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Palo Alto Historic Buildings Inventory

505 Embarcadero Road


Inventory photo	Location map

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

Physical appearance: This one–story shingled bungalow with its generous veranda and gabled dormers is basically Colonial revival in its form.

Significance: The first owner, W. C. Dibble, was one of the D. C. Dibble family which moved to Palo Alto in 1904. He had begun a career as a publisher in the Midwest, and in Salem, Oregon, he was a horticulturist who was one of the first to import and grow Holland tulips in the Pacific Northwest. He was a nature–lover and writer of poems and sketches which were printed in local newspapers.

From 1915 to 1938 the house was occupied for brief periods by a number of different owners. In the years 1938–1966, it was in the hands of Jerome T. Smith and William A. Laine, contractors. The next owners were Robert and Winifred Catlin.

This house was built in 1907 and is a Category 4 on the Historic Buildings Inventory. The architect was and the builder was. The property measures 142 by 105 feet.

Sources: Palo Alto City Directories; Palo Alto Times 1/3/08, 9/21/40, 10/9/40; Palo Alto Live Oak, 10/6/99; reminiscent sketches of his life by his wife, in Palo Alto Historical Association obituary file, Dibble.

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