On Dec. 1-2, four private Santa Clara homes, along with the Santa Clara Woman’s Club Adobe, were featured in this year’s Santa Clara Historic Home Tour. One spotlighted historic home was a Spanish Colonial Revival at 820 Civic Center Drive.
This residence’s exterior offers a quaint view of manicured lawns and tall trees in front of a home with a small ceramic chrysanthemum up above, an arched wooden front door and windows in various designs.
According to Cheryl Fisher, the house was built in 1935 for the Ivankovich family. The Ivankoviches owned the property from 1935 to around 2013, when Cheryl and her husband, Michael Fisher, purchased the property. With two stories and a basement, the spacious home is an estimated 2,400 sq. ft.
“This home has arched single-pane windows that are floor to ceiling,” Cheryl said. “It had an old wood fireplace which was converted to a gas fireplace, considered more modern and easier to manage. I don’t think they allow wood-burning fireplaces in Santa Clara anymore.”
The Fishers’ favorite room in the house is the living room, where the arched windows and fireplace are situated. Also here is a rounded ceiling enhancing the depth of the space. Resting here are an antique piano and an old phonograph from the 1920s the Fishers brought to the home. The living room’s doors lead into the garden with an eye-catching fountain.
“In the backyard are old gas light fixtures that came originally with our home,” Cheryl said. “We also have the burgundy velvet curtains that were originally owned by the Ivankoviches.”
Cheryl pointed out the house originally came with a mud room.
“The Ivankoviches were a farming family,” Cheryl said. “They owned peach and other fruit orchards here in the Valley. After residents finished their farm work, they would take off their soiled clothing and shower in the mud room before going into the house. When we acquired the house, we converted the mud room into a laundry room.”
According to Michael, who consulted with a historical architect, around 1934 or 1935 was a published Sunset magazine cover of interest featuring a home designed in the Spanish Colonial Revival style.
“This style of home was promoted to encourage travel so people can hop on the train and see more homes like this on the West Coast,” Michael Fisher said. “This style is very prominent in Pasadena. In Santa Clara, there are only two prominent homes in the two-story variety in the Spanish Colonial Revival style. The two prominent two-story examples are our home at 820 Civic Center Drive and another one at 610 Jackson Street.”
“Spanish Colonial Revival homes usually have handmade clay tile roofs,” Michael continued. “Windows of this style can be double-hung wood trim windows. There are a lot of arches, including arched doors and windows.”
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