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Overview

The Stanford University professor Arthur B. Clark designed this shingled, cross-gambrel-roofed home for fellow faculty member William F. Durand, a mechanical engineer. The house's New England Colonial/Shingle Style appearance recalled houses that Durand and his wife Charlotte would have grown up with in Derby, CT, where they both had been born and raised. Construction occurred between 1904 and 1905.

Building History

William F. Durand (born 03/05/1859 in Derby, CT-d. 08/10/1958 in Brooklyn, NY) graduated from the US Naval Academy, and served in the US Navy for seven years before entering academia at a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Michigan State College. He relocated to Cornell University when offered a chance to head its new graduate program in Marine Engineering and Naval Architecture in 1891. Connections between Cornell and Stanford were strong during the 1890s and 1900s, and Durand moved to Stanford University in 1904 to head its Department of Mechanical Engineering. (See American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.org, "Daniel Guggenheim Medal Medalist for 1935: Wiliam Frederick Durand," accessed 02/01/2024.)

He and his wife Charlotte "Lottie" Kneen (born 07/28/1859 in Derby, CT-d. 12/28/1950 in Santa Clara County, CA), had to wait for months to obtain a building permit to erect this house. Construction of the house began in 1904 and concluded the following year. They would remain in the house until at least 1948. (See Palo Alto, California, City Directory, 1948, p. 602.)

William and Charlotte had a son, William Leavenworth Durand (born 06/14/1885 in Easton, PA-d. 07/01/1959 in Pompey, NY), but he did not live in the house when the 1910 US Census was taken. The Durands did have a large staff of five servants working for them at 4 San Juan Hill, including four Chinese-Americans and one French-American. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1910; Census Place: Mayfield, Santa Clara, California; Roll: T624_105; Page: 14a; Enumeration District: 0075; FHL microfilm: 1374118, accessed 02/01/2024.) In 1921-1922, the Durands took a nine-month vacation (using a State Department-issued diplomatic passport) to tour France, Spain, Belgium, Switzerland, Egypt, Algeria and Tunisia. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington D.C.; NARA Series: Passport Applications, January 2, 1906 - March 31, 1925; Roll #: 1771; Volume #: Roll 1771 - Certificates: 95626-95999, 04 Nov 1921-05 Nov 1921, accessed 02/01/2024.)

According to the website of Palo Alto Stanford Heritage.org: "The Durands asked their friend, Arthur B. Clark to design a house suitable to the California landscape but with the ethos of New England. Clark, an architect and professor of art at the university had designed numerous Palo Alto and Stanford residences as well as the original Faculty Club and Bookstore. The shingle style design he chose was well suited to the site and was part of the widely popular First Bay Area Tradition architecture." (See Margaret Feuer, Palo Alto Stanford Heritage.org, "Durand–Kirkman House — 1905 623 Cabrillo Avenue, Stanford," published 05/30/2014, accessed 02/01/2024.)

William Durand had expertise in mechanical engineering that he would apply toward aeronautical innovations. Margaret Feuer said in her discussion of the house in 2014: "William Durand was never short on innovation. Hired to head the Mechanical Engineering Department, he went on to establish Stanford’s Department of Aeronautics in 1915, the second such in the nation. Among the most respected academics of his time, he was best known for his development of the first variable pitch propeller. Durand was a founder and served for decades on the National advisory Committee for Aeronautics, forerunner of the present–day NASA. After his 1924 retirement from Stanford, he oversaw the comprehensive series of monographs on aerodynamics that was widely used as a resource in scientific circles, writing three of the papers himself. Durand continued his scientific work until his death at the age of 99." (See Margaret Feuer, Palo Alto Stanford Heritage.org, "Durand–Kirkman House — 1905 623 Cabrillo Avenue, Stanford," published 05/30/2014, accessed 02/01/2024.)

Subsequent owners of this house included members of the Kirkman and Donoho families.

Building Notes

When the house was built, a massive Valley oak, a species that can live for about 600 years and grow to a height of 100 feet, resided on the site. This tree was already hundreds of years old in 1904, and lived another 80 years until its death.

PCAD id: 24948