AgdaPkt 2014-12-08 Closed and Joint SA

Browse Search

8.B. - Page 18 WELLESLEY PARK HALS NO. CA-44 PAGE 3 Another exception is the few over-scaled contemporary homes, which do not display the same relationship to street or yard that the older homes do, nor the prevailing height in general. Most of the changes to the neighborhood consist of second story additions to the rear of the homes,to achieve additional space for the owners. These are more and less successful, depending on scale, materials, design and appearance from the public street. Historic Context In general San Mateo County became known for the large country estates of San Francisco's pioneers of industry, although this was less the case in Redwood City than in nearby Menlo Park and Atherton. The Wellesley Park subdivision, however, was designed to appeal to a wealthier class of clientele than was typically seen in working-class Redwood City, and it in fact did. Historian Mel Scott attributes the few sales that did occur in the earliest days to Daniel O'Connell's salesmanship and social connections through the Bohemian Club. In general, however, it attracted few buyers in these early years, due in part to the Panic of 1893, which slowed the economy across the nation. After O'Connell's death the project was taken over by George C. Ross, a local attorney, who had the streets (as envisioned by O'Connell) dedicated to public rights-of-way in 1906. Sales within Wellesley Park, as well as the Peninsula in general, took off after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire, when the middle class began to build summer and permanent homes in the area (Scott, 1985:83). An article in the Redwood City Democrat on October 17, 1907 stated that new construction in Redwood City was "rushing in to fill the demand" and "there is not a room in the city." Property values were said to have increased by 50 percent, and savings deposits in banks doubled. The author asserted that over a million dollars had been put into new private buildings and residences: "Realty men have on file many inquiries for residence sites. Railroad building and extension of trolley lines are bringing thousands of acres nearer the city and making available for residence purposes large tracts that have formerly been reached only by highways . . . Never before was the outlook so good for a large increase in population." Accordingly, the second and most significant wave of development for Wellesley Park occurred in the first quarter of the century. Homes from this era most closely characterize the built nature of the neighborhood today. They are bungalows —Craftsman and Colonial Revival bungalows —and Period Revival homes, including Tudor Revival, Pueblo Revival, and Colonial Revival. They are typically modest in size, primarily one and one-and-a-half story homes with