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Palo Alto Historic Buildings Inventory

1408-1410 Tasso Street


Inventory photo	Location Map

The following is from the Historic Buildings Inventory as revised in 1985:

Physical appearance: This two-story stucco Spanish Colonial Revival design has a handsomely tiled door facing. The split-level configuration is unusual for the period. The rear portion of the northwest side provided space and service quarters.

Significance: A very convincing design which successfully fuses its early California imagery with efficient automobile accommodation. It was one of three (1416 Tasso, 1415 Cowper) built for Ephraim and Amalia Weiss. He was a native of Hungary, she of Austria; they came to the city about 1922 and he established optometry offices. His three houses were bequeathed to Stanford University, along with a valuable book collection (the Weiss Room in the library honored his gift). Stanford then placed them on the market in 1956, when Lucille Price acquired the property.

This house was built in 1932 and is a Category 4 on the Historic Buildings Inventory. The builder was Walter Sorenson of Berkeley. The property measures 50 by 112.54 feet.

Sources: Palo Alto City Directories; oakland City Directory, 1924; Palo Alto Times: 1/26/24, 8/6/32, 12/15/54; interview, 1985, Lucille Price.

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