Historic house museum in Los Angeles, California
Heritage Square Museum
is a living history and
open-air
architecture museum located beside the
Arroyo Seco Parkway
in the
Montecito Heights
neighborhood of
Los Angeles, California
, in the southern
Arroyo Seco
area. The
living history museum
shows the story of development in
Southern California
through historical architectural examples.
The museum focuses on interpreting the years 1850 to 1950, a century of unprecedented growth in Los Angeles. Volunteer interpreters give thorough tours that incorporate the history, architecture, and culture of the region. Other specialized living history events, lectures, and items of historical interest are given on a periodic basis.
History
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During the rapid urban expansion of the 1960s,
Victorian buildings
in Los Angeles were being demolished at an alarming rate. The
Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument
program, established in 1961, could evaluate properties and list-register them, but not protect them. In 1969, at the request of the
Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission
, a group of concerned citizens established the Cultural Heritage Foundation to counteract this destruction. The Foundation organized Heritage Square as a last-chance haven for architecturally and historically significant buildings to be moved to, which otherwise would have been demolished at their original locations.
Buildings collection
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Eight historic buildings, and a vintage train car and a trolley car, were stopped from demolition and moved to the Heritage Square location between 1969 and 2005. They include:
Mt. Pleasant House
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The
Mount Pleasant House
was built in 1876 by prominent businessman and
lumber baron
William Hayes Perry
. Designed by renowned architect
Ezra F. Kysor
, the home contains detailing to convey the wealth and social status of the family. These elements include
Corinthian columns
, fine hardwood floors, a sweeping main
staircase
, and marble
fireplace mantles
. It was built in the fashionable neighborhood (in the 19th century) of
Boyle Heights
. The Perry's Mount Pleasant House was considered the finest and most expensive residence to arrive in mid-1870s Los Angeles.
The outward sweep of the entrance stairway, the sculpted brackets under the eaves, the slanted bay windows, and the narrow Corinthian columns are characteristic of its Victorian
Italianate style
. In 1975, the house was moved from 1315 Mount Pleasant Street to the museum grounds, and restoration was begun by the
Colonial Dames Society of America
.
The Palms Depot
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The
Palms Depot
was built c. 1875 for the
Los Angeles and Independence Railroad
, and was later absorbed into the
Pacific Electric Railway
in 1911. It continued to provide service until 1953. The Palms Depot was declared a
Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument
in 1963, and to avoid demolition was moved to the museum grounds.
Longfellow-Hastings Octagon House
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One of only about 500 octagonal buildings remaining in the United States, the
octagon house
has a unique story. The type is based on the mid-19th century ideas of
Orson Squire Fowler
, that eight-sided homes were preferable to the standard four-sided type. The builders of octagonal structures believed that: windows on eight sides gave more light and better air circulation (lowering heating expense in winter and cooler in summer); and that they were easier and less expensive to construct. Fowler's architectural ideas were popular in the East through the 1850s, where most octagonal structures and homes were built. After the Civil War interest waned in the octagonal style. This octagon house is unusual being built later, in 1893. It was built by Gilbert Longfellow at 3800 Homer Street, L.A. It was declared a
Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument
(# 413), and was moved to the museum grounds.
The John J. Ford House
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The Ford House was built in 1887 as part of a large tract of simple middle-class homes in downtown Los Angeles built by the Beaudry Brothers. The home is particularly interesting because of its inhabitant ? John J. Ford, a well-known wood carver. Ford's works include carvings for the
California State Capitol
, the
Iolani Palace
in Hawaii, and
Leland Stanford
's private railroad car. Because of his occupation, the exterior and interior carvings were all done by hand in ornate, one-of-a-kind patterns.
Lincoln Avenue Methodist Church
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The Lincoln Avenue Methodist Church was built in 1897, located at 732 North Orange Grove Boulevard in Pasadena. Designed in the
Carpenter Gothic
and
Queen Anne styles
, the floor plan also follows the
Methodist
tradition of non-axial plans. This plan, with the entrance in one corner and the
pulpit
in the opposite, is known as the Akron style, having originated in Akron, Ohio.
Carriage Barn
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The carriage barn was built in 1899 on the grounds of what is now Pasadena's
Huntington Memorial Hospital
for Dr. Osborne, a member of the hospital's staff. Its architectural style is Queen Anne Cottage with
Gothic Revival
influences. It has three gables and a distinctive pitched roof.
The barn was saved from demolition and moved to the Heritage Square Museum in 1981.
Valley Knudsen Garden Residence ? Shaw House
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A unique style for the West Coast, the Shaw House is a
Second Empire
home with a French
mansard
roof. It is of a smaller scale than the Hale and Perry Houses.
Hale House
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The
Hale House
was built in 1887 by George W. Morgan, a land speculator and real estate developer, at the foot of
Mount Washington
just a few blocks from the museum in Highland Park in Los Angeles. The building is an outstanding example of the
Queen Anne
and
Eastlake styles
.
The house was sold many times and was moved from 4501 to 4425 North Pasadena Avenue (now Figueroa Street) before being purchased by James G. Hale in 1906. It remained in the Hale Family until it was acquired by the museum in 1970, as a
Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument
(No. 40). The exterior colors of Hale House were reproduced from chips of the original colors found on the house during restoration. The interior has been restored to represent the rooms as they may have appeared in 1899.
The Salt Box
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The Salt Box
was one of the last homes on
Bunker Hill
, and one of the first moved to the Heritage Square Museum grounds. It was of the
Saltbox
style. Shortly after its arrival, an arson fire destroyed it. It has a place of remembrance as a
Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument
.
See also
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References
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External links
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