene Zambetti
City of Saratoga, City Council —
Karen Anderson, Mayor
Karen Tucker, Vice Mayor
Ann Marie Burger
Willem Kohler
Victor Monia
City of Saratoga, City Staff —
Harry Peacock, City Manager
Paul Curtis, Planning Director
Tsvia Adar, Associate Planner
George White, Associate Planner
Susan Riggs, Assistant Planner
Saratoga's Heritage is the result of
nearly ten year's work by the Heritage
Preservation Commission and the
Planning Department staff to record for the
community the historic resources remaining
in Saratoga. The City Council created the
Commission in 1982, and charged it with
making an inventory of community historic
resources with the hope that documenting them
would aid in their preservation. The city placed
the commission's work under the planning
department, recognizing that effective planning
must include consideration of a city's past as
well as her future.
P R1 E-' FAA i s
Research on the properties in this book was
carried out by the commission members, using
land records, oral interviews and newspaper
accounts as well as more conventional histories
and memoirs. Many of the buildings on the
inventory were the homes and workplaces of
ordinary citizens, whose contributions to the
community left few written records. Members
of the commission have tried to be "dilligent
seekers of truth," but for some of our resources
we have little evidence beyond the structures
themselves. Following this research, each
property was evaluated by the commission in
relation to criteria established by the City
Council. Inclusion in the inventory means that a
property meets at least two of these criteria for
historic or architectural significance.
A special word of thanks is due to the
owners of these historic properties. They have
been unfailingly courteous and cooperative in
working with commissioners, assisting in our
research and making their properties available to
us as we documented their architectural details
and photographed them for this book. Most
important, it is the care, respect and attention
they have given which has guaranteed the
survival of these special historic artifacts among
which we are privileged to live today. It is they
who have made the city's goal of historic
preservation a reality.
f
s , ;
E e .
NA RA MISO G& -V H IrS-' O R1Y
aratoga's setting, against the eastern
foothills of the Santa Cruz mountains,
seems such an ideal location for a
pleasant late 20th century suburb that one might
think it has always been this way. But suburban
Saratoga is only the latest stage in a rich history
that goes back before the gold rush, a history
which has left its traces in our historic resources.
Among the homes and shops of the modern
town, the buildings remaining from these earlier
eras are clues to that past.
The first settlers in Saratoga, ancestors of
the Ohlone Indians, arrived thousands of years
ago, and have left traces which are visible only
to the trained eye of the archeologist. The oldest
remaining buildings in Saratoga date from
around the middle of the nineteenth century, a
few years after the first European- Americans
settled near the banks of Arroyo Quito. The
community they built followed a pattern quite
different from most areas in the United States,
for Saratoga began as an industrial town and
then evolved as an agricultural center and finally
into the residential suburb of today.
Although the De Anza expedition of 1776
camped in or near Saratoga, it wasn't until the
1840s that William Campbell saw the potential
of the local redwood trees as lumber to build
homes for the settlers coming west from the
United States to Alta California. In 1847 he
signed a contract with Manuel Alviso, owner of
the Rancho Quito, to build a mill on the banks
of what is now Saratoga Creek to process the
lumber he planned to remove from the steep
sides of the canyon. A small community formed
at the foot of the canyon, called informally,
Campbell's Gap.
The end of the Mexican - American War, the
discovery of gold, and the admission of Califor-
nia to the Union in 1850 all stimulated interest
in the industrial potential of the small commu-
nity. Flour milling was added to Campbell's
enterprise, and soon other lumber and grist mills
were established along the creek. The growing
settlement was surveyed for the first time in
1852, and when it acquired its first Post Office,
it was named not for Campbell, who had sold
out his holdings, but for another early settler,
Martin McCarty. McCarty, an Irish immigrant,
had realized the need for better transportation
into this growing area, so he built a road
through the tiny town and set up a toll gate at
what is today Big Basin Way at 3rd Street. The
town came to be know as Tollgate (or Toll
Gate), but officially it was McCartysville.
These first settlers built simple pioneer cot-
tages for themselves, a few of which survive,
such as the McWilliams house, now the office
of the Chamber of Commerce in the Historical
Park, and the John Henry house, at the corner of
Big Basin Way and 6th Street. They also began
to develop community institutions, such as the
Sons of Temperance, whose meeting hall on
Oak Street served as the site of Saratoga's first
public school. They established churches, a Post
Office, and Madronia cemetery, and despite the
active Sons of Temperance, McCartysville was
reported to be well supplied with saloons.
Industry continued to be attracted to the
small community where the creek provided a
ready supply of power. Lumbering also contin-
ued to be important, and the main street of
McCartysville was called Lumber Street by the
inhabitants. In 1871 the Saratoga and Pescadero
Turnpike was opened, improving the lumber
routes to the little town of Felton over the hill.
The flour and lumber mills were joined by a
tannery and by a successful paper milling indus-
try. One of the most colorful and visionary of
these early industrialists was Charles Maclay,
who bought up one of the mills, renaming it
Bank Mills, and then had the Post Office rename
the small town after his enterprise. Although he
went on to a noted career in finance, real estate
and the state legislature, he never succeeded in
convincing the settlers of McCartysville to call
their town Bank Mills.
The largest and most successful milling op-
erations were established by the brothers Erwin
and William King, with their Saratoga Paper
Mill, opened in 1868. This mill produced
butcher paper and was joined by another making
pasteboard. Industrial development was so suc-
cessful that inhabitants began to complain that
the creek was becoming polluted.
The homes of the King brothers remain in
Saratoga, one near the end of the Village busi-
ness district and the other on Oak Street. They
are typical of the more elaborate homes which
were now being built, many with the gables,
porches and complex trim that characterize the
Queen Anne style. But this period of industrial
prosperity was not to survive long. The paste-
board mill was moved gout of town in 1880, and
in 1883 the King brothers' Saratoga Paper Mill
burned to the ground, the fire fueled by the huge
stacks of straw needed to produce paper. The
only traces of those early mills are in the stones
of Maclay's Bank Mills, which were hauled off
after the 1906 earthquake to help build the Paul
Masson mountain winery.
Milling was not the only industry to excite
the early city fathers. There was great hope for
Saratoga as a mining center, first from copper,
and then silver, but the only successful extrac-
tive industry was lime quarrying for use in brick
building and in processing quicksilver. More
successful was the exploitation of the healthful
water which came from several springs above
the town. The springs had been located in the
1850s, and in 1864 the townspeople, hoping to
emphasize the similarity of their water to that of
the famous New York spa, voted to rename their
town Saratoga. So it was that a California town
came to have an Iroquois Indian name.
Shortly before the name change, a corpora-
tion had been formed to develop the springs,
and in 1866 the Congress Hall resort hotel
opened, its name echoing a site at Saratoga
Springs, New York. The original hotel was later
expanded, and became the center of the large
Pacific Congress Springs resort area, sur-
rounded by vacation homes, trails and picnic
spots. Saratoga's reputation as a resort center
spread in the 1880s and 90s, and other mineral
spas, picnic areas and resorts began to attract
visitors. One of the most popular of these new
resorts was at Long Bridge, on Congress
Springs Road, where the Saratoga Springs resort
is today. The hotel at the Pacific Congress
Springs resort burned down on June 15, 1903,
but Saratoga's reputation as a vacation site,
both for day trips and for long stays, was firmly
established.
As Saratoga was developing as a resort, it
was also being transformed from an industrial
center to an agricultural producer. There had
always been farmers in the area, but as the easy
supply of timber began to give out and the mills
moved away, ranching became the economic
core of Saratoga. Early fanners had produced
mostly grain, but in the 1880s fruit ranching
began to replace it. The problems with success-
ful fruit production are preservation and trans-
portation. The fruit that launched Saratoga's
industry was the French prune, which could be
inexpensively dried and thus preserved and re-
duced in bulk. The demand for dried fruit grew
rapidly, and large tracts around Saratoga were
planted to fruit trees. Soon prunes were fol-
lowed by apricots and grapes and to a lesser
extent by pears and apples. The remnants of this
agricultural age still remain in town, such as the
Novakovich ranch, where consumers can buy
fresh or dried fruit directly from its producers.
More numerous but harder to identify are the
small tank houses which still he behind many
older Saratoga homes. These two or three story
square structures were built originally for water
storage, but today are often transformed into
garages, storage sheds or guest cottages.
As fruit ranching grew, the community
continued to focus on its core around Lumber
and Oak streets. New and larger schools were
built near the site of the Sons of Temperance
hall in 1869 and again in the 1890s. Two
churches built during this era remain, now
adapted to different uses: the Methodist -
Episcopal church building which now serves as
a photography studio and St. John's Episcopal
church, which has been remodeled into a private
home. Many of the shops in the central business
district also date from our agricultural era. Two
which are easily identifiable are the Cloud store
building and the Hutchinson building which
flank 3rd Street at Big Basin Way, at the site of
Martin McCarty's toll gate. New commercial
buildings continued to be mixed with residences
on Lumber Street into the new century, includ-
ing the Saratoga Bank building with its reassur-
ing brick strength, (1913) and the Kerr building,
built in 1910 and remodeled many times over
the years. The only tenant remaining from that
era is the Saratoga Drug Store, where today one
can see the original decorated tin ceiling over
the modern pharmacy.
Saratoga's reputation as a beautiful spot
for an outing or vacation continued to grow
with the fruit orchards, and the first Saratoga
Blossom Festival in 1900 drew new visitors.
The festival was conceived by the Reverend
Edwin S. `Sunshine' Williams, a retired Congre-
gational minister, as a thanksgiving for the end
of a drought. It brought dozens, and in later
years thousands, of visitors to Saratoga to ride
through a sea of pink and white fruit blossoms.
The festival grew in size and offerings to
include musical performances, oratory and
athletic contests. The festival acquired its own
site, first on the banks of the creek, and later in a
natural amphitheater near Fruitvale Avenue and
Saratoga -Los Gatos Road. A highlight of the
1912 festival was a pageant of California history
which included Sarah Brown, daughter of
abolitionist John Brown of Harpers Ferry, who
had settled with her mother, Mary, in Saratoga
in 1881.
Early visitors to the Blossom Festival had
come by train to Los Gatos and were then trans-
ported by wagon to the orchards of Saratoga.
The festival's popularity led the Southern
Pacific Railroad to print special excursion tick-
ets for the guests, and after 1904 they could
travel all the way to Saratoga in modern cars of
the San Jose and Los Gatos Interurban Railway,
whose tracks carried passengers along Saratoga -
Los Gatos Road, up Lumber Street to the resorts
of Congress Springs, and down Saratoga Avenue
toward San Jose.
One day excursions to the Blossom Festival
brought many to town, but it also became popu-
lar as a longer vacation site. Small hotels like
Lunblad's Lodge, still located on Oak Street, or
the Saratoga Inn catered to guests from the San
Francisco area. Wealthier visitors began to build
imposing second homes in Saratoga, many of
them echoing historic architectural styles, with
Greek columns or Mediterranean arches. One of
the most beautiful of these large homes is the
Hayfield House, designed by Julia Morgan in
1920 -21 in the idiom of the English country
house. Miss Morgan, who at the time was also
working with William Randolph Hearst in the
development of San Simeon, has other associa-
tions with Saratoga. She was a college friend of
Grace Richards, a community leader, and was
commissioned to build the Saratoga Foothill
Clubhouse in 1915. The building remains virtu-
ally unchanged since its construction. She was
called back to Saratoga in 1923 to design the
original buildings for the Saratoga Federated
Church. The Mission Revival style of the
church buildings recalls themes she used at San
Simeon and in her designs for Mills College in
Oakland.
The most splendid of the country homes
built in Saratoga in the early years of this cen-
tury is Villa Montalvo, set in extensive grounds
in the foothills. It was built by wealthy San
Francisco banker James Phelan, who was to
become California's first directly elected Sena-
tor. He was a patron of the arts as well as a suc-
cessful businessman and politician, and
Montalvo was the site of visits from writers
Jack London and Joaquin Miller as well as
Phelan's good friend Gertrude Atherton. One of
the visitors during the 1915 Blossom Festival
was then Assistant Secretary of the Navy
Franklin Roosevelt.
After Phelan's death, Montalvo was left to a
foundation for development as an art center, a
role it continues to fill today. It also helped
Saratoga to become an art mecca, attracting
writers, painters and actors who created a lively
interest in local theater that continues today.
The 1930s were a difficult time in Saratoga,
as elsewhere, although agriculture continued to
be the firm foundation of the area's economy.
For a few years the programs of the Blossom
Festival had to be cut back because of hard
times, and it was eventually abandoned with the
coming of World War II. Although fruit ranch-
ing continued as the center of Saratoga's
economy into the early 1950s, the forces that
were to change the town were already working.
The interurban railroad was abandoned in 1933,
a victim of the growing popularity of the auto-
mobile.
Saratoga had always served to a small
extent as a bedroom community for the larger
San Jose, for many members of ranching fami-
lies made a part of their living from commercial
and professional lives in the city. With the easy
availability of the automobile Saratoga became
a more attractive commuter haven, and when the
Silicon Valley economy of the post -war years
began to explode, Saratoga's desirability grew.
Acres of fruit orchards were torn out beginning
in the 1950s, to be replaced by neat tracts of
single - family homes, as well as churches,
schools and shops to support the growing popu-
lation. Much of this new development took
place away from the traditional center of the
town, which had changed its name from Lumber
Street to Big Basin Way in 1926. As it grew
toward the north and east, it met the rapidly
expanding San Jose, and to protect itself from
being swallowed up Saratoga became an incor-
porated city in 1956. In an effort to keep a tie
with the past, one .of those new schools was
named Congress Springs. It too is now gone, a
victim of a declining population of young
people in the 1970s.
Suburb, art colony, agricultural center, resort
or industrial town — Saratoga is all of these.
The rich legacy of all these pasts is here to
enjoy today in the preservation of her historic
resources.
MADI(0)NIA L'H:,METERY
0
14766 Oak Street
Ed adronia Cemetery had
its origins in a donation of one
acre of land by Jose Ramon
Arguello to serve as a burial
place. The first burial in the
cemetery was reportedly that
of a young boy who was
drowned in the creek. In 1863
the city fathers of McCartys-
ville formed the Madronia
Cemetery District to manage
Arguello's gift. Among those
who are buried in the cemetery
is Mary Brown, widow of
abolitionist John Brown who
was hanged after the raid on
Harpers Ferry. Today's ceme-
tery comprises nearly ten and a
half acres near the top of Oak
Street, managed by the
Saratoga Cemetery District.
c. 1851)
20770 Wildwood Way
IT his home was built about
1851 by James Springer, an
early orchardist who had come
to California in 1841, and who
went on to serve in the State
legislature in 1858. The lumber
was prefabricated and marked,
then shipped around the Horn
to California where it was
assembled into a simple New
England style cottage. It has
been remodeled extensively
over the years, but it is still
possible to see its origins in its
roofline.
M'VI[,LI I IS (OUSE
20460 Saratoga -Los Gatos Road
IT his simple white house is
now a part of the Saratoga
Historical Park, but it was
originally located at 14407 Big
Basin Way, where it served as
the home of James Mc-
Williams, who was Saratoga's
second blacksmith.
HENRY
1858)
20611 Brookwood Lane
IT his house was built by
Henry Jarboe, Saratoga's first
blacksmith, who was also a
community leader involved in
the formation of the Madronia
Cemetery Association and the
establishment of the first
Saratoga School. It is two
stories, constructed and sided
with redwood.
1
19474 Burgundy Way
herrymount, the Brolly
family ranch, includes several
buildings of different eras, the
oldest of which is the granary,
dated 1860 from some old
newspapers found in its walls.
The Brolly family purchased
the ranch in 1888, and it
remains in the family today. In
1906 this was the first ranch in
Saratoga to be electrified.
1869)
14630 Big Basin Way
IT his simple pioneer cottage
was built by John Henry, the
engineer at the Saratoga Paper
Mill, on land he purchased from
Hannah McCarty, widow of one
of Saratoga's founders. The
house is built of heart redwood
with square nails and still in-
cludes a well at the rear of the
property.
FRAN('IS URE S R : OO US
14300 Saratoga Avenue
IT his house is built of
redwood with stone trim and
columns giving it a simple
neoclassical feeling. It was
built by pioneer Francis
Dresser, who lived there until
1879. Eventually it passed to
the Cunningham family, who
lived in the house until 1973.
c. 1870)
18500 Marshall Lane
IT his property is the remains
of a large fruit ranch first
developed in the 1870's. It is
named for the Belliciti family,
who purchased the ranch from
earlier owners in the 1940's. In
addition to the original barn
and other outbuildings, the
property includes a nineteenth
century farmhouse, extensively
remodeled in the 1950's.
rl p (1) M P14
14189 Saratoga Avenue
IT his simple one -story
house, with its steep - pitched
center gable, was built of
redwood believed to have been
milled in Big Basin. It was
built by Saratoga carpenter
Ludwig Thorny, and his
descendants continued to live
in the house until the 1970's.
c. 1870)
13616 Fruitvale Avenue
IT he original small ranch
house on this property was built
about 1870 by Thomas
Reynolds. When his daughter,
Lucy, married John Kerwin in
1899, the name changed to
Kerwin Ranch. The family
continued to farm the property,
first in vineyards and later in
apricots and prunes. The
property is still a working fruit
ranch, run by descendants of
the founders.
14605 Big Basin Way
IT his house was first owned
by John Chisolm, a local
wagonmaker, and occupied in
its early days by pioneer mill
owner, Erwin King. When King
departed after his mill burned,
Chisolm turned the house into
a saloon, and in the 1890's it
became a stage stop called the
Oriental Hotel. It is once again
a private home after extensive
restoration.
14672 Oak Street
1W illiam King was one of
the town's early industrialists,
founding the Saratoga Paper
Mill with his brother Erwin in
1869. He became Postmaster
and community leader until the
loss by fire of his mill brought
an end to his prosperity in 1883.
His wife, who lived in Saratoga
until her death in 1915, was
forced to open a boarding house
to make ends meet. Although
the house has been extensiveley
remodeled and added to over
the years, it is still possible to
see the simple pioneer origins.
13915 Saratoga Avenue
IT his house, with its creek -
rock chimney and stone wall,
was the home of G. W. Mc-
Grew, a Saratoga poet, who is
buried in a quaint marble -
enclosed grave in Madronia
Cemetery. It is possible that
Mary Brown, widow of
abolitionist John Brown, may
have stayed in the house in the
early 1880's.
c. 1880)
20271 Merrick Drive
UheReverend W.D. Pollard
was co- founder, with William
Rice, of Saratoga's Christian
Church (Disciples of Christ),
in 1878. Pollard and Rice were
also among the first Saratogans
to plant fruit orchards, including
the French prune which was to
be the basis of Saratoga's fruit
growing prosperity. The house
was originally part of a 40 -acre
orchard, but now sits on less
than two acres amid modern
development
BS
19855 Douglass Lane
IT his large house and its
grounds are all that remain of
the Crowell ranch, one of Sara -
toga's earliest fruit ranches.
Larger and more imposing than
earlier ranch houses, this home
was the site of moonlight gar-
den parties and musical
evenings for guests from
around the Santa Clara Valley.
1061'
I'H•,19 11.9, 10111111131011 M. ()USI•.
c. 1880's)
20105 Rancho Bella Vista
Uhis house, a simple farm-
house with Classic Revival
decorations, sat originally in
an 11 acre orchard. It was owned
by members of the Sterne -
Andres families until 1976.
13991 Saratoga Avenue
IT his simple g abled
farmhouse was built in the
1880's for the Meason family
by Willis Morrison, who was
the father of Mrs. John Cox,
from another pioneering
Saratoga ranching family.
NI3,I,OMIZZ F'MI1I)I.N
c. 1880's)
20851 Saratoga Hills Road
his property, originally
owned by William Rice, was
developed as a fruit ranch in the
early 1880's by the Shumers,
who called it Shady Oak Glen.
The land remained with the
Shumer and Gloyd families
until purchased in the 1930's by
Frank Nelson, whose father had
worked on the ranch. The small
buildings on the property have
little historical significance, but
Mr. Nelson deeded the property
to a public foundation in the
hope that the property could be
preserved as an example of
traditional agricultural land in
the Santa Clara Valley.
14669 Big Basin Way
IT his house, near the west
end of Saratoga Village, was
originally part of property
owned by Hannah McCarty.
Antonio Fabretti purchased it
in 1881 and built this house
where he lived with his wife,
Maria, until his death in 1890.
One of his descendants became
a successful San Jose stock-
broker and built a house on
Saratoga Avenue.
c. 1882)
14510 -14540 Big Basin Way
IT his house, which was
moved from its original location
on Marion Avenue, was the
home of Judge J.E. Foster, who
served as Justice of the Peace
and County Roadmaster from
1892 until his death in 1898.
His wife served as the President
of the Soldiers and Sailors Aid
Society during the Spanish -
American War.
I121M. L' U9a19(I : AM P3 0)U I' III
14075 Saratoga Avenue
IT his house was built in
1882 forEbenezer andAmanda
Cunningham, early civic
leaders in Saratoga. He was
among the founders of the
Methodist Church and served
as a trustee of Madronia
Cemetery. The Cunninghams'
daughter, Florence, continued
to live in the home after her
parents' deaths and pursued her
avocation as a local historian.
She was instrumental in
forming the Saratoga Historical
Foundation, and her book
Saratoga 's FirstHundred Years
is the basis for much that we
know about Saratoga's early
history.
U'I'1
11 II,I0N(
1884)
14495 Big Basin Way
IT his is one of a pair of
commercial buildings in
Saratoga built by John Hutchin-
son, an early Postmaster and
owner of the limestone quarry.
It originally had a meat market
on the ground floor with a
meeting hall upstairs. Although
it was modified in the 1950's
and damaged in the 1989 earth-
quake, one can still see evidence
of the ten - inch -thick stone walls
on the ground floor.
OrCIL UI) -SMIT : UILDING
1884,1896)
14501 -14503 Big Basin Way
IT he eastern P ortion of this
building was built by John
Hutchinson in 1884 and
operated as a general store by
Sam Cloud, who came to
Saratogain 1893. After Cloud's
wife and daughter, Laura,
came to Saratoga in 1895,
Cloud added on to the building,
constructing additional storage
space and a residence with
ornate Victorian trim and a
wrap - around porch. Laura's
husband, Tom Smith, con-
tinued to operate the store after
Cloud was killed in a streetcar
accident in front of his store in
1907.
111,
14,1411 1 P3 I
1885)
14711 Fruitvale Avenue
IL"his house was built for
rancher J.B. Ellis in a 16 acre
orchard. Among the early
owners were Mr. and Mrs.
George Foster. Mrs. Foster was
a founding member of the
Foothill Club. The house was
remodeled in 1938 by architect
Clifford Conly, and much of
the original elaborate decorative
trim was removed.
14524 Oak Street
IT his house was constructed
about 1886. The Hanchett
family lived in it for many
years. It was acquired in the
1940's by Mr. and Mrs. Harold
Wurtsbaugh, who converted
the home into apartments.
Although much changed and
added to since then, it is still
possible to see the original
outlines of the house.
KI IN
c. 1886)
14666 Oak Street
IT his house was constructed
to serve as a parsonage for
Saratoga's Congregational
Church. The church, chartered
in 1872, was the first permanent
religious organization in
Saratoga. The Reverend Will-
iam Merritt was appointed
pastor in 1875, and it was for
him that the parsonage was
built.
Fruitvale and Saratoga Avenues
IT his orchard, at the
southwest corner of Fruitvale
and Saratoga Avenues, was
originally part of the large
Marion- Cox - Kitchen-
Seagraves Ranch. It has been
preserved by the City of
Saratoga as a link with our
agricultural past and continues
to be a producing orchard for
apricots and prunes.
18490 Ravenwood Drive
D
D uilt in 1888 by Charles
Brandenburg and Hy (Henry)
Hutton, this house was home to
Brandenburg and his wife
Sarah, who were early ranchers.
It was purchased in 1913 by
Anna E. Dierks, who made a
number of changes, but it is
still possible to see its farm
origins, including the former
tank house, now connected to
the main structure.
14120 Saratoga Avenue
IT his is a simple Queen
Anne style house which sits
well back from Saratoga
Avenue in the remainder of a
fruit orchard. It was built for
Carson Cunningham, a mem-
ber of one of Saratoga's pioneer
families.
c. late 1880's)
12239 Titus Avenue
IT his simple farmhouse
originally contained only three
rooms. It was built about the
end of the 1880's by James and
Christina Andersen, who had
emigrated from Denmark. This
ten acre fruit ranch was bounded
on the west by the Hansens,
Mrs. Andersen's sister, where
today's elementary school is
located.
PINI AI IY I I 1NI1)Ia,NI UI( : (1)UI.
13939 Quito Road
IT his house was built by
Harry Brandenburg, who had
crossed the plains to California
in 1861. He farmed 10 acres of
fruit on the property until 1933.
Although the house was
remodeled in the 1940's, it still
sits on its original redwood
mudsills.
A Ia I:. I:. N 'I' () ywal) I
c. 1890)
14519 Big Basin Way
IT his commercial building,
so named because of its origi-
nal color, was constructed by
Daniel McCarty, son of Martin
McCarty, after whom the
original village was named. It
has the high false front and
ornamentation typical of an
1890's commercial building,
but is really only a single story.
The decorative medallion in
the center of the high front is a
1950's addition.
1
20900 Big Basin Way
his house was built for
Harry Maclay, son of early
community leader and indus-
trialist Charles Maclay. The
elder Maclay, owner of the
Bank Mills, lived across the
street in a house that has since
been demolished. This house
preserves many of the archi-
tectural details typical of the
Queen Anne style.
c. 1890)
14199 Saratoga Avenue
IT his bungalow, known as
Four Pines because of a post
sign found on the property, was
built by Mr. H. Morgan, and
passed through several families
until sold to the present owners
in 1983. It was claimed that the
property was originally a Wells
Fargo staging post, but a more
probable location for the staging
post was further west on
Saratoga Avenue. The house
was added on to in 1990 by
creating an exact replica of the
original bungalow on the west
side, giving the appearance of
twin attached houses.
N(0)VA XIVIC'
14251 Fruitvale Avenue
IT his ro ert contains aPPY
well preserved Queen Anne
house as well as a modified
tank house and barns, still
sitting at the center of a work-
ing fruit ranch. Although sur-
rounded by modern develop-
ment, the ranch echoes Sara -
toga's past as it continues to
produce fruit for sale to the
public.
gppi : 1 VIN 1.:Y i, 1- NOR
c. 1890)
20600 Lomita Avenue
annah McCarty, born in
Ireland in 1834, came to the
United States in 1852 and
married Martin McCarty, after
whom Saratoga was originally
named. After her husband's
death in 1864, Hannah became
an enterprising business woman
and owner of many properties
in Saratoga. She built this house
in about 1890 in her vineyard
at the end of Aloha Avenue.
20640 Third Street
IT his warehouse is a wood -
sided barn-like structure with
deep stone foundations. It
retains its original hay loft and
carnage doors, built to give
access to its storage areas. It
was built by Sam Cloud, who
operated the general store at
the front of the property.
W-3I'ANII''I:.I
1892)
20570 Marion Avenue
IT his pioneer farmhouse,
which still contains much of
the original decorative trim,
was built in 1892 in an area
then known as 'Poverty Flat'.
The builder was probably
James Randolph Stamper,
connected by marriage to the
pioneer Cox family. The
Stamper family, long active in
community affairs, still owns
the house and small surround-
ing orchard.
20731 Marion Avenue
IT his house was built around
1892 for the Reverend W. D.
Pollard, who earlier had been a
pioneer orchardist on his
property on Merrick Drive.
Together with William Rice, he
had introduced the French prune
to Saratoga. Pollard and Rice
had also been instrumental in
establishing the Saratoga
Christian Church in 1878.
K I IR O I' I I
c. 1895)
14521 Big Basin Way
IT his tiny gabled house was
home to Mrs. Grover, active
in community and church
affairs in early -day Saratoga.
She lived in the house, now a
commercial building, with her
son, Henry.
NAI I)II., (1)USE
14650 Sixth Street
IT his house is one of the few
Queen Anne cottages remain-
ing in the commercial center
of Saratoga. It originally sat
on a lot that ran to Lumber
Street (Big Basin Way). Owned
by Hannah McCarty, it later
passed to John Henry, an
engineer at the Saratoga Paper
Mill. In 1987 the house was
rehabilitated and converted to
commercial use, including
raising the structure to provide
needed parking underneath.
1896)
20490 Saratoga -Los Gatos Road
IT his simple white wooden
church, designed by Charles
Boosinger, was constructed
under the direction of the
Reverend Thomas Hopkins. A
traditional spire -style steeple
was added in 1903 (the present
steeple and clock are modern
additions). In 1924 the church
became agallery for local artist
Theodore Wores, and during
World ' War I1 served as
headquarters for the Red Cross
and Civil Defense.
14700 Sixth Street
e
lthough there had been
Episcopal services in Saratoga
since 1884, members of the
church had had to worship in
various community halls in the
village. In 1895 -96, members
of the congregation purchased
this property on Sixth Street,
and the first service was held in
the church on September 20,
1896. Services were held in
the little church until July 1919,
when it was sold and converted
into a residence.
c. 1896)
13777 Fruitvale Avenue
IT his house was originally a
farm house located at the end of
Sousa Lane in Saratoga. It was
moved in the summer of 1990
from the path of Highway 85,
and now serves the City of
Saratoga as an adjunct to City
Hall and as the City's Teen
Center. It was built by bachelor
rancher Warner Hutton on the
200 acre ranch he acquired from
his parents, and although it was
added onto, it still maintains
many of the original interior
and exterior architectural
details.
l "1'I.I..MI..N'I'
14683 Oak Street
IT his handsome Queen
Anne house has been carefully
restored to make it an
outstanding example of this
style. It was built in 1897 and
purchased in 1907 by the
Saratoga Congregational
Church, for use by the Saratoga
Missionary Settlement. This
group hoped to use the proper-
ty to give comfort and assis-
tance to returned missionaries.
Although the group never
achieved all of its ends, the
house did serve as a retreat for
the Reverend Cole, a mission-
ary to Alaska.
14605 Big Basin Way
IT his property is associated
with the Erwin King House,
behind which it sits. It was
constructed for M.E. Pettis,
manager of the Oriental Hotel,
whose relative, W.W. Pettis,
operated his Santa Clara Stage
Line from this barn. He took
passengers to connect up with
the railroad in Los Gatos, as
well as to other areas of the
valley. His stage line died out
after the coming of the
interurban railway.
z 77,7717yVa
IT his property is associated
with the Erwin King House,
behind which it sits. It was
constructed for M.E. Pettis,
manager of the Oriental Hotel,
whose relative, W.W. Pettis,
operated his Santa Clara Stage
Line from this barn. He took
passengers to connect up with
the railroad in Los Gatos, as
well as to other areas of the
valley. His stage line died out
after the coming of the
interurban railway.
GUNBHINI:. "[[,LI 1 i ('kI EP21 &ZH.[ '
1) U [.,'
pre- •11
14901 Fruitvale Avenue
IT he first occupants of this
well - preserved pioneer cottage
were Mr. and Mrs. Nils Larson,
who worked for the Reverend
Edwin Sidney (Everlasting
Sunshine) Williams. Williams,
a retired Congregational
minister, owned a large
property at 'Sunshine Hill' on
Three Oaks Way. In 1899,
following two years of drought,
Reverend Williams proposed a
festival of thanksgiving, which
grew into the famed Saratoga
Blossom Festival.
c. 1900)
14690 Oak Street
ne of the last Queen Anne
style cottages built in Saratoga,
this small house, once part of
the larger property of Mrs. Sara
Dale, was on a part of Rancho
Quito. This house and its tank
house were saved when the
larger residence burned in the
1920's. The house, parts of
which still sit on its original
mud sills, has belonged to the
Van Arsdale family since 1946.
13361 Argonne Drive
IT his large Craftsman styleY
house was built about the turn
of the century for Johnson and
Lou Kerr. Mr. Kerr was a
leading citizen of the town,
builder of the Kerr building
which still stands on Big Basin
Way, and a founder of the
Saratoga State Bank in 1913.
The house was in a large fruit
ranch which was owned in later
years by the Miljevich family,
which continued to produce
fruit there until the early 1980's.
FAAINI(' Pei Psi I I
c. 1900)
14701 Oak Street
IT his single story pioneer
cottage was built about 1900.
Although the original owner is
unknown, it was owned around
1905 by Julia McLean. Large
oaks and a picket fence
highlight this small house,
which retains its clapboard
walls and simple porch.
ANNA : EE OUSN:
21120 Wardell Road
knna Bee, a native of
Maine, purchased 25 acres and
built a house on this property
about 1902. It is often known
as the Wooster House, for it
was in that family from 1921 to
1965. A later owner, Marcelle
Venator, was an early woman
sportscaster. In addition to the
large residence in the Princess
Anne transitional style, the
property also includes an
arboretum and a barn now on a
separate parcel.
ISM A S A T n (1 A`VZ(1)
1903)
14488 Oak Street
IT his cast iron bell, now
missing its clapper, played an
important role in fire protection
in turn -of- the - century Saratoga.
It was mounted in a tower next
to the town jail, at Fourth and
Lumber Streets, where it was
rung to call out volunteer
firemen. The bell was moved in
1962 to its present location in
front of Fireman's Hall.
13471 Saratoga Avenue
e
lthough the original
owners of this Craftsman house
are unknown, it was owned by
Florence Rowen from 1937 to
1989. It was originally a large
single family residence, but
was converted to a duplex in
1937. The double door of the
original house was used to
provide access to the two units.
c. 1904)
13935 Saratoga Avenue
his house was originally a
small summer home. In the
1930's it was the site of the
Great Lakes Nursery, operated
by Steven S. Jarrett. The nursery
featured goldfish ponds in the
shapes of the Great Lakes, as
well as hundreds of varieties of
plants.
ARATO(GA 1EHO201RICILI MUSEUM
T "ANEE'O UI'IESO 5 : DI )
1904-1905)
20450 Saratoga -Los Gatos Road
rig inally the home of the
Saratoga Drug Store, and
located on Big Basin Way, this
small commercial building,
with its stepped false front, has
also served as a candy store,
grocery, variety store, and for
many years as a dress shop. It
was moved to its present
location in the Historical Park
in 1976 during Saratoga's
bicentennial celebrations, and
is now maintained as a museum
of Saratoga history by the
Saratoga Historical Founda-
tion.
023313111911
1904)
20360 Saratoga -Los Gatos Road
IT his home is one of the first
of Saratoga's 'great houses' and
an excellent example of Spanish
colonial revival architecture. It
was built for Mr. and Mrs. David
Bell, early community leaders.
Mr. Bell helped to involve
Saratoga in the traveling library
system in 1903, and Mrs. Bell,
together with her neighbor Mrs.
George Wood, donated the land
for the Saratoga Foothill Club.
15095 Fruitvale Avenue
TIPP
JJV air Oaks is an imposingPg
house combining Prairie and
classic revival architectural
elements. Among its early
owners was William Sherman,
who had been both Fire and
Police Chief for San Francis-
co. During December 1941, a
carriage house on the property
housed soldiers from Fort Ord.
The house was for many years
the home of the Caswell family,
Saratoga artists, writers and
musicians.
14534 Oak Street
4L lthough originally built as
a single - family home, for most
of its life this building has been
a lodge and restaurant. The
business was started by Mr. and
Mrs. Ludwig Lundblad in 1918
and continued by their daugh-
ter, Hazel Lundblad Bargas,
until her retirement in1971. It
was a popular place for vaca-
tioners and boarders, including
Olivia de Havilland and Joan
Fontaine. Mrs. Bargas' reputa-
tion as a cook made Sunday
dinner at Lundblad's Lodge a
local tradition.
14024 Saratoga Avenue
IT his square, two -story
clapboard house sits on
property originally owned by
John Hourecan, an Irish
immigrant settler. His daughter,
Agnes, married prominent
Saratoga doctor Robert Hogg.
Their descendents still live in
the house. The property orig-
inally contained 80 acres of
grain and fruit, and the house
sits today in several acres of
mature landscaping.
c. 1906)
14739 Oak Street
IT his pioneer house, origi-
nally one story, was probably
built by Emil and Nellie Henri s,
who conveyed it in 1906 to
Herman Henris. In 1938, the
lower portion of the property
facing St. Charles Street, was
sold off by the owner, Albert C.
Hayes.
IS. 'I' 'I'EYL0M EDUBM
1906-1907)
14421 Saratoga - Sunnyvale Road
IT his large redwood
shingled house is one of three
private residences in Saratoga
believed designed by Julia
Morgan. It has the arched
window and wide eaves
characteristic of her Crafts-
man-style buildings, like the
Foothill Clubhouse. Mr.
Taylor, the original owner, was
California's first Supreme
Court Reporter. In later years
it was used as a vacation
boarding house, and Richard
Nixon was one of the guests as
a youth.
tiAMIS-1(
1) : I.:I1I (I.aISt)I.Nti
1906 -1910)
14625 Fruitvale Avenue
IT his property was originally
the site of a fruit drying yard
belonging to A.N. Van Fleet,
and later known as Adair's Dry
Yard. Mr. Davenport acquired
the property and dismantled the
dryer, using the lumber to build
the present Craftsman style
house. It was purchased in 1962
by the Saso family, who added
a second story. The property
today contains over 1000
varieties of herbs, plants and
trees, including many exotic
specimen plants.
E P-101 I J w M
o , s
13089 Quito Road
IT his excellent example of
the Craftsman style was built
by Frank E. Mitchell for his
son, Wilber. Frank was born in
Mokelumne in 1864 and came
to San Jose with his parents in
1868. His father purchased
this property in 1878 and
planted one of the area's earliest
prune orchards. Frank Mitchell
served as a Santa Clara County
Supervisor from 1904 to 1920.
The home remained in the
Mitchell family until 1961.
1r. I I II: (1) ( I( w I0 1 1*411) 1
1910)
14413 -14415 Big Basin Way
Zohnson Kerr built this one-
and -a -half- story, false front
commercial block building in
1910. In 1914 it was purchased
by Dr. Robert Hogg, who leased
it to various tenants. From 1910
to 1964, the structure housed
the Post Office. One of the
original tenants was the
Saratoga Drug Store, which still
occupies the shop at the eastern
end of the buiding. It is still
possible to see the original tin
ceiling of the building in the
drug store, which is the oldest
business at the same location in
Saratoga.
19221 Saratoga -Los Gatos Road
e
lthough this home is of
one story and in the Craftsman
style, it is an imposing example
of the country homes being
built in Saratoga at this time. It
still occupies its extensive
grounds, which can be enjoyed
from the broad roofed veranda
which spans the front of the
house. It was originally the
home of the Tibbett family;
Mr. Tibbett was an engineer on
the Antioch Bridge.
1 M, ES ICI(' : WR4Ir)S M. OO USF.
c. 19 10)
20150 Bonnie Brae Lane
IT he first owners of this
house were Mr. and Mrs. James
Richards. Mr. Richards was
founding member of the
Saratoga Men's Club and the
Madronia Cemetery District.
His wife had been chairman of
the committee which had raised
funds to build the Saratoga
Library and helped bring Julia
Morgan to Saratoga to build the
Federated Church.
FIF..I)MI'T : (1)CJSpop
c. 1910)
13850 Saratoga Avenue
IT his simple one -story
redwood bungalow was owned
in the 1920's and 1930's by
Fred Smith, who taught biol-
ogy at San Jose State College.
He also owned the adjoining
property at 13860 Saratoga
Avenue and grew lupins and
raised exotic roosters on his
property.
ICI I 1 1I, I.'. I : U t 1 I:.
1909 -1911)
12795 Saratoga - Sunnyvale Road
IT he house was built
between 1909 and 1911 by
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Miller on
land which Mrs. Miller, born
Lillian Malone, had inherited.
Mr. Miller ran a gas station and
repair shop on the property as
well as a general store. The gas
station was closed in 1968, but
Mrs. Miller continued to live
on the property for many years.
The property includes a bam,
once used for auto repairs, as
well as a windmill and an aviary.
I.ANM' : FAI1 : (0)U0E
13855 Saratoga Avenue
his two -story Craftsman
style house has unusually
ornate creekstone trim on the
pillars and under the windows
of the house front, arranged in
circular patterns to resemble
flowers. There is evidence that
this is one of several similar
houses built in the area at the
same time.
1911)
20375 Saratoga -Los Gatos Road
IT he dramatic neoclassical
architecture of this house, as
well as its proximity to the
center of Saratoga, make it one
of the best known of Saratoga's
great houses. It was built for
Mr. and Mrs. George Wood just
five years after the San
Francisco earthquake, and it
contains steel "I" beams in its
thirteen inch thick foundations.
The Woods were both com-
munity leaders, and Mrs. Wood
was one of the donors of land
for the Foothill Club.
AI.M(1)NI)
14475 Oak Place
LUmily Ruth Harris (Mrs.
John) Bell, built this house as
a widow on land she purchased
from her brother -in -law, David
Bell, owner of the imposing
home Bellgrove. The broad
sloping roof covers a porte
cochere which was the original
location of the home's entrance.
The original carriage house for
the property is now separated
from it by Oak Place and is a
separate residence.
W' I I. I.0 I01I.
1912)
20330 Saratoga -Los Gatos Road
IT his home sits on property
originally purchased by Hannah
McCarty and later owned by
T. S. Montgomery, whose home
was nearby. The villa, in a
Mediterranean style, was built
by the J.G. Kennedys, who
came from Palo Alto. The
Hamm family, later owners,
installed one of Saratoga's first
tennis courts. The home is
named for the two large deodar
cedars which flank the front of
the villa.
VILLA M(1)N'I'.I.V(1)
15400 Montalvo Road
IThis gimosin Italian styleimposing
villa was constructed for James
Phelan, successful San
Francisco banker, as a country
retreat. Phelan was also a leader
of California's Progressive
movement, and became our
first directly elected Senator.
It is named for the Spanish
fabulist who coined the name
California. Senator Phelan
used the villa to entertain
friends from politics and
business, as well as many of
the best known writers and
artists of his day, and after his
death the villa became an art
center.
1912)
14500 Fruitvale Avenue
IT he Odd Fellows purchased
the land on which this complex
stands from the Dexter family
in 1906 and dedicated the
Mission Revival style complex
on May 15, 1912. Some of the
barns and outbuldings on the
property are supposed to date
from the original farm and were
kept so that the home could be
self- sufficient. The original
grounds were designed by John
McLaren, designer of San
Francisco Golden Gate Park.
DNN1@Y- A1BN.,RNA'I' : Y AUIDUOM
0
21060 Saratoga Hills Road
IT he first known owners of
this property were Ed Gloyd
and John Dover, who came to
Saratoga from Ohio in the
1890's and developed a fruit
ranch. John Dover and his
wife Bertha built the Craftsman
house between 1913 and 1920.
The house then passed to Bruce
Bonney, a San Francisco
jeweler, who used it as a
summer house. In the 1940's,
46 acres of the property were
sold off and subdivided. Today
the house retains about an acre
of land.
c. 1913)
20400 Saratoga -Los Gatos Road
IT his stone wall, which now
serves as aretaining wall across
the front of the Lady of Fatima
retirement care home, is all that
remains of the imposing
summer home once belonging
to San Jose developer and
realtor, T.S. Montgomery. The
wall, believed to be of stone
from Saratoga Creek, was built
after the interurban railway was
constructed on Saratoga -Los
Gatos Road.
1913)
14421 Big Basin Way
IT he Classic Revival style
brick building was constructed
in 1913 to house the first bank
in Saratoga. In 1917 it became
the Garden City Bank and was
eventually acquired by the
Bank of America who used it
until 1958. Although now
used as a cocktail lounge, the
building still contains the
original vault.
1914111 I J Cl/ U 1LJ
1914)
14051 Saratoga - Sunnyvale Road
Neil Carmichael, the
original owner of this house,
owned saw mills on the west
side of the Santa Cruz
Mountains and hauled lumber
through Saratoga to his planing
mill and lumber yard in San
Jose. He and his wife, Belle,
were community leaders, and
he was among those who
established the small park at
Blaney Plaza.
20399 Park Place
his is an early design, in
the Craftsman style, by famed
architect Julia Morgan. It was
constructed for the women of
the Foothill Study Club on land
donated by Mrs. D.C. Bell and
Mrs. G.A. Wood and funded
by contributions from the
community. It has been in
continuous use by the club
since its construction and is
listed on the National Register
of Historic Places.
1915)
19161 Cox Avenue
IT his is an excellent example
of the Craftsman style of
architecture, with its squat
creekstone pillars, stone
chimney and broad, low pitched
roof. It was built by Joseph
Cox on part of the Cox family's
315 acre Saratoga holdings.
Joseph's father, William, had
come to California by covered
wagon in 1852 and had become
a prosperous rancher. The
house is still occupied today by
members of the Cox family.
1110011011V' i U li I.I. IRAN(;
13631 Saratoga Avenue
IT his ranch was established
in 1878 by John Hinsley
Ellsworth, an English
immigrant, on land that was
once part of the Quito Rancho.
Six generations of the same
family have lived and farmed
on the property, which was
named for a village in England.
Today's two -story bungalow,
with its twin date palms
flanking the entrance to the
drive, dates from 1916.
I3 .I. 1%ILI.I'I)
1916)
20601 Brookwood Lane
IT his is one of Saratoga's
summer houses, built in 1916
for F.B. Willard, an executive
of San Francisco's City of Paris
department store. It is an
elaborate example of the
Craftsman style, with multiple
gables and porches, and still
includes extensive grounds with
their outbuildings.
VV : STEF- SUTROO : OO US
14445 Donna Lane
IT his is a well P reserved
home from Saratoga's 'great
house' era, built for the Webster
family, whose children attend-
ed local schools. It is in the
Dutch colonial style, charact-
erized by a dramatic gambrel
roof and connected to its land-
scaping with acolumned arbor.
1917)
20021 Bella Vista
IT his elaborate villa, which
includes nearly 20 rooms as
well as a bell tower, was
designed by San Francisco
architect Willis Polk on the site
of the original Farwell Ranch.
Frank Farwell had been an early
settler of the town, involved in
founding many of its civic
institutions. The house was built
for Mr. and Mrs. Charles
Blaney, cousins of the Farwells,
who were also community
leaders as well as creators of
this showplace estate. It later
passed to Robert Kirkwood,
Assemblyman and State
Controller.
21000 Big Basin Way
IT he g arden was created for
Mr. and Mrs. Oliver Stine and
named for the Fuji Hakone Park
in Japan, which contains
mineral springs similar to
Saratoga's. The garden was
designed by N. Aihara, a
relative of the gardener to the
Emperor of Japan, adhering
faithfully to the principles of
the Zen garden of the 17th
century. The Upper House,
built in 1917, was designed by
Japanese architect T. Shintani.
The park now belongs to the
City of Saratoga which has
taken care to preserve its
authenticity.
IMI.M(1)I IV 1I. AI C'
1919)
Saratoga -Los Gatos Road at Saratoga Avenue
IT his simple brick and stucco
arch was designed by architect
Bruce Porter as Saratoga's
memorial to those who lost their
lives in World War I. It stood
originally in the center of
Blaney Plaza, a park which had
been created by local leaders to
mark the entrance to the town.
In 1965 the State widened the
highway, cutting through the
park and leaving only small
triangles on each side of busy
Saratoga -Los Gatos Road. The
arch is the site of a plaque
marking Saratoga as State
Registered Landmark #435.
I: Evrir4 /r.D 1EDUOU
1920-1921)
20235 La Paloma Avenue
Un 1919, Mr. and Mrs.
Chauncey Goodrich hired
famed architect Julia Morgan
to design their country house
on 17 acres of hayfields which
they owned in Saratoga.
Morgan lived in a rented house
on the property while designing
and overseeing the construction
of the house. It is a California
interpretation of the English
country house, with front and
rear porches giving easy ac-
cess to the extensive grounds.
HAYH "'II:I.I) L'AI MIS1'1: 1i..I 1UII,Io)IN(S
1920)
14315 Douglass Lane
4 hese buildings were
designed by Julia Morgan to
mark the entrance for the
Goodrich estate (Hayfield
House). Like the main house,
the gatehouse echoes the
English country house, but with
a distinctive California feel.
The garage building next to it
is also formal, with its sliding
doors set apart by Tudor
columns and caps.
14275 Saratoga Avenue
j arly owners of this house,
built in a deeply wooded
setting, were Mr. and Mrs.
John Higinbotham, authors of
travel books; Mr. Higin-
botham was also a columnist
for the local newspaper. The
home has been owned since
the 1950's by Mr. and Mrs.
Willys Peck, long active in
Saratoga community life. In
addition to the Craftsman
house, the property also
includes an outdoor theater and
a working miniature railroad.
I. ' IX. N :'
c. 1920)
20280 Saratoga -Los Gatos Road
IT his home was built near
the end of the 'great house' era,
combining elements of the
Mediterranean style with the
Craftsman details popular in the
1920's. In the 1940's it was
owned by Dr. George W.
Phillips, who was an early Bay
Area radio preacher on station
KTAB, forerunner of today's
station KSFO.
G RA' (: (, F li`: I1) F.. RA T F (CEUIRCIE
1923, with later additions)
20390 Park Place
IT his interdenominational
church was founded with the
union of the Congregational
and Christian churches in 1920.
After a fund drive was suc-
cessful in raising the needed
money, architect Julia Morgan
was hired to design the Mission
Revival church. The first
service was held on November
4,1923. On December 7,194 1,
ground was broken for a new
wing to the church and a further
addition was made in 1963.
1923 -1924)
14592 Oak Street
IT he present school was
built in 1923, however, this is
the third school building on
this site near the Sons of
Temperance Hall which had
served as the original Saratoga
School. Saratoga children have
been attending school at this
site since the 1860's, when the
first one -room school was built.
In front of today's school is the
bell of the 1898 school.
Although it has been expanded
and remodeled to meet
earthquake safety standards,
the school retains its original
character, including the
handcrafted tiles above the
main entrance.
F(1)N'I'AINIi ()USF,
20250 La Paloma Avenue
1.11 a Paloma Terrace (now
Avenue) was developed by T.S.
Montgomery in 1915, and in
1923 Mrs. George Fontaine
hired San Jose architect
Andrew P. Hill, Jr., to design
this Tudor style house on the
three lots she owned on the
terrace. She moved into the
house in 1924 with her two
daughters, later famous as
actresses Olivia de Havilland
and Joan Fontaine. In 1959
Mrs. Fontaine sold the house
to Mr. and Mrs. Warren Heid;
Mr. Heid was a charter mem-
ber of the Heritage Preservation
Commission.
1924 -1926)
14280 Saratoga Avenue
IT his stone house, with its
fairy -tale appearance, was built
originally as a tool shed for
Luther Cunningham, an early
rancher and inventor of farm
machinery who lived next door.
It is supposed to contain stones
from 15 countries, every county
in California, and 43 of the
United States. There are
cobblestones from San
Francisco and rubble from the
ruins at Stanford University
after the 1906 earthquake, as
well as a black walnut interior
door from the home of the
California pioneer Arguello
family.
MMV I
1927)
14410 Oak Street
IT his library was funded by
public subscription, raised by a
committee of community
leaders headed by Mrs. James
T. Richards. Sheldon Patterson,
a member of that committee,
arranged the donation of the
land for the library and
supervised its construction until
his death in 1926. He is
commemorated by a plaque on
the front of the building. The
library was designed by architet
Eldredge Spencer, whose firm
also designed the new Saratoga
Library of 1978. It is one of the
first buildings ever to be con-
structed of concrete block.
t1[
1929)
15320 Peach Hill Road
IT his home, constructed just
before the Depression, is one
of the last of Saratoga's 'great
house' period. It was designed
by Birge Clark, Palo Alto
architect, who is responsible
for many of that city's civic
buildings. It is an outstanding
and elaborate example of the
Monterey Colonial style of
architecture, which Clark often
favored for his private homes.
20252 Hill Avenue
Ii ike many gofSarato a's
large homes, this stucco
Mediterranean villa was built
as a summer home by Mrs. O.A.
Hale, widow of the founder of
the San Jose department store
chain. Mrs. Hale eventually
lived year -round in the house,
and, after her death, it passed to
her daughter Clarissa, who was
married to the writer, Hugh
Studdert Kennedy.
ICIM II)I'1 ONI-. M3 I I NO1.
c. 1930)
Madrone Hill Road
e
lthough only ruined traces
of the building on this site
remain, the dramatic land-
scaping on five acres of the
property is still visible. The
property is approached by a
drive lined with walls of
limestone from Knight's Ferry
and with Napa stone. At one
point, the walls are high enough
to arch over the road, creating
a bridge wide enough for
vehicles. The rock work, as
well as the gardens, fountains
and ponds, were created for
John Scannavino, one of the
founders of the Bank of
America.
14065 Saratoga Avenue
IT his house is an outstanding
example of the 1920's
California bungalow, still
retaining original details
designed by Florence
Cunningham. Daughter of a
pioneer Saratoga family, Miss
Cunningham was the author of
Saratoga's First Hundred
Years, a source for much of
what we know today about
Saratoga's early history.
I'AUI. MA S(1)N M(1)UN'I'AIN
1936)
14820 Pierce Road
7 intner Paul Masson came
to California in 1878 and
married the daughter of wine
grower Charles LeFranc. In
1896 he began to develop his
Saratoga winery on land which
lies just outside the city limits
on Pierce Road. After his
retirement he built this country
retreat in the style of a
Burgundy chateau. Although
he never lived in the house,
Masson often used it to
entertain friends, and he lay in
state in the house after his death
in 1940.
15231 Quito Road
IT his house was built by
Maude Meagher and Carolyn
Smiley, who used it as
headquarters for their
magazine, World Youth. The
adobe bricks were built by hand
on the site, and the roof tiles
were handmade in Santa
Barbara— reportedly the last
built for the California
Missions. The builders had no
formal experience in architec-
ture. They simply built rooms
as needed and worked out
problems by trial and error.
The house now contains over
13,000 square feet and is re-
ported to be the largest hand-
made adobe house in California.
1959)
13150 Saratoga Avenue
IT his mosaic was created to
mark the ramp at the entrance
to the Paul Masson Champagne
Cellars. The 153 foot long
mural, curved around the inside
of the spiraling ramp, protrays
the history of winemaking. The
artist, Jose Moya del Pino, was
the court artist to the King of
Spain before he emigrated to
the United States in the 1930's.
IrL I0 G R P HY
Boutelle, Sara Holmes, Julia Morgan, Architect, New York: Abbeville Press, 1988.
Cunningham, Florence, Saratoga's First Hundred Years, Fresno : Panorama West Books, 1967.
Garrod, R.V., Saratoga Story, Saratoga: 1962 (privately published).
Heritage Resources Not Shown:
Spinazza Ranch, 19220 Saratoga -Los Gatos Road (c.1890)
Hyde House, 11995 Wallbrook Drive (1895)
Carter House, 19490 Geln Una Drive (1925)
CITY OF SARATOGA HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION