Photograph by Jeff Kearns
This Old House: This Minnesota Avenue house, now occupied by a senior services agency, was once the home of the city of Willow Glen's only mayor.
San Jose gives landmark plaque to historic home
By Kate Carter
City officials rewarded efforts of a Willow Glen nonprofit agency to restore the former home of Willow Glen's only mayor, and make it a home for its senior clients.
Live Oak Adult Day Services, 1147 Minnesota Ave., was one of five organizations and individuals to receive plaques on May 15, in recognition of their city landmark properties.
The honor was well appreciated and well earned, said the agency's former executive director, Leta Friedlander.
"It was in complete, total disrepair," she said, of the building purchased in 1998. "I never really thought that we would be restoring a historic building. It was almost like a resurrection, as well as a restoration."
Live Oak provides daytime activities to frail people who need extra care and stimulation. The agency rents facilities in downtown San Jose, Los Gatos and Gilroy, but decided it needed its own site to better house administrative functions as well as program space, said Friedlander, who now leads the agency's advisory council.
She said agency leaders found the Willow Glen building and decided it was the perfect location for their purposes. But the building, which housed a nursery school for about 20 years, was vacant for more than a year and needed a lot of work, she said.
Live Oak bought the building with plans to tear it down and rebuild, but agency staff discovered the building was originally the home of Paul and May Clark.
Clark became mayor of Willow Glen when the city was first incorporated in 1927, until his death in 1932. Paul's wife, May, was a well-educated woman and civic leader, skilled in poetry, art and archaeology who lived in the home she called Casa Mañana, House of Tomorrow, until she died in 1937.
According to the city's historical report, in 1913, the Clarks hired local architectural firm Wolfe and Wolfe to build their home. The home was constructed in the Prairie-style of the Craftsman period and completed in 1914. The report says the building's interior was remodeled around 1950.
"The city didn't want us to destroy the property," Friedlander said. "I felt like it wasn't correct to try to take it down."
The agency's board of directors decided to preserve the building, even though rebuilding the foundation, conducting restoration work and adding program space to the back of the house cost them twice what they had expected. It was a challenge to justify the cost incurred to the nonprofit organization, and "it was a lot of work," she said.
Friedlander said they hired Mountain View architect John Miller to oversee the work and artisans like Los Gatan Wesley Hogan to restore details, such as the stained glass windows near the front door.
They fundraised heavily to cover their costs, she said, and the agency continues to fundraise and solicit donations to furnish the building in the period's style.
One and half years later, Live Oak opened its Willow Glen doors in October 1999, and Friedlander said they and their neighbors have been thrilled with the results.
"When you drive by, you can't tell it's a social service facility. It looks like a home," she said. "We've received a lot of hospitality from the neighbors, because they're so happy to see the thing looking good again and being an asset, instead of an eyesore."
She added that the building serves well its primary purpose of giving the seniors a comfortable place to visit. The Willow Glen site serves about 20 seniors a day and is licensed to host 30 daily, current executive director Colleen Hudgen said.
"Our clients enjoy going to someplace that is more their vintage," Friedlander said. "It's not just a sterile environment."
She said the public is invited to see the building's transformation and view historical information about the house and copies of its original blueprints that are on display in the library.
The agency has plans to hang the city plaque on the corner of the building, near the driveway, Friedlander said, which could happen before or during its fundraising event scheduled for June 4.
"This particular location has given us a whole new dimension," she said. "We did something not just great for the program, but great for the neighborhood."
For more information about the Live Oak Adult Day Services programs, fundraising efforts and volunteer opportunities, call 408.971.9363.
Willow Glen, California Since 1992
