Building History

Neff designed this U-shaped summer house along a trout stream surrounded by mature live oaks. Neff at this time usually employed the Spanish Colonial Revival idiom, as was the case here. The house was designed in two wings, one for bedrooms, one for utility rooms, joined together by a large living/dining room. A double hearth separated the two spaces. A covered porch lined three sides of the patio, providing a variety of indoor/outdoor living spaces. This sort of very informal floor plan was used in the summer houses of wealthy clients in the 1920s; architect, William Wurster of San Francisco, among others, brought this level of informality into suburban designs at about the same time.

Building Notes

The City of Santa Paula was destroyed by the failure of the Saint Francis Dam on 03/12/1928. One of the great disasters in CA history, it killed 600 people in the path of the flood waters.

PCAD id: 9232