Pollard and her husband, Clive, moved into their house at 925 Plaza Drive in March 2004. Their 2,317-square-foot home has a grand exterior, with a Dutch gambrel roof, a half-round entry portico and a central entrance surrounded by columns.

But it was the interior of the house that Carol fell in love with. Full-height windows—taller than 5 feet—fill the house with sunlight, and louvered doors in each room allow the couple as much, or as little, privacy as they desire. On the second floor, sloped ceilings lead to closet nooks where Carol can envision children playing.

"I wish we would've bought it many years ago so we could raise our children here," she says. "There's a warmth about the house."

After the Pollards purchased their home, neighbors began to divulge bits of the house's 85-year-history, beginning with the fact that prominent San Jose architect Frank D. Wolfe had designed the home for himself. Wolfe lived in the home until his death in 1926 at the age of 64. His wife, Nellie, lived in the home for the next 35 years.

The home was built in the Colonial Revival style, which Wolfe favored toward the end of his life. Throughout his architectural career, Wolfe adopted a variety of styles—Queen Anne, Colonial and Shingle—often mixing designs for a singular look. So for the man who is widely credited with bringing the cutting-edge Prairie House style—characterized by low, horizontal lines—to San Jose, building a home in a Colonial Revival style was viewed as conservative even for the 1920s.

"The style was not very daring for him. He concentrated on other things," says Mike Borbely, Palm Haven Restoration Committee chairman.

Beyond the exterior, Wolfe experimented with steel-reinforced concrete and radiant heating—a heating method where hot water heats a building through its floor, ceiling or walls. Wolfe used the properties of concrete to radiate heat throughout the house. Concrete absorbs heat and cold and slowly releases it. Because Wolfe had mounted steel-reinforced concrete in the exterior first floor walls and two interior walls surrounding the central staircase, the walls acted as a big radiator for the entire house.

It was by accident in 2002 that the house's former owner, Dennis Reker, discovered the radiant heating. According to Borbely, Reker found a crack in the foundation that was leaking water and realized the home had had radiant heating for more than 80 years.

When building the house, Wolfe had embedded iron pipes in the concrete floor, which were connected to the house's water heating system and heated the house from the floor. History, however, largely attributes the advent of residential radiant heating to architect Frank Lloyd Wright, who first experimented with radiant heating some 15 years after Wolfe's design, Borbely says.

According to local architect and Wolfe expert George Espinola, Wolfe was constantly seeking the newest architectural trend and could have been experimenting with radiant heat before Wright brought the concept mainstream. Of all the homes Wolfe designed, the Pollards' radiant heating system is one of his most innovative creations.

Even after his death, the Wolfe family was still thriving in the Palm Haven area. Frank Wolfe's brother, Ernest Linwood, or "Lynn," was a builder, like their father, Jeremiah. Wolfe's son, Carl, continued in his father's footsteps, as an architect.

In the decades that they lived in San Jose, Wolfe, his family and his business partners left a lasting impact on the city's neighborhoods, designing many homes in Naglee Park. In Willow Glen, Wolfe helped design the buildings at 1224 and 1226 Lincoln Ave., and the Live Oak Adult Day Services building at 1147 Minnesota Ave., all of which became San Jose historic landmarks.

The 1224­1226 Lincoln Ave. properties were constructed in 1904 for Santa Clara County Deputy Sheriff Howard M. Buffington, the first fire chief of Willow Glen. Thirteen years later, Wolfe was commissioned to design 147 Minnesota Ave. for Paul Clark, the first mayor of Willow Glen.

Although Espinola has tracked down more than 500 Wolfe buildings and homes throughout Northern California, it was primarily in and around Palm Haven that Wolfe and his family lived, designed and built homes.

"This area was their anchor and they didn't stray far from it," Espinola says.

Building blocks

The Wolfe family arrived in San Jose in 1888. Frank worked alongside Jeremiah and Lynn until opening his own architectural office in 1892.

During the family's move from Green Springs, Ohio, Frank received some architectural training in Newton, Kansas, with architect, W.L. Ross.

In San Jose, he formed a relationship with veteran architect Joseph McKee—whom McKee Road is named after—and took over McKee's business after his retirement in 1894.

During the early 1890s, Wolfe designed the King Conservatory of Music, now a part of Teske's Germania Restaurant in downtown San Jose, and the Grace Lutheran Church at 2650 Aborn Road. He also began to make his name as a residential architect.

Ten homes in San Jose's Hensley Historic District have been credited to Wolfe.

While Wolfe was designing houses throughout San Jose, he lived for several years with his wife and two children, Carl and Edith, at 1060 Bird Ave. The Bird home was the Wolfes' first residence in the Willow Glen area and was built by Frank's father, Jeremiah.

During the next few years, Frank Wolfe moved frequently, often building a house, living in it, and then selling it, Espinola says.

But Wolfe did not work alone. When he took over McKee's business, he also kept the services of draftsman Charles McKenzie. Soon, McKenzie became Frank's business partner and Wolfe & McKenzie became an in-demand architectural business in San Jose.

"Frank Wolfe and Charles McKenzie could not have picked a better place than turn-of-the-century San Jose to begin their architectural partnership," Espinola wrote in his book, Cottages, Flats, Building & Bungalows: 102 Designs from Wolfe & McKenzie, 1907. "The city was welcoming an influx of middle- and upper-class newcomers from the East Coast and Midwest and demand for new housing was high."

Many clients were doctors, lawyers, bankers, Realtors and insurance agents who wanted "no-nonsense floor plans that were efficient and functional, combined with artistically designed exteriors," Espinola wrote.

Wolfe & McKenzie was also integral in transforming the former estate of Gen. Henry Naglee, a Civil War brigade commander. The architects designed a number of homes on the former estate, utilizing Craftsman, Colonial, Prairie and Tudor styles. Today, Naglee Park residents have considered forming a "Wolfe District," but talks are still in the early stages.

Curb appeal

In 1907 Wolfe moved his family into a home he designed at 599 Coe Ave. Decades later, in 1972, the house was demolished for a road widening project. However his business Wolfe & McKenzie would design three additional homes in Willow Glen before dissolving in 1911. After that business relationship ended, Frank began designing homes with his son, Carl.

In 1912 Frank built a Prairie-style home at 595 Brooks Ave., which may have been the first Prairie home in San Jose. The Prairie style, created by Frank Lloyd Wright, is distinguished by flat roofs, horizontal lines and an open floor plan. Since Wolfe was well-versed in the latest design trends, the Prairie style may have appealed to him as the next big thing in American architecture.

Espinola says architects are known to either use their homes as laboratories to experiment with new housing designs or as advertising tools. Wolfe may have been gearing up for the Palm Haven development that opened the following year.

Palm Haven opened in 1913 when its signature Mexican Fan palms were only a few feet tall. The land, which was the former nursery of Sylvester Newhall, was being developed by three young businessmen, Alfred Eaton, Ashley Vestal and Thomas Herschbach.

Along with the palm trees, the subdivision had sewers, gas, electricity, water and sidewalks. Developers sold the lots to buyers who then commissioned architects like Wolfe.

In order to garner attention for the new neighborhood, a newspaper advertisement announced the building of a Prairie- style home at 665 Coe Ave., one of the first homes in Palm Haven. This house was designed by Frank and built by Lynn, who would live in the house until 1921.

That time period marked Wolfe's Prairie phase, but three years later his architectural style gave way to Mission and Spanish Revival designs that were in vogue after World War I. Wolfe adopted those styles until his death in 1926.

Prairie homes were the mark of cutting- edge architecture in the early 20th century, and current homeowners in Wolfe's Willow Glen Prairie style homes still find the design appealing.

After falling in love with the design, Mark Hapner purchased his 595 Brooks Ave. home in 1992. Hapner is an engineer with a taste for vintage, making the home a nice fit.

"I like the combination of antique and modern," Hapner says.

For more than a decade, restoring the home has been a labor of love. With the help of contractor Tim Lantz, Hapner repainted the earth-tone house to match its original color, orange.

"In that time period, people liked more vibrant colors," Hapner says. "It's nice to take something that was an eyesore and add some value to it."

In an effort to retain the house's original look, Hapner has gone to great lengths to find reproductions of vintage building materials. When an exterior brick wall near the home's entrance needed to be torn down, Hapner searched all over the country for more than a year to find a matching brick. Eventually, he found a man in Los Gatos who could reproduce enough bricks to rebuild the wall.

Hapner also searched for replacement decorative tiles for the outside of the house. Not fond of the originals, Hapner sought out a tile design from the same period.

Hapner bought a tile from eBay and had it locally reproduced. But he was unsatisfied with the way the finished tile looked. So Hapner tracked down a company to produce new tiles in the Arts and Crafts design, which includes Prairie architecture.

Hapner has even kept the original windows because he likes the look of vintage glass, wavy with age. Because the windows do not insulate as well as double-pane windows, Hapner has invested in a highly efficient gas heater.

The years of work were worth the effort. "I'm very pleased," he says. Today, the house is closer to its original state and has become a unique, historic site in the community, he adds.

Down the street, John Wallace owns another Wolfe home at 665 Coe Ave. He purchased the home in 1979.

In the 26 years Wallace has owned his home, he has maintained its original design. Although he's replaced the aging windows and furnace, much of the home's detail remains the same, including light fixtures and stained glass insets from 1913.

But the best part of his home, Wallace says, is living in it. The spacious open rooms and backyard have attracted many friends over the years.

"I think the Wolfes were great party people," Wallace says. "'Cause this is a great house to throw a party."

The Pollards say the same is true for their house. Behind their Colonial Revival home sits a small courtyard to enjoy on warmer days, with a 100-year-old redwood tree that backs the property. Everything about the house, they say, is perfect for entertaining.

And since the Pollards moved in last year, they have already experienced their share of fortunate events. Once, when Clive was watering the lawn, a woman stopped by and asked to peek inside the house.

While Clive didn't catch her name, he did not forget what she told him, "I bore six children in this house and let me tell you, this house has a lot of love in it."

The Pollard, Hapner and Wallace residences are just a handful of Wolfe homes that can be spotted throughout Willow Glen. Borbely says he still stumbles upon homes designed or built by Wolfe family members that he hadn't noticed before.

For these residents, the Wolfe family history and eclectic design has been an inspiration and a reason to restore and enjoy their houses all the more. "It just feels like home to me," Carol says.

For more information on Palm Haven and Wolfe homes, visit www.palmhaven.info.