Palo Alto Stanford Heritage |
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| Inventory photo | Photo taken July 21, 2002 |
The following is from the Historic Buildings Inventory as revised in 1985:
This large Colonial Revival house features a massively proportioned, carefully fenestrated, gambrel-shaped entry facade, with a delicately proportioned and detailed porch as visual counterpoint.
The unusual orientation of 1136 Waverley is the result of its being moved from 357 Kingsley. Charles David Marx, owner, was the sixth professor appointed to the Stanford faculty and established the civil engineering department. He played an equally important role in establishing Palo Alto, serving as an early town trustee and a long-time member of the Board of Public Works. In the latter capacity he was cited for "remarkable voluntary service of inestimable value to the city of Palo Alto." He was fondly known as "Daddy Marx."
This large house is a good example of its style and is compositionally emphatic and sophisticated. It was moved diagonally to its present location to clear its original site for the construction of the group of houses on Kingsley known as "Sherwood Court" (Mrs. Sherwood was a granddaughter of Professor Marx). It was rented during the next twenty years to relatively short-term tenants and bought by Melvin and Saisie Pratt in 1960.
Note: "The house remains in the Pratt family and they plan to renovate soon."
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| C. D. Marx | Location map |
The following is from the Centennial Buildings Tour, prepared by The City of Palo Alto Historic Resources Board for the Centennial Building Celebration, April 16, 1994. The houses included on the tour were all identified as at least 100 years old:
This large Colonial Revival house features a massively proportioned, carefully fenestrated, gambrel-shaped entry facade, with delicately proportioned and detailed porch. Originally at 357 Kingsley, it was moved in 1940 to make way for "Sherwood Court." The move resulted in its unusual orientation. It was designed by A.B. Clark and built by R.C. Andrews for Charles David Marx, the sixth professor appointed to the Stanford faculty. Marx established the civil engineering department, and was an early town trustee and long-time member of the Board of Public Works.
This house was built in 1893 and is a Category 3 on the Historic Buildings Inventory. The architect was Professor Arthur Bridgeman Clark, and the builder was R. C. Andrews. The property measures 91 by 100 feet.
Sources:Palo Alto Times 1/5/1894; AAUW ... Gone tomorrow?; interview 1985, Melvin Pratt, Palo Alto Live Oak, 1/1/1900 (early photo);
(also an email from Christina Pratt 3/1/17).
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