Winter 2010 - Preservation Action Council of San Jose

Other Recent Books on Local History“Captive of the Labyrinth: Sarah L. Winchester,Heiress to the Rifle Fortune “By Mary Jo IgnoffoMary Jo Ignoffo has authored five books, many articles, andmuseum exhibits on an array of California history topics.During her research at a local archives she came upon acache of letters and documents about Sarah Winchester thathave never been usedfor publication. Subsequentsearches turnedup even more hiddenrecords about thereclusive heiress, and afull-scale biographyresulted. Ignoffo’s abilityto translate historicalrecord into compellingnarrative givesthis book a particularlyappealing edge. Shelives in Santa Clara, not far from Sarah Winchester’s enormoushouse. “Early Woman Architects of the San FranciscoBay Area – The Lives and Work of Fifty Professionals,1890 – 1951” by Inge S. HortonInge Schaefer Horton is a retired cityplanner with a strong background inarchitecture who has been researchingearly women architects wholived and practiced at the same timeas Julia Morgan, the eminent Californiaarchitect. Her passion for discoveringthe careers and work of theselesser-known professionals beganwhen she and her friends mountedan exhibition on European womenarchitects at the San Francisco AIA(American Institute of Architects.) One of her friends remarkedthat the Europeans are lucky because they have somany role models while we in the United States have onlyJulia Morgan. Inge thought that it was highly unlikely thatJulia Morgan was the only female pursuing architecture andstarted her search for her cohorts. Her research was full ofsurprises and eventually led to her decision to write a bookabout these amazing women. the Count's favorite colors were black and red, and his decoratingscheme for this Victorian house reflected his taste. Thehouse is currently under the control of Sue Cucuzza, a brickcollector who wandered by one day, looking for a couple ofRemillard bricks to add to her collection. The owner was desperatefor help and asked her to give him a hand. The City ofSan Jose had condemned the house, and it was about to besold on the courthouse steps for back taxes. Sue is now thelegal custodian and has been making the repairs, putting thehouse and site back in order. She has contacted dozens ofpeople who have been willing to work far beyond what shecan afford to pay.Contractor Dave Sheets has generously used his window expertiseto prepare the windows. Sue found a bee keeper, "Mr.Bee" to remove several swarms that were in the house. A gutterman is making roof repairs and a couple of contractorshave been helping her to repair the badly damaged roof andto shore up a sagging porch.Remillard House (Cont’d)But the site needs both an interim use strategy and a longtermplan. Now that the owner, Joseph Covey is deceased,the house and property go into a 20-year “preservation”trust. In the meantime, Sue and her friends are disposing ofdozens of mattresses and shopping carts left on the site bytransients who currently have a major encampment innearby Coyote Creek.There was an Open House event on October 7th to introducea new generation of preservation and history resources tothe structure and to enlist support for the house. Membersof local landmarks commissions and history groups havenow seen the house and have become re-acquainted withthis unique resource. Hopefully someone will come forwardwith a good idea or two for this house. Sue can use all thehelp she can get. April HalberstadtContinuity, Winter, 2010 PAC*SJ PO Box 2287, San José, CA 95109-2287 www.preservation.org Page 19