Alvarado Terrace Historic District – Part 2
Yesterday, we started a tour of the Alvarado Terrace Historic District, and today, we’re going to visit a few more homes. But, before we get started, let’s learn a little more about the Terrace.
As you can see from the map below, the Terrace is bounded by Bonnie Brae Street, Pico Boulevard, Alvarado Street, and Venice Boulevard and it is within the original four square leagues decreed in 1781 under Spanish law as the Pueblo of Los Angeles.
After a series of ownership changes, the Terrace found itself in the hands of Doris Deighton Jones, the widow of John Jones, a prosperous wholesale grocer. Jones had a vision for the Terrace, and in order to see it come to fruition, in 1902, she subdivided the property, and sold lots for only $10.00, but there was a catch. Once the land was bought, a house valuing at least $4,000 needed to be built. Today, that translates to about $604,000. Quite a sum!
The only exclusive Residence Tract in the city. A Second Chester Place. Beautiful Parks. Shade Trees Planted. High Class building restrictions. No flats, cottages or stores. Wide streets conforming to the contour of land with cement sidewalks, curbs and gutters. Perfect sewer system, water, gas, electric lights. Excellent car service, four lines only 12 minutes from City Hall. Source: The Alvarado Terrace House Tour (PDF)
Okay, now let’s see a few more houses:
As a member of the City Council from 1900-1904, Pomeroy Wells Powers, for whom this house is named, had this treasure built in 1904 by Arthur I. Haley. Featuring a two story Mission Revival style, the Powers House is located at 1345 Alvarado Terrace, and is Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument No. 86. Powers, a lawyer with mining and real estate interests, was the President of Juanity Mining Company of Arizona and Vice-President of the Short Line Beach Company, that helped develop Venice.
In the early 90s, the Powers House was transformed into the Salisbury Manor, a high end comfort food restaurant:
The establishment exudes precisely the cozy Victorian ambiance to which Marie Callender’s restaurants aspire: an aesthetic that future house-historians might refer to as the California Bed and Breakfast School. Source: RESTAURANT REVIEW : To the Manor Born: Comfort Food at a Comfortable Manor
As you look at the glass windows locatedat 1353 Alvarado Terrace, it won’t surprise you that this house was built for Robert H. Raphael, a glass manufacturer. Built in 1903, the Raphael House, with its Tudor arch pattern puts to mind an English country home and is Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument No. 87. The Raphael House was designed by architects Sumner P. Hunt and Wesley A. Eager, who also designed the following next house, along with the Arthur S. Bent House, being Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument no. 482.
The last house that we’re featuring is the Kinney-Everhardy House, which is located at 1401 Alvarado Terrace. It’s a two-story house with a combination of Queen Anne and Shingle styles. This house was built in 1902, and is a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument No. 88. First owned by Arthur W. Kinney, a director of the Oceanic Oil Company and Deputy Los Angeles County Recorder from 1895-1897, he also served two terms as Los Angeles High School Alumni President. The second owner, Matthew William Everhardy, who was a prominent businessman, purchased it in 1906. By the 1920s, the building was subdivided into four apartments, one of which was recently advertising for a new tenant:
Amenities: Hardwood floors, laundry on site … air conditioner, office space, high ceilings, French doors, large eat-in kitchen, huge walk-in closet, free laundry, and assigned, gated parking space." Monthly rent is $1,200. Source: LACurbed
Be sure to follow Travelin’ Local’s additional tours and story’s about the Alvarado Terrace Historic District this week.
