I’ve long admired this sweet Spanish Revival bungalow and its beautiful garden at the corner of Prospect and Keller Streets, and today, I finally took a few photos and did some limited research to learn about its history. Part of my inspiration for doing this comes from attending a recent webinar hosted by the California Preservation Foundation: Architect Plan Books and The Small House Movement: Preserving Small Houses of the 1920s.
During the webinar, Valerie Smith, an architectural historian and preservation consultant based in Los Angeles, described how the Small House Movement commenced in 1919 with the establishment of the Architects’ Small House Service Bureau by the American Institute of Architects (AIA). This non-profit organization pioneered a groundbreaking plan service, allowing prospective homeowners to purchase small house blueprints by mail. According to Valerie, “the Bureau’s stringent standards for small house design greatly influenced architectural practices, inspiring numerous architect bureaus and house plans throughout the 1920s.”
Although I don’t know if the small house at 114 Prospect Street was constructed based on mail-order plans, I do know that it was built in 1920 by Clark Trendall for Harvey and Julia Nelson. The Nelsons purchased the unimproved lot from Mrs. J. L. Winans.
Trendall was a local contractor whose previous commissions included the Frank and Clara Snow home at 14 Sixth Street (1915), the Healey Mortuary, later known as the Parent Funeral Chapel, at 216 Washington Street (1915), and the Gervasoni home at 500 Western Avenue (1916). Brainerd Jones was the architect of record for the Healey Mortuary and the Gervasoni home. I haven’t encountered documentation that suggests an architect was involved with 14 Sixth Street.
The Nelsons left Petaluma in 1925 and moved to San Anselmo, but before doing so, they sold their seven-room bungalow and all of their furniture, which likely came from Harvey’s furniture store on Kentucky Street.
When Charles and Bernice Fobes purchased 114 Prospect Street in December 1925, a Petaluma Argus article described the house as “one of the most attractive and beautiful cottage homes in this city.” It stated that it was the first stucco house to be built in Petaluma, “where it has been one of the pretty little show places.”
According to the U.S. Census, Harry Hutchinson, who managed a dry goods store, was lodging with the Mr. and Mrs. Fobes in 1930. Charles Fobes worked as an accountant at a feed store. In 1942, when Charles filled out a World War II draft registration card, he gave his age as 60, his employer’s name as the State Board of Equalization, and his address as 114 Prospect Street. When Charles died five years later, he had been living at 114 Prospect Street. Bernice died in 1959 in Vancouver, Washington, where her daughter and son-in-law lived.
Today, 114 Prospect Street continues to be a “pretty little show place.” It possesses a high degree of architectural integrity and is recognized as a contributor to the Oakhill Brewster Historic District.