Susan's Victorians

The Queen Anne Cottage

Not every Victorian could afford to live in a huge, elaborate house. Every now and then you'll see a more humble version of a Queen Anne, created for the ordinary, working-class folk.

		Pasadena, Calfornia There aren't all that many Victorians in Pasadena, but you see them here and there. Pasadena is more known for its Craftman-style homes, its pride being the historic 1908 Gamble House. My own great-grandfather built a Craftsman bungalow here in 1923. The second house down from the top was recently on sale for $500,000! And with only two bedrooms!
		San Pedro, California San Pedro is a large harbor town in Los Angeles, where we lived when we were first married, due to my husband's job in the marine industry. We lived in the most scenic area, Point Fermin, where there is a wonderful 1874 lighthouse. The housing around town is mostly newer, but you can find some interesting older places in the downtown area. Top house: The A. C. Hall House, circa 1890s. Hall was a San Pedro saloon keeper. Third house: Built in 1887 as one of two duplicate houses. The other one was knocked down in the 1970s. Fourth house: Oman house, built in 1888.
		This is the 1899 Muller House museum. It was built by a local shipbuilder and owned by the Mullers from 1906-1963.
		Modesto, California In this absolutely ugly central California city there stands this nice old house on the corner of a busy street, surrounded by modern housing. I don't know if it was the first house in that neighborhood, or it was moved there from somewhere else. It sure looks out of place.
		Los Angeles, California Okay, so this house isn't the greatest, but I felt sorry for it. I spied it one day driving through south-central L.A. on my way to take a class I needed that wasn't offered at my local college. The neighborhood was probably one of the worst I'd ever been in, it was a bit scary even getting out of the car to take the picture, because of menacing-looking wild dogs roaming nearby. I wonder what the history of this house is?
*NEW!!*		Hemet, California After incurring wrath (on my messageboard from a Hemetian defending his turf) with my accessment of this town on another page on this site, we painfully made the trip back to this area (2007) to visit my husband's stepsister. My opinion hasn't changed, it's still a horrid horrid place, and she even calls it "hell on earth". Whew. However, I was wrong. There isn't just one Victorian in town, we somehow stumbled upon another - this one. Plus, I did see a cute historic railway station. The "old town" area really isn't all that old nor encompass a very big area, but it did have some thrift shops to browse through. But it is just SO HOT. 108 degrees on this day!
		San Diego, California This is another house at Old Town's "Heritage Park". It is the 1896 Senlis Cottage, built for Eugene Senlis, an employee of a San Diego horticulturist. It is an example of a working-class dwelling, with no electricity or plumbing.
		Just off San Diego's coast in Coranado Island, where the famous Victorian "Hotel Del Coronado" can be found. Around the island there are also a few nicely kept-up Victorian houses.
		Sacramento, California There are a LOT of these little cottages in the neighborhood we drove around in. Sometimes 3 or 4 identical ones in a row. I just took a photo of one, though, since I did not have that much film left, which I wanted to save for Italianates, which I like better. This was the cutest cottage I saw, so nicely kept up and with that adorable little wrap-around porch!
*NEW!!*		Eureka, California Isn't this such an adorable little dollhouse? Eureka has such a nice variety in their collection of homes!
		Portland, Oregon I recently was in Portland and came across these two houses in the same neighborhood. Both seem as if they are in the process of getting their Victorian look back. Look at the top one: only the face is decorated - the right side still has ugly old grey siding covering it. The second one is for sale - did the owners just give up on it halfway through, or is this the completed project? The three different colors and types of siding don't look like they exactly fit together too well...
		Astoria, Oregon This is the 1892 home of John Griffin, bookstore owner, and his wife, Ada Ferguson. Her family home can be found next door.
		Chinook, Washington After heading north from Astoria on the expansive Astoria-Megler bridge and then turning left to head for the Washington coast, you will pass through a quaint small town called Chinook. Some older houses can be seen, and there's also a few shops and restaurants to check out.
		Ilwaco, Washington Keep heading north/west after you go through Chinook and you'll come to the port town of Ilwaco. It has a small downtown area, with a large antique mall and a good thrift shop we like to visit. The houses in the area are old, but sort of ordinary Victorians, nice but not spectacular. Here's a cute one I liked.