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Historic Homes
Historic Home Detail | 35
Address
590 N 2nd Avenue
Upland, CA 91786
Architect
G. Stanley Wilson
Evaluation
Building
4/27/2007
Construction Date
1926
Current Owner
Upland Women's Club
Current Owner Address
590 n 2nd ave
Upland, CA 91786
Description
An attractive example of Spanish Colonial Revival design, the
Upland Women's Club occupies two lots at the southeast corner of
Second Avenue and F Street. It is one-story, stuccoed, and capped
by a multi-gabled, tiled roof of medium pitch. The asymmetrical
plan features both flat and round-headed openings, multi-light
casement windows, and an entry shaded by a shed roof at the south
end of the west elevation. The most notable element of the design
is a Palladian window, also on the west elevation, centered below
a front gable. Pilasters, a keystone, and a frieze bearing the
legend "Women's Club" frame the recessed, leaded glass windows.
No major alterations compromise the historic appearance of the
clubhouse, which is in good condition.
The Upland Woman's Club is significant on several levels, meeting
both architectural and historic criteria. Designed by Riverside
architect G. Stanley Wilson, the building is one of the best
examples of the Spanish Colonial Revival style in Upland. Over its
sixty-four year association with the Woman's Club, the building has
been associated with nearly all the active and prominent members
of the community. It has served both as clubhouse for a social and
service organization with deep roots in the community and as a city
cultural center.
On October 16, 1926, the cornerstone of the clubhouse was laid in
a ceremony culminating a 20-year project. The Woman's Club had
been founded in June 1903, with meetings held in club members'
homes. Ella Westland, editor and publisher of the Upland News, was
the first president. Activities ranged from the social to the
charitable and civic, with the club supporting the Upland Library,
the public bandstand, and the Red Cross. By 1906, a desire for a
building of their own led to the formation of a building committee.
The committee consisted of Mrs. Manker, Mrs. Norton, Mrs. Wilson,
and Mrs. E. C. Harwood. In the meantime the club met in rooms in
the Commercial National Bank on Second Avenue. Subsequent years
saw meetings held in the YMCA and the Upland Inn; none of these
buildings are extant today.
The building committee secured a lot and then chose an architect,
basing their decision on their admiration for a clubhouse in
Elsinore designed by G. Stanley Wilson. An Englishman, Wilson
emigrated with his family, arriving in Riverside, California in
1895 at the age of sixteen. His architectural practice was
established in that city in 1909. Notable commissions included
several contributions to the famed Mission Inn for Frank Miller,
numerous residences, as well as commercial and institutional
buildings. Wilson became known for school building design, and
achievements in that arena include the Magnolia Avenue School,
Lowell School, Liberty School, Hemet High School, Corona High
School, early buildings at the University of California at
Riverside/Citrus Experiment Station, and the Upland Junior High
School.
At Wilson's urging the club managed to sell their lot - considered
too small for their needs - and acquired from Mr. Engle the two
lots on the southern corner of Second and F. The building,
completed at a cost of over $20,000, included a 400-seat
auditorium, suitable for lectures, concerts, and other community
functions. One of the many donations towards the building's
completion and furnishing was the elaborate front window, an
endowment by the "Father" of Upland, Charles E. Harwood.
A vital link in historic landscape and the social fabric of Upland,
the Woman's Club has been in continuous use since its dedication.
It appears eligible for listing in the National register of
Historic Places at the local level significance as well as for
local designation.