PAST Logo Palo Alto Stanford Heritage

Home Architects & Builders  Holiday House Tour Newsletters Walking Tours
About PAST Centennial Houses INVENTORY Preservation Awards Contact PAST
Advocacy History and Architecture Articles   Master Index to Houses Resources Join / Donate

Palo Alto Historic Buildings Inventory

369 Churchill Avenue

inventory photo 369 Churchill
Photo taken in 1978. Photo taken in 2014.

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

Physical appearance:   The formal residence is a large, handsomely–proportioned Tudor Revival structure with half–timbering and carefully–crafted detailing. A gable supported by square bracketed columns forms a dramatic entry in the particularly well–composed southwest elevation. the grounds at the front and sides were enclosed with brick and iron fencing and re–landscaped in 1983; at the same time, the space to the west was split away for new construction.

Significance:  A finely executed example of Tudor Revival design built for William E. and Adelaide Dingley Palmer. Palmer was a San Francisco industrialist, whose father's and grandfather's connections with California manufacturing stretch back to the Golden State Iron Works of the 1850s.

The Palmers occupied the residence until 1943, succeeded (1944–1952) by C. E. Gray, School of Business Professor Frank K. Shallenberger (1953–1958), Stewart M. and Elizabeth Jones (1959–1966) and Robert and Harriet Pappas (1968–1979). The next owners were A. S. and Naheed Quereshi.

Note:  Renovation of the house began in 2015 and has changed the appearance. (Photos below were taken March 5, 2017.) The architect was John W. Powers of San Rafael and the builder, NorthWall Builders of Palo Alto.

369 Churchill map
   construction    side
signage

 

This house was built in 1917 and is a Category 4 on the Historic Buildings Inventory. Charles Hodges was the architect for the main structure and Charles K. Sumner for the music room. Val Franz of San Francisco was the builder for the main structure. The property measures 150 by 150 feet.

Sources: Palo Alto City Directories; Palo Alto Times 6/5/23, 5/20/29, 8/23/50; interview 1983, Harriet Pappas; interview 1984, Adelaide Dingley Palmer and W. Lewis Palmer.

Top


FaceBook f

E-mail us at either webmaster@pastheritage.org or president@pastheritage.org.

PAST Logo Palo Alto Stanford Heritage—Dedicated to the preservation of Palo Alto's historic buildings.