2011 Vintage Home Tour
2011
This year, five beautiful and distinctive homes, built more than 90 years ago, have been offered for viewing.
These five structures cover a wide gamut of architectural styles. A unique two-story “Victorian Carpenter’s Gothic” style home with a cast iron “widow’s walk” above the ridge of the cross gabled roof, built in 1892-1893, a two-story Airplane Craftsman Bungalow, built in 1916, a three-story Vernacular Wood-Framed early citrus ranch home, built in 1907, a two-story Victorian carriage house, built in 1983 and a one-story lemon storage building, b uilt in 1897-1898 that was later converted into a spacious home with wrap-around porch. All of these structures show themselves off well.
Note: One of the featured homes on the tour is Corona Historic Landmark and two are part of an Historic District. They have been identified by the Planning Commission and City Council as physical elements of Corona’s historical development that provide the community with its own unique civic identity and character. Landmarks must be at least 50 years old, have significant historic, cultural or architectural value, and demonstrate authenticity of physical identity as evidenced by the survival of characteristics that existed during the Landmark’s period of significance.
Two of the structures have been identified as Corona Historic Sites (Historic Site Marker No. 16) and three of the structures have received Heritage Home Awards from the Corona Historic Preservation Society.
The Corona Historic Preservation Society reactivated its Historic Home Tour program in 2007 after a ten-year hiatus. We renamed the event the "2007 Vintage Home Tour" and celebrated five beautiful and distinctive homes that were built more than 75 years ago. Over 350 visitors rediscovered the craftsmanship and charm of homes built during another era.
The Corona Historic Preservation Society also sponsored Vintage Home Tours in 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 (one was planned for 2009, but the state of the economy did not provide favorable circumstances in which to stage it), each with four or five homes not presented previously. Many of the featured homes are listed on the city's Historic Resources listing of Landmark Properties so visitors could experience both historically and architecturally significant homes that continue to be used many decades after their construction and initial occupancies.
The purpose in celebrating Historic Preservation Month with a tour of historic properties is to raise awareness of structures, architectural styles and labor-saving devices of yesteryear and how they weave together the cultural roots of our community. It also gives us opportunities to learn about who and how Coronans of the past once lived. One of the goals of the tour is to educate the public so that they might acquire a desire to preserve that which remains of Corona's past glory and that they would be favorably disposed to return for future events.
Guests are invited to walk through the homes which serve as windows to the past. Visitors are able to see classic architectural elements, labor-saving designs, beautiful woodwork, unique windows, other designs and craftsmanship that would be hard to duplicate today. Everyone is encouraged to admire details, the little extras, beautiful furnishings and finish work which remain after nearly a century or more.
Note: Often the homes featured are Corona Historic Landmarks. As such, they have been identified by the Planning Commission and the City Council as physical elements of Corona's historical development that provide the community with its own unique civic identity and character. Requirements for Corona Landmark status: Site must be at least 50 years, have significant historic, cultural or architectural value, and demonstrate authenticity of physical identity as evidenced by the survival of characteristics that existed during the Landmark's period of significance.
The Corona Historic Preservation Society strongly believes that the preservation of historic properties has the power to protect and enhance our city's historic core neighborhoods by recycling and reusing or repurposing older structures again and again. This is the ultimate goal in "green" building. The Corona Historic Preservation Society is proud to present these Vintage Home Tours and hopes that you will enjoy the photographs, descriptions and recollections we have been able to capture.
Please plan to join us at future Vintage Home Tours. They are typically scheduled on the first Saturday in May, which has been designated as National Preservation Month.
The flyer for the current year’s event is found below. Flyers for previous tours can be found when viewing the file corresponding to that year’s tour below.
Note: A Field Guide to American Houses by Virginia & Lee McAlester was used to identify the architectural styles of these homes.
The Chaffin residence at 1939 S. Main Street, also known as the Stoner House, was built in 1893 in the “Victorian Carpenter’s Gothic” style of architecture.
This stately architectural gem served as the “headquarters” of the 2011 Vintage Home Tour. Tickets were sold by Mary Winn and Lauralynn Hake under the canopy in the driveway in the lower right.
Many have desired to visit this home for years. Here we see a line of guests waiting for their opportunity to enter. The magnificent roses bloomed at just the right time of year to showcase the front yard.
Jackie Bland, CHPS Board Member and co-captain of the home, is seen here pointing out lovely characteristics to guests just inside the ornate entry of the home.
Bay window sitting room with antiques on the front of the home.
Docents Marian Perez and her granddaughter Kori Coop, outfitted in their Victorian dresses, are dressed just perfectly for serving as docents here.
Glen Chaffin’s office features some of his collections, on the walls, on the floor, in barrister bookcases and in a built-in display case for mementos and collectibles. The vintage gold and blue tin ceiling is particularly noteworthy as it was originally found in a building in Downtown Corona. Glen salvaged it and incorporated it into the home.
Docent Trudy Whittaker points to the corner mirrored armoire in one of the bedrooms.
The reverse view of the bedroom showing the bookcase, painting of an historic scene and the quilt-covered bed reflected in the photo above. Notice the intricate cove molding at the ceiling and the light fixture.
In the kitchen, one can see the beautiful ceiling restoration and updating of appliances complimenting
the hardwood cabinetwork. On the wall at the left is a framed swatch of the original wallpaper and paint found while owners scraped away multiple layers of covering materials.
The master bedroom features vintage door and window casings with corner plinth blocks. Above the doors in the bedroom and hallway one can see the vintage glass transoms characteristic of the Victorian era.
This bathroom has both a tub and shower with the wall between the tub and shower utilizing glass blocks. Notice the beautiful dressing table and mirror in the foreground.
As one leaves this house one gets a second opportunity to see the beautiful front yard landscaping in bloom and other enthusiastic guests awaiting their opportunity to view this well preserved example of Victorian Era architecture.
Various vintage Model-T and Model-A Fords of the early part of the 20th century are available for guest viewing courtesy of local Model-T and Mode- A car clubs.
Home owner Glen Chaffin stands in his front yard near the colorful flowers of his tree rose plants. He and his wife Theresa have resided here since 1965.
House Captains Bubba and Jackie Bland, in vintage attire, lend a certain ambiance to the event from their vantage points on front porch rocking chairs.
Docents (L-R) are Kathy Fichtelman, Trudy Whittaker and Melanie Child as they enjoy touring the homes on the tour.
Docents Cathy Hahn, Nancy Royce and Vintage Home Tour Coordinator Mary Winn pose next to Glen Chaffin’s Model-T Ford Runabout in its unpainted state.
For our guests to safely cross a busy Main Street to the adjacent home on the tour, the Corona Police Department cooperated with the Corona Historic Preservation Society and provided electronic traffic warning signs and a uniformed officer to ensure the safety of our tour guests as well as drivers along Main Street.
This three-story Vernacular Wood Frame styled early citrus ranch home at 1934 S. Main Street, built in 1907, is located across the street from the Chaffin residence and is owned by Mike and Annette Rios. The Rioses and CHPS president Christine Gary stand to the side of the porch entry. A vintage 1930 Model-A Ford is seen on the front yard lawn.
Here on the front porch are docent Doris Osko and Captain Christine Gary ready and eager to welcome tour guests to the Rios home.
Docent Nan McVeigh and her son Will, also a docent.
East end of living room with wood casement windows and wide casing framing windows.
West end of living room. The doorway on the left has a Dutch door and leads to the kitchen.
Dining room in red and white with small crown molding at the ceiling.
Interior kitchen wall of used brick is on the right side. View to the rear is the front living room window as seen through the Dutch door.
Granddaughter Faith’s whimsical bedroom with large butterflies flying around the ceiling and purple netting draped over her trundle bed.
The master bedroom features a diagonal four-post bed with a ceiling drape. A decorative patterned quilt and throw pillows add to the early 20th century ambiance.
The third floor family room with angled ceiling rafters provides plenty of space for conversational groupings of furniture. The balcony outside the window an the end of
the room offers spectacular views of the community below in the Santa Ana River basin as well as sunset views of mountains to the west.
This interesting view down the carpeted spiral staircase from the family room leaves no doubt that this is an intriguing home.
Homeowners Mike and Annette Rios are seen here on the front porch accompanied by their darling granddaughter, Faith.
CHPS Board Member Don Williamson, who served as a docent at the Rios home, was photographed with long time friends (since kindergarten) and fellow docents Denea Brietenbucher and Vic Solorzano. They were visiting another home on the tour.
Eager tour guests queue up to visit the 1916 Craftsman Airplane Bungalow owned by Julie Stern and located at 1314 S. Victoria Avenue.
In addition to the front door that opens into the living room, the front porch has this secondary entry into a “mudroom/library” floored with the same concrete as the front porch.
After passing through the “mudroom” one can see the dining room. Docent Trisha Henson is in the foreground.
Looking back from the living room toward the entry mentioned above, the original Craftsman front door,
with its six colored glass panes, can be seen, flanked by docent Cherie Peterson. Julie mentioned that she
loves it when light shines through the door projecting a colorful pattern on the hardwood floor.
Cozy and inviting definitely describe the living room seen here. The fireplace and display of family photos add to the coziness of the room.
Five windows provide daylight illumination to the master bedroom. The lace curtains compliment the patterned quilt on the bed.
Only bathroom is roomy and has original black & white 1” tile floor and a claw foot bathtub.
This kitchen provides a very cheerful environment with its bright yellow walls and cabinetwork. The cabinets are original and provide a very narrow 4” tiled work surface with a raised tile edge.
Hallway at top of stairs with stenciled leaf pattern and pocket windows receives more than adequate daylight illumination. A graceful chandelier illuminates the staircase at night.
Julie Stern is seen here, on the far left, with docents who helped others enjoy her showpiece property. They are (L-R) Eileen Foate, Dixie Weir, Richard Winn, Cherie Peterson, Trisha Henson and Tracy McDiarmid. Docent Dave Wright also served at the home but is not seen in this photo.
The Carriage House at Lemonia Grove at 2750 Rimpau, before restoration of the exterior stairway.
The Lemonia Grove estate was purchased by Oscar Thieme in 1893 and he commissioned local architect Leo Kroonen Sr. to build the carriage house immediately. He subsequently developed additional acreage totaling some 66 acres. Here we see the Victorian Carriage House at Lemonia Grove after restoration and rebuilding of the exterior stairway. CHPS has a Preservation Grant Program for homeowners who wish to improve the curb appeal of their vintage home. This involves submitting an application, an on-site inspection by grant committee members, the evaluation
of the proposal by the Society’s Board of Directors, completion of the proposed work, submittal of the statements or invoices for the materials, a completed project inspection and then comes the check. Typically, grants are for material costs up to an agreed limit or percent of total cost.
Grant Program coordinator Thurston “Bubba” Bland is presenting a CHPS check for $1,000 to Jim and Patti Anderson who used the society’s grant program to help defray some of the costs of the restoration of the staircase to its original form.
This is a mockup of an historic site marker which will be CHPS Historic Marker #16 when it is completed. An etched image of Lemonia Grove’s original ornate gate is located above the text. The black granite plaque will eventually be affixed to a concrete monument, near the Rimpau Street gate, by Boy Scout Joey Clark in order to complete his Eagle Scout project.
Original carriage “coach garage” was covered with brick flooring and had a heavy planked rolling door.
Upstairs living quarters of the estate’s caretaker with rich floral
detailed linoleum flooring, original to the room.
Upstairs living quarters of the estate’s caretaker with rich floral
detailed linoleum flooring, original to the room.
Docent Jerry Neumann and a tour guest discussing carriage house second floor details.
Spinning wheel in a room that most likely once was a bedroom in the living quarters.
It is unclear what second-floor leaded glass door on the west side of the carriage once led to as it has been barricaded since the Andersons became owners of the property. It has been blocked to prevent egress because there is nothing on the other side.
The Anderson residence originated as the curing shed and packing
house that was enlarged and remodeled over decades.
Tom and Paula Muñoz served as co-captains at the former citrus estate known as Lemonia Grove.
Docent Trisha Henson with a huge Morton Bay Fig tree with very large roots.
Beautiful plank hardwood flooring is found in the entry area just
inside the doors from the large wrap-around porch.
Dining area with its broom handle chair backs and collection of baskets and other artifacts is a very welcoming living space.
Living room floor area was once the original crop curing shed but now provides a homey atmosphere. The far door goes into the kitchen.
The red, gold and white accents make this master bedroom quite lovely.
This view is from the master bedroom looking toward the living room
This sunken tub and glassed-in stall shower in the master bathroom is adjacent to the owners’ master bedroom.
This “outdoor sports” room contains a snowshoe, several oars, a
vintage fishing pole and a creel mounted on the far wall.
Staircase leading to basement area is found just inside the entry doors from the wrap-around porch.
Narrow basement hallway, with an even narrower hall runner and
built-in cabinets for storage, leading to bedrooms
In spite of slight fuzziness, one can see the bright smiles here of all those who served as docents and helped share fabulous Lemonia Grove with others.
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