| The Palo Alto History Project |
| The Squire House 900 University Avenue |
| 2006 |
| The Squire House: The Preservationists' First Stand Last month guardians of the historic Juana Briones House on Old Adobe Road won a reprieve from a Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge. Just two days before the bulldozers were ready to flatten the 1845 home of Latina businesswoman and landowner Juana Briones, Judge Leslie Nichols issued a formal stay putting an immediate halt to any plans for demolition. The court order gives The Friends of the Juana Briones House more time to make the case that this “handful of adobe” can be saved. The fight to save the Briones House recalls a 1970s battle over another historic home --- The John Adams Squire House. Anyone who has driven frequently along University Avenue is no doubt familiar with the stately Greco-Roman mansion, regally set back from the street and surrounded by palm trees. But as bulldozers prepared to flatten the house in 1971, its appearance was not nearly so majestic. Unoccupied, surrounded by weeds, and without a working bathroom or furnace, plans were afoot to replace the landmark with four lots of modern ranch housing. The Squire House was designed in 1904 by famed architect T. Paterson Ross for unofficial weatherman and official Stanford lecturer John Adams Squire, he a direct descendant of President John Adams. The seven bedroom mansion was built for $16,000 (a whopping sum in 1904) and would survive the 1906 earthquake, numerous termite invasions, and even the roller skating parties of the Squire girls. The effort to save “the grand old lady” of University Avenue would mark the dawning of the preservation movement in Palo Alto. 1969, Gail Woolley started her quest to save historic old homes in the city, authoring a booklet called “Gone Tomorrow,” which told the stories of endangered Palo Alto houses. Her involvement soon broadened and she became a key player in the Palo Alto Historical Association’s fight to save the Squire House from the wrecker’s ball. Eventually Woolley (a future Palo Alto mayor herself) and the Association convinced the city to purchase the house for $90,000. There was a catch, however: they would have to raise the money to pay the city back within a year’s time. Woolley’s “Save the Squire House” committee went into fundraising overdrive. A “Save the Squire House Art Show” was held in the lobby of the Palo Alto Times depicting old Palo Alto buildings and scenes. Contributions were also sought between $5 and $5,000 to “do something for tomorrow, today!” By 1973, the $90,000 had been raised and the Squire House became the first house in Palo Alto to be preserved. A movement had began. Throughout the years, the city has toyed with ways to best preserve the Squire House. Eventually plans to keep the house for the city as a senior center or gathering place were dropped in favor of selling it as a private residence. But before any sale was made, the City Council placed a facade easement on the exterior in 1977, thereby requiring city approval before any outside changes could be made. However, that did not stop one owner from some unfortunate “modernizing”of the Squire House interior. In the 1990, a new owner, Mildred Mario, a member of the Historic Resources Board that Woolley and the Council helped create in 1980 to protect historic homes, spent $500,000 to restore the inside of the house. Pleased with this development, the Council used the Mills Act to give tax breaks to Mario and any future Squire Home owner who maintain its historic character. While some have criticized “tax breaks for mansion owners,” the Council did use the Mills Act as leverage when subsequent owners had repairmen boring 2 foot holes into the Squire House interior walls. The Council’s message was clear to the new owners ---either knock it off or say goodbye to your tax credits. Since the early ‘70s, historic preservation has had its ups and down in Palo Alto. The preservation of the Downing House, the Veterans Building that is now MacArthur Park Restaurant and the character of the Professorville neighborhood is evidence of a government that thinks of more than just the bottom line. But now as the Juana Briones House stands in harm’s way, Gail Woolley and those who cherish Palo Alto’s history will see if their neighbors will once again rally to help preserve the city’s past. - Matt Bowling (Note: Portions of this article ran in the Palo Alto Daily News on July 8th, 2007) |
| The Squire House today in its full glory |
| Supporters urged the public to "Save the Old Lady of University Avenue" |
| An illustration of Juana Briones |
| The map below shows the Crescent Park area |
| In a sea of palm trees |
| Palo Alto: Then & Now |
| circa 1930 |
| 2007 |
| The Squire House around 1930. Two unidentified woman pose out front. A car from the era is parked to the right of the house. |
| Today the palm trees have grown right out of the picture. A basketball net stands just out of the picture to the left. This shot was taken just over the shrubbery that borders the house. Notice that the top story window was broken (possibly by a rock?) at the time of this picture. It has since been fixed. |
| An ad from when the Squire House went on the market gives a good look at the interior of the house. |
| The plaque out front |
| The Squire House Fund Drive half way home. (PAHA) |
| Under construction in 1904. Notice how its location was then "on the edge of town. (PAHA)" |
| The Squire House in its early years. Note the size of the now looming palm trees. (PAHA) |
| The Squire House in its days of disrepair. (PAHA) |
| Sources: Palo Alto Weekly, Palo Alto Historical Association, The Juana Briones Heritage Foundation |
| Links: The Juana Briones Heritage Foundation: http://www.brioneshouse.org/ |
| The "Save the Squire House!" Art Show helped raise money for the cause. (PA Times) |