Wilton Place Craftsman wins Historical Society award
111-YEAR OLD home received restoration of its three floors.
The following information was written by Carol Henning with research by Fluff McLean.
The three-story Craftsman house at 200 S. Wilton Place has won the Windsor Square-Hancock Park Historical Society landmark award for 2015.
The house was built on S. Westlake Ave. near MacArthur Park in 1904 and moved to its present site in 1920.
It was designed by architect S. Tilden Norton and built by contractor J.H. Myers for Harry Woolner, an investor. Norton designed such landmark structures as the Greek Theatre in Griffith Park, the Los Angeles Theatre and the Wilshire Boulevard Temple.
In February 1920, the house was cut in two pieces and the entire roof was removed in preparation for the journey to Wilton Place. The neighborhood was then a subdivision of Ridgewood Park. It later became known as the Wilton Historic District, listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
In the application, the district was described as an upper-middle class enclave with excellent examples of early 20th century period architecture. The home is listed as a contributor to the Wilton Historic District.
The house exhibits Craftsman influence in its incorporation of Oriental and Tudor decorative elements, exposed rafters under the roof line, cross gabled roof, low porch pedestals with columns above, wide overhanging roof eaves and wide window casings.
The residence contains eight bedrooms and eight bathrooms, an attic and basement, and is characterized by a façade featuring a partial-width porch, which frames the front entry to an off-center door. The façade includes an array of double-hung leaded glass windows that help define the structure’s vertical emphasis. The exterior is clad in wood clapboard siding. The wooden porch is supported by four columns on the ground floor. It has a decorative balustrade on the second floor. The southern exposure includes ornate Oriental woodwork. The apex of both the primary gabled roof and the second floor roof gable are accented by Tudor style half-timbering decorative elements.
The home was restored to its original beauty in 2013 by local residents Fluff McLean and Mary E. Nichols.
Fluff McLean is a past president of the Windsor Square ~Hancock Park Historical Society. Mary E. Nichols is a professional photographer.
McLean and Nichols researched the original floor plan, then rehabilitated or replaced the fireplaces, up-dated plumbing and electrical, and saw to it the third floor was returned to its original floor plan. Bathrooms were updated using tiles and colors of the period of the home.
Most of the materials used in the home’s restoration were on site. The previous owner had carefully preserved and labeled every piece of molding he removed before beginning his part of the project.
The primary goal of McLean and Nichols was to retain historic integrity and original features while transitioning to 21st century living.
The home was purchased by the current owners in 2014, who are proud of its beauty and historic significance. In spite of its being sliced and moved, and having its top floor chopped up to create apartments, the structure is in excellent condition and has now been given a second life, assuring it to be around for another 112 years.
The Wilton Place home is one of three of the Windsor Square-Hancock Park Historical Society’s Landmark Award winners for 2015. The third winner will be included in next month’s issue.
Category: Entertainment
