Hard Hat Tour of a Queen Anne Undergoing Reconstruction

Come and tour this amazing Palo Alto Queen Anne home undergoing reconstruction.

Description: You will be touring the historic rehabilitation and seismic stabilization of a c. 1896 three (3) story Queen Anne Victorian home. This historic home was built a decade before the 1906 Great San Francisco Earthquake and survived. The original house was built on a unreinforced masonry foundation. The tour will look at the new concrete stem-wall and mat-slabs basement and crawl space, interior shear walls and steel moment frames introduced to seismically stabilize the home, and a new roof structure; all done without disturbing or undermining the home’s historic fabric.

Revival Queen Anne houses (known as just Queen Anne today), are often called Victorians because they were in vogue during the reign of Britain’s Queen Victoria. Built in 1896, this meticulously maintained Palo Alto home epitomizes the Queen Anne architectural style that enjoyed its heyday between 1880 and 1910.

Hallmarks of the Queen Anne style include:

• Two- or three-storied homes have multiple and complex roof designs.
• Turrets and towers give the large houses a medieval look.
• Large wraparound covered porches are supported by elaborate columns. Some Queen Annes even featured second- and third-story porches.
• “Gingerbread” architectural elements, such as elaborate trim and embellishments. They can have hand-carved latticework on the undersides of roof eaves and ornate wood balusters and spindlework on porches.
• Gaily painted exteriors are found in multiple colors as part of Queen Anne decor.
• Asymmetrical design, such as an offset entrance combined with a large turret located on a front corner of the house, is almost always present.
• Bay windows are included.
• Picket fences border the front yard that are painted in colors to match the houses. Front yard flower gardens were also popular with this style.
• One or more fireplaces are often centered in the home or near the kitchen area.
• Floor plans rarely feature a central hallway, opting instead for rooms that open into adjoining rooms. You might have to walk through the living room and then through the dining room to reach the kitchen.

This is a free event.
April 6th  10am – 11am
More information coming soon!
1 LU Pending

Address to be shared to the regestered guests on April 4th.