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5 Historic Homes in Palo Alto
Visit a Stanford Neighborhood Rich in '20s and '30s Design
Founded in 1891, Stanford University has a rich history that has expanded beyond the campus and into its surrounding Palo Alto, CA neighborhoods. The San Juan neighborhood is a great example of an area with a vivid architectural past, due in part to the influence of the university. With homes built for academics like famous nuclear physicist Edward Teller, and designed by architects including Frank Lloyd Wright, this is a community worth exploring.
With May being National Preservation Month in the United States, Stanford Historical Society's Historic Houses Project is hosting its annual home tour on May 1, 2011. The tour features three pre-1930 homes from the San Juan neighborhood, and two 1936 homes — including a beautiful project by Frank Lloyd Wright — that blend house and garden.
With May being National Preservation Month in the United States, Stanford Historical Society's Historic Houses Project is hosting its annual home tour on May 1, 2011. The tour features three pre-1930 homes from the San Juan neighborhood, and two 1936 homes — including a beautiful project by Frank Lloyd Wright — that blend house and garden.
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| The Hanna House was designed for Stanford professor Paul Hanna and his wife in 1936 by Frank Lloyd Wright. Right off the bat, it's clear that this is an early example of Wright's implementation of non-rectangular forms. The Hanna House is built on a grid of hexagons, 26 inches on each side. The grid is flexible, and lessens the likelihood of builders miscalculating — which often happens when using right angles. |
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The home is reminiscent of Wright's Usonion homes — which he envisioned as livable and affordable residences, simple in design, and employing the use of natural materials. This hilltop residence also includes a guest house and a "hobby house," both of which were also designed by Wright and added in 1950. The Hannas gave their home to Stanford in 1975, and was used as a home for university provosts until 1989, when it suffered extreme damage from the Loma Prieta earthquake. The home was carefully restored, strengthened for earthquake resilience, and reopened in 1999.
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Many aspects of the home — such as the addition of numerous large-scale windows — feels a lot like Eichler models. Of course, this isn't surprising, since Eichler modeled many of his designs after Wright. The terraces, fountains, and gardens in the home were also designed by Wright, who blended the exterior and interior worlds through the long and narrow windows.
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| The entire house refers to a horizontal pattern. Wright used the board and batten concept when building the home: Boards are turned horizontally and placed outside the battens. The horizontally placed windows add to the feeling of the house, creating a uniform and pleasing look. |
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| This period-style Tudor was designed in 1926 by local architect Charles K. Sumner. The stucco cottage's stone entrance tower, sweeping front lawn, heritage oaks, and stained glass windows make it look like it popped out of Hansel and Gretel. A unique design of Sumner's, the combination of Tudor qualities, ironwork, and stonework give it the appearance of a small castle. |
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The stone tower is topped with an iconic "witch's hat" roof and classic iron weathervane. A small study is now located in the circular second-floor room located in the turret. To the left of the turret is a wrought-iron Romeo and Juliet balcony, part of the home's original design. The balcony is connected to the home's main living room.
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A stained glass dragon on the front door, designed by the son of a previous owner, adds to the fairy-tale-like quality of the house.
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| Sumner stayed true to Tudor style in this home, implementing details such as a steep roof covered in wavy shingles, curved rooflines, and several pointed-arch doorways. |
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| This Spanish-eclectic style home was built in 1921 for mathematician Sidney Townley. While art professor Arthur B. Clark was meant to design the home, most believe that Clark's son Birge did a majority of the work. |
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| This home exudes the Spanish style that Birge Clark loved, including an arched front entry, textured stucco exterior walls, and several wooden balconies. Why else do historians believe Birge built the home? Well, he might've had an added incentive to stick around the site — in 1922, a year after the home was completed, Birge Clark married Sidney Townley's eldest daughter, Lucile. The wedding took place this house's living room in 1922. |
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| Most of the woodwork on the house is made of local fir, redwood, oak, and gum trees. It also includes the original sleeping porch, with redwood casement windows and copper screens. |
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The backyard of the house is extensive, including ancient valley oaks, several water features, and stonework comprised of 1906 earthquake rubble.
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| This Craftsman-style bungalow was built in 1921 for Stanford law professor William Brownlee Owens. It's believed to have been constructed by a local contractor from plans by the Bungalow Craft Company of Los Angeles. Just from a simple front shot of the house, the Craftsman features are pretty clear, including a variety of roof gables and cornices, large multi-paned windows, and French doors. The home also includes a secret-walled garden off the master bedroom, and the original redwood bungalow garage. |
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| Originally designed in 1936 by Charles K. Sumner for a Stanford history professor, this early modern home was later occupied by nuclear physicist Edward Teller. The outlines of this house are more modern in appearance, but the design retains details similar to past eclectic styles. Many homes built during the Depression were designed without elaborate details but contained quality built-ins and other woodwork. |
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Defined as Minimal Traditional in style, this type of home is a precursor to the modern suburban home. It was extremely popular throughout the United States until about 1950, when Ranch-style homes took over. Minimal Traditional pays tribute to Colonial and Tudor in form, but has a modern inclination towards simplicity — which also accounts for the lack of decoration on the house.
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| The current owners of the home updated and expanded the house, while retaining and restoring its historic elements. They removed the pool and built a formal rose garden. Wisteria was planted on the upper deck and terrace, and an arbor with solar panels was installed. |
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| A deck opens up from the living and dining rooms onto the the formal garden below. The current owners added water elements and flowering cherry trees. The garden, which was added four years ago, expands quite significantly, including winding paths, fruit trees, and flowering cherries. |
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The leaded glass in the front door was in the original plans, but ended up not being built into the home. The current owners added this in after examining the home's plans, but used water glass so that light comes in, but there's still a level of privacy.
For more information on the 2011 Stanford Home Tour, please visit the Stanford Historical Society's website.
For more information on the 2011 Stanford Home Tour, please visit the Stanford Historical Society's website.
Ideabook published on April 29, 2011.
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yeah, the Hanna house is more form over function for me
great pics