by Elizabeth Darling
Historic preservationists are rallying to save what may be the oldest house in Atherton from the wrecking ball. According to the National Register of Historic Places, the two-story house, at 25 Isabella Ave., is No. 78000768. To members of Palo Alto Stanford Heritage (PAST) and the Atherton Heritage Association, it is the Watkins-Cartan House, a charming white Victorian with an inviting front porch wrapped around it, creeping vines and a broad, sweeping lawn.
Preservationists accidentally discovered two weeks ago that the 131-year-old home was threatened. A real estate agent who is a member of PAST called the Town of Atherton to ask about demolition regulations for historic homes. The official told the woman that the Watkins-Cartan house, built in 1866, was slated for demolition.
PAST board member Nancy Sederquist then contacted the state Office of Historic Preservation and the National Register and discovered, unbeknownst even to Atherton officials, the home had been on the registry since 1978.
This status puts the home into a special category that automatically requires a series of public hearings and environmental impact reports before the owner, Gail Lyons of Atherton, can tear down the home she bought in mid-January.
Lyons could not be reached for comment.
"It's a piece of history that's irreplaceable," Sederquist said. "How many 1866 houses do we have around here?"
Sederquist and other preservationists, with the support of Lyons, are looking into moving the structure. Atherton town officials said there is a fund, adding up to approximately $60,000, that is pegged for building a new arts commission building but could be used to move the home, which is situated on a 1.9-acre site.
"There's got to be some way to save this house," Sederquist said. "These kinds of things are special. It's sort of like raping our history. You can't duplicate that craftsmanship. If we had not found out by accident, that house would be gone today."
PAST is sending an official letter to the town of Atherton formally asking to be informed during the entire CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) process.
Sederquist said that preservationists are not the only ones upset. She said several neighbors along Isabella are concerned as well, including one who has hired a preservation attorney.
Lyons had a demolition permit to remove two gatepost columns and also had removed some interior fixtures, including toilets and a vanity, said Brent Hipsher, a town building inspector.
"There really isn't any policy set forth," he said, relating to historic homes in town. "It's the only house on the historic register in Atherton." Hipsher said town officials were unaware of that until now. In 1982, he said, a town official had begun to put together a list of homes that could be considered for the historic registry, but that list has not been finished.
"The town doesn't take a position if we want to remove or save it," Hipsher said. The state preservation code takes precedence over town policies.
The house was built by Commodore James Watkins, who commissioned it to be designed and constructed by shipwrights in New London, Conn. The home was then taken down, and in numbered parts it was shipped around Cape Horn up to California, and barged up Marsh Creek. The home was moved in 1903, and then withstood the 1906 earthquake.
The home is sitting vacant right now, with a padlocked cyclone gate covered with a blue tarpaulin shielding view from the tree-lined street.
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