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Building History

During the early-to-mid-1930s, the Monterey Colonial style proved to be quite popular in CA, particularly in the northern part of the state. It combined a simple, Modern look with local historical allusion that suited homeowners of the Depression era. Regional styles across the US became very popular, as Americans began to scour the local past for residential architectural details that provided them with a sense of rootedness in a very insecure time. This residence for the Cyrus B. Johnson was one of the more popular Monterey Revival houses of the period. It was published in the Architect and Engineer, House and Garden in 1937 and House Beautiful in 1938.

In 1935, Cyrus B. and Mary C. Johnson had a residence at 16 Brookside Avenue in Berkeley, CA. He worked as a stock broker. (See Oakland, California, City Directory, 1935, p. 456.) In 1937, Johnson had an office at 155 Sansome Street, Room #709. (See San Francisco, California, City Directory, 1937, p. 718.) Johnson was listed in the CA Voters Registration lists for 1942 as living with his wife, Mary, in Orinda. In that year, they were both registered Democrats. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation California State Library; Sacramento, California; Great Register of Voters, 1900-1968, accessed 08/07/2018.)

Building Notes

The C.B. Johnson House was one of Frederick Confer's most published houses during the late 1930s.

The Johnson House was located in the vicinity of 28 Los Cascadas Road. A neighbor listed on the 1940 US Census, Geoffrey Mayo, lived at this Orinda address in 1942, according to voter records. Another neighbor on the 1940 US Census, mining enigineer Charles Merrill, and his wife Margaret, resided at 407 Camino Sobrante. Other neighbors, William and Elizabeth C. Scott, lived at 208 Camino Sobrante and Willard S. and Ida H. Davis resided at 301 La Espiral. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation California State Library; Sacramento, California; Great Register of Voters, 1900-1968, accessed 08/08/2018.) The Johnson House was probably in the sparsely-selttled, Charles Hill neighborhood of Orinda in 1940.

PCAD id: 19261