Good and old

A lot of Downey homes were built in the 1920s and 1930s. One of the things that I enjoy about these homes is that no two are alike. Each house has its own distinctive style and charm.

"He who loves an old house never loves in vain."
~Isabel La Howe Conant

"It's not good because it's old, it's old because it's good."
~ Anonymous

All alone and no place to go

Just down Iowa street from yesterday's empty lot is this abandoned house that faces Downey Avenue. It too has been abandoned for a long time, as you can see from the physical neglect.

This type of neglect is rare in Downey, since the property prices are rather high. I still don't understand why someone would waste this prime property.

What would you do with this property?

1920s Craftsman home

I have walked past this house dozens of times. Somehow I never noticed the Historical Society sign. It's a charming little home.

The Craftsman home was an architectural style that began around the end of the 19th century. The style was a single-story home with sloping roofs, deep front porch with rectangular pillars. Typically the living room is open and large with exposed beams.

It was part of the Arts and Crafts movement that emphasized handiwork over mass production. The movement continued into the 1930s. Interestingly, the bungalow style originated from India.

The butler's pantry

butler's pantry: A utility room in a large house, primarily used to store serving items, rather than food. Traditionally, a butler's pantry was used for storage, cleaning and counting of silver...In modern homes, butler's pantries are usually located in transitional spaces between kitchens and dining rooms, and used as staging areas for serving meals. They commonly contain countertops, and storage for tableware, serving pieces, table linens, candles, wine, and other dining-room articles. (Wikipedia)

As Joan posted after Saturday's open house, the historic Casa de Parley Johnson is a beautiful old house with large sunlit rooms and surrounding balconies. But the room that drew the most sighs, at least from the women, was the butler's pantry.

Imagine having all this storage space for all your fine dinnerware. (Imagine having that much dinnerware!) And all that counter space for setting out the food to be served, and that huge double-sink. Notice the extremely wide drawers on the bottom right—you can store your tablecloths in these drawers with a minimum of folds and wrinkles.

Even without the butler, the thought of it made us all a little envious!

Casa de Parley Johnson

Today was an open house fund-raiser for the Assistance League of Downey. The event offered participants the chance to tour the 6,000 square foot Spanish Colonial Revival house designed by Roland Coate. It was an impressive visit. The style is very appealing with the archways and large rooms.

I love the balconies that virtually surround the house. The house was designed for prominent citrus rancher Parley Johnson and his wife Gypsy. After her death in 1986, the house was bequeathed to the  Assistance League of Downey.

This old house

There's an old house buried behind the businesses near downtown Downey. With its steeply pitched roof and myriad of angles and lines, it's very intriguing.

More intriguing is that I can't find out anything about it, including its actual age. What surrounded this house before it got closed in by fences and businesses?

Any history on this house, anyone?

You can click the location link at the bottom of the post to see the location of the house.

The Dismukes House bedroom

To finish up this little mini-series on the Dismukes House, here's the bedroom.

It's small, and of course there are no closets, much less the walk-in variety that are common now. Some shoes typical of the period sit on a chair in the corner.

Inside the Dismukes House

The inside of the Dismukes House (see An ordinary 1880s farmhouse for a view of the outside) consists of this living room, the kitchen (below), and a bedroom.

The windows provide a lot of natural light, even on this gloomy day. I'm not sure how historically accurate the furnishings are. (You'll note a few 21st century items out because of this Open House event.) But regardless, they help to give you an idea of the living and cooking areas that were available to this family.

Tomorrow, the bedroom.

An ordinary 1880s farmhouse

In 1887*, Edwin Price Dismukes built a wood farmhouse for his wife Maude and his growing family. Unlike some of the large homes in Downey (such as the Rives Mansion), the house that Edwin built was 20 by 25 feet, with a living area, a bedroom, and a kitchen. The bathroom was an outhouse out back.

The house was originally located near the corner of Firestone and Paramount (then College Avenue) Boulevards. Scheduled to be demolished for a parking lot, it was donated to the Downey Historical Society and moved to Apollo Park in 1986.

Over the next couple of days, I'll show you the inside of the house.



For a more complete history of Dismukes and his house, see Looking back on - Dismukes house from the Downey Patriot.

* The 1887 date is based on the Downey Patriot article; the Herald American, above, dates its photo in 1886. I haven't attempted to resolve these contradictory dates.

There's no place like home

On first glance, this out building looks typical of a run-down little place you might find on the edge of some small town or maybe out in some field as you drive down the highway. But, as you can see in the second picture, that is not the case. There are two small residential lots that sit behind Bank of America. The garage pictured sits with a house (built in 1920) on the corner lot. Across the street is the Krikorian Theater.

You just have to wonder about who lives here. Have they lived there a really long time? Do they mind having such an imposing structure towering over them?

French doors and windows

I often walk past this house, built in 1923. This is the entrance to the house, with a welcoming front porch. I wonder what room lies beyond the door. I imagine it must be a pleasant room, with lots of light provided by all those windows.

Dream house number...

There are some houses you go out of your way to pass by on your drive. This is mine. I love this charming 1920s house. The owners restored it to its original beauty and I love the simplicity of it.

Home is where the heart is

Your home, and its surroundings, define you. Your personality, your hobbies, your affiliations, your influences.

A "welcome" mat with puppy paws, a "Grandma's House" sign in the window, or a roughly but carefully built bird house all act as windows into the resident's soul.

"Home is a place not only of strong affections, but of entire unreserve; it is life's undress rehearsal, its backroom, its dressing room." ~Harriet Beecher Stowe

Home, sweet home

I love this house. I don't drive past it too often, but every time I do, I look at it with a sense of  longing.

It's a beautiful old house, built sometime in the early 1900's with lots of property around it. It has this huge rounded porch off to the side, that gives you the feeling it would be the perfect place to have a leisurely cup of coffee in the morning.

I will never own this house, but I can dream and maybe even pretend...