Palo Alto Stanford Heritage |
 |
| Photo taken in 1978. | Location map |
The following is from the Historic Buildings Inventory as revised in 1985:
The unusual combination of Moorish Revival, Mission Revival, and Prairie School elements worked in a way which was both coherent and convincing. The shallow arched entry to the rectangular stucco one–story structure was flanked by two Moorish Revival pillars and provided the major focal point of the structure.
Earliest history shows a deed of trust by Mary E. Shepard to Garden City Bank and Trust. According to an article from the June 16, 1942 Palo Alto Times, Mary Ellington came to California on the newly–finished railroad in 1869 and married E. A. Shepard in the 1870s. Mr. Shepard was a friend of Senator Stanford. He came to Palo Alto in 1905 and died in 1908. Mrs. Shepard was active and alert, walked and read a great deal and followed the war news with great interest, having lived through four major wars. She was 90 years old when she died in 1942.
Shepard had deeded the property to Samuel Pond who in turn deeded it to A. E. Lattimore. A notice of completion was recorded by Paula Lattimore on January 12, 1923. On July 1, 1922, A. E. Lattimore was issued a permit for a dwelling at 1004 Cowper ($7,750), on October 22 a permit for a garage and woodshed at the same address ($750). Lattimore was a native of Australia, and an auto body builder. At the time of his death, he lived at 960 Cowper (now 952), in the next block from the subject property.
This is a powerful and unusual essay in an uncommon style.
This house was built in 1923 and was a Category 4 on the Historic Buildings Inventory. The builder was Chester Morris. The property measures 100 by 150 feet.
Sources: Tile Insurance & Trust, San Jose — Customer Service; Palo Alto Times 11/2/22; Book ! (Official Records). p. 304–305, Jamuary 10, 1923 (Santa clara Co. Recorder)
E-mail us at either webmaster@pastheritage.org or president@pastheritage.org.
Palo Alto Stanford Heritage—Dedicated to the preservation of Palo Alto's historic buildings.
Copyright © 2015 Palo Alto Stanford Heritage. All rights reserved.