1901 Central Avenue
Alameda, California

2012 Alameda Legacy Home Tour                                 Home     Blue Prints     Permits                               Julia Morgan -- Project No. 304

 
On the tour, there were two shifts of 12 docents each and over 500 visitors came through. Their route through the four stories was pre-set as shown below. The couple who bought the house in 1964 were among the visitors. I spent time with them. They said that they sold off half the land for $18,500, had several babies while living here, and finally sold the house for $56,000 in 1970. Corrections: From expert motion picture historians, Jack Tillmany and Gary Parks, I learned that the large plaster cartouche in the basement theater is from above the doors on the west side of the San Francisco Fox outer lobby that led to elevators and washrooms, and that the theater seats are from the 1936 Del Mar Theatre in Santa Cruz. It was quadra-plexed in the 1970's.
 
 
 
 
 

Additional Notes:

Fred Staude's (1865-1920) wife, Louisa (1872-1960) was the daughter of the whiskey king, John Lutgen (1847-1913). Click the link. Their kids were Lucille A. Staude (1896-1964) and Fred T. Staude, Jr. (1898-1990). A Dutch couple bought the property in 1964 and split the lot. The neighbors to the rear have been there since 1959. They say the tennis court was then a jungle with feral cats. They knew Louisa and Lucille, and say the Dutch had several babies while living in the house. During the tour, the Dutch couple told me that they removed the wall between the kitchen and pantry, and made a Dutch door out of the door to the maid's room so Mrs. could watch their five young ones while working in the kitchen.

The entire house has Russell and Erwin locks. ‘RussWin’ was the premium brand back in 1910 and used in Julia Morgan's Hearst Castle, the Plaza Hotel in New York and the Widener Library at Harvard. Each room in the house is individually keyed, e.g., the master bedroom has five locks marked ‘16’, Bedroom No. 2 has three locks marked ‘17’, etc. On the inside of the doors note the ‘no peep’ keyhole escutcheons.

The electrical systems were replaced in 2010. The attic and exterior lights, outlets, and future yard lighting are now controlled by GE low-voltage relays. These allow having multiple on-off switch locations and automation. The same relays are being used in the new 1WTC (One World Trade Center) in New York City.
 


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