Members who live in the Glendora area have asked why State Headquarters is currently scaffolded. It is awesome to report that after over two years of investigating, consulting with experts, financial analysis, planning, and extensive discussion and approval of the Board of Directors, the State Society has begun Phase 1 of a huge historic preservation of the California State Headquarters in Glendora.
It was the hope of the 2012-2014 State Board that we get headquarters painted this term. It was very obvious from the poor condition of the exterior of the buildings, that we seriously needed to paint. During the process of getting bids and information, we discovered several major problems, so we sought the expertise of a professional preservationist who came out to investigate the property. Eagle Restorations Group, Inc., http://eagle-restorations.com/, is the contractor managing our historic preservation Project. I urge you to go to the website and review the important body of work undertaken by this well-respected restoration group, including the Governor’s Mansion in Sacramento.
After several meetings with the preservationist, it was discovered that we have many serious issues that must be taken care of all at one time because each problem affects another. We can no longer deal with these issues on a piecemeal basis, nor can we fix things with duct tape and band aids any longer. Our precious historic headquarters needs some major repair work performed on it by contractors who specialize in historic preservation, who perform quality work, and who guarantee their work.
We started the process by consulting with a structural engineer who checked out the main building from top-to-bottom. His report found our structure to be sound and ready for the planned repairs.
HISTORY OF HEADQUARTERS: Our State Headquarters consists of a 4,300 square foot, two-story, main “house,” and a carriage house. Both structures sit on a 28,000 square foot corner lot in the Village of Glendora, California. These structures are “Craftsman”- a style popular in the United States from 1905 to about 1930. Craftsman style homes naturally fit the site on which they are located. The front of the home looks toward the morning sun, and it is traditional to have a large garden surrounding the house. Local materials are used and the more natural the better. The State Headquarters exterior is accented with local river rock, including two chimneys. More of this rock is found in the builder’s favorite room, the library, where a magnificent fireplace is constructed from the rock.
The carriage house was built in 1905 by Reuben and Helen Hamlin. The Hamlins lived in the carriage house on a temporary basis while they were waiting for the blue Colonial house across the street to the east to be put together. It was a mail order “by the numbers house.” They moved into this house in 1906, and then began construction on our current State Headquarters building. Mr. Hamlin owned a lumber company in downtown Los Angeles, so he had access to the finest craftsman. It was three years until the Hamlins moved into the home. The long construction was due to (1) the craftsmen working to perfection on such items as the stone and wood work, and (2) the fact that the Hamlins knew that electricity was coming to Glendora so they opted to build the house to electrical standards rather than gas light standards. Electricity came to Glendora in 1909 and that is when the Hamlins moved in. Mrs. Hamlin lived in the house until 1961.
HOW THE STATE SOCIETY OBTAINED THE PROPERTY: The Eschscholtzia Chapter (1894 – 2005; merged with Los Angeles Chapter) sold its chapter house and donated the money to the State Society to provide funds for the purchase of an official state headquarters. A search was undertaken by the State Society to find property that met certain requirements: office space, meeting space, storage space, and sleeping space. The State Society purchased the Hamlin house in 1982, and due to the generous donation from the Eschscholtzia Chapter, a member of the Los Angeles-Eschscholtzia Chapter has the honor of serving as a representative on the Headquarters Administrative Committee. The state regent also wears a special bar on her ribbon with the Eschscholtzia Chapter name on it in honor of its generous donation to the State Society.
Our 109 year old California State Society Headquarters was appraised in 2013 as being worth $1,285,000. The appraiser and insurance underwriters who have visited the property this term have had nothing but positive comments to share about the condition of the property. They have told us that they can tell how much love and care we have put into our amazing historic headquarters. Our money was invested well. We purchased the property in 1982 for something in the neighborhood of $450,000.
A PLACE TO DO BUSINESS: Our State Headquarters is where we perform the business of our large corporation. The property is zoned commercial because we are a non-profit business. The main building has a sizeable basement for the storage of important records that the federal and state governments, and NSDAR require we keep. The State Society employs a Headquarters Secretary to answer phones, perform general clerical work, assist the state treasurer, receive and process reservation forms for state events, and many other duties. We also employ two caretakers who live on the premises in the carriage house, which was converted to a one bedroom apartment many years ago. The caretakers work fifteen hours per week on the property performing various duties.
Another great feature of State Headquarters is it has meeting space that can be used by the State Board of Directors or by chapters, districts, committees, and members. The property can sleep twelve upstairs and several more on inflatable beds in the downstairs area of the building. If you are interested in holding a DAR meeting or event at Headquarters, please review information available on the CSSDAR Members’ website under the “Documents and Forms” link.
While this is a place to do business, the Headquarters Administrative Committee has made sure that headquarters is beautifully decorated to the period of the house, and the committee takes care of all items that are accessioned into our headquarters collection. The house is filled with beautiful antique furniture, interesting artifacts, and original woodwork and light fixtures. It is absolutely charming!
HISTORIC PRESERVATION! As you all know, one of the goals of DAR is to support historic preservation. The California State Headquarters is our State Society’s official historic preservation project, and it is an important one.
Glendora celebrated the centennial of its incorporation in 2011. The city is made up of homes from the early 20th century to grand mansions in the more affluent neighborhoods. The land for the present day city of Glendora was received in 1837 by Ygnacio Palomares from Governor Juan Bautista Alvarado. The city is located at the foot of the beautiful San Gabriel Mountains and was founded on April 1, 1887 by George Whitcomb. Whitcomb moved to California from Illinois in the early 1880s and was the founder of the Whitcomb Locomotive Works in Chicago. He came up with the name “Glendora” by combining the name of his wife, Leadora Bennett Whitcomb, with the location of his home in a “glen” of the San Gabriel Mountains.
You just cannot visit Glendora without checking out the historical and quaint downtown area. Just a short block from State Headquarters, the downtown is something from the past. Lined with beautiful trees that are lit up at night, the main street has many shops, salons, and wonderful restaurants.
A few blocks from Headquarters, you can visit the historic Glendora Bougainvilleas. These were planted by Reuben and Helen Hamlin in 1901. They still magnificently bloom to this day and are considered to be the largest growth of this plant in the United States. They are located at Bennett and Minnesota Avenues, and were dedicated as a State Historical Landmark on January 7, 1978.
Our DAR corner lot is very well-known to local residents, and the State Society is very lucky to own and to be able to preserve a piece of Glendora’s history.
PHASE 1 OF THE HISTORIC PRESERVATION OF THE CALIFORNIA STATE HEADQUARTERS HAS AN APPROXIMATE COST OF $98,000 AND INCLUDES:
1. Needed maintenance and refinishing of downstairs wooden floors in parlor, entry, library, dining room, laundry room, kitchen, butler’s pantry, and powder room. All furniture and appliances have been removed from the downstairs portion of the house and placed in a climate controlled moving facility.
2. Repair of all sash ropes on 17 double-hung windows in the house (the ropes allow windows to be opened and currently no longer function)
3. Cleaning of exterior stone. When headquarters was painted a few years ago, large amounts of brown paint were dripped down the chimneys and on the other rock surrounding the house. The painters also did not tape off the rock and paint was sprayed 12-18 inches onto the rock. It took several months for the preservationist to find a chemical that would safely clean the paint from the rock. We are pleased to say that all the rock was successfully cleaned last week and it looks great!
4. Replacement of gutters. Current rain gutters were installed incorrectly and water is running back up under the eaves and is contributing to the rot of fascia board.
5. Sanding of wooden surfaces and preparing them for paint by properly priming surfaces and using special sealers after wood is properly filled. Some of the wood has old termite damage, and some of it has rot. Some wood will most likely need to be replaced. This week we found active termite activity that will be dealt with before any further paint prep is done.
6. Painting of the main headquarters building, caretaker’s cottage, and on site storage building. Many months of research have gone into reviewing paint combinations for our Craftsman home, taking into account the period of the house and consideration of the size of the main building. High quality Sherwin Williams paint will be used; the house will be properly primed and two coats of finish paint will be used.
7. Install bird netting where needed.
8. Install scaffolding and obtain required building permits. The State Society has the funds to complete Phase 1 and we do not believe we will have to take any sums from the Reserve Replacement Fund. This fund was set up to help take care of capital improvements and other large emergencies at headquarters.
HOW YOU CAN HELP: Even though the State Society may have the funds to complete Phase 1 of the restoration, we are asking chapters and individuals to making a contribution to help fund Phase 2. The State Board has carefully analyzed problems or issues that may occur during Phase 1 and it has added another 30% to the funding of phase 1 in case something unforeseen occurs, making the total amount dedicated to Phase 1 of $130,000.
The State Society is seeking contributions from chapters and individuals. Donors will be given an opportunity to take part in a donor wall/monument recognition that will be placed on the property after both phases of the preservation are completed. This officer is pleased to announce that due to the generosity of members this term, the State Regent’s Project for the Jamison Administration is able to donate $10,000 to the headquarters restoration project, and it will also donate about $10,000 to the Reserve Replacement Fund. Money received from the Anne Lampman estate ($50,000) for headquarters maintenance, will be used to fund the restoration project. More information about donor levels will be sent to members in the near future. Please wait to send donations until this information has been made available.
SNEAK PEAK AT PHASE 2: Phase 2 is extremely important. We have discovered that when the roof was replaced the last time, that it was installed improperly. The shingles slide right off the roof because the underlying structure needed to secure them to the roof was never installed. The roofing material is no longer manufactured, so repairs have been difficult to complete. The flashings that prevent water from running under the shingles were installed backwards. So water is going where it should not. The roof line slopes and needs to be repaired so the shingles will fit properly. This requires an architect drawing before the city will allow us to proceed. Right now this phase is estimated to cost well in excess of $100,000.
Your generosity is very important to get this significant historic preservation project completed.
Debbie Jamison
State Regent
regent@californiadar.org