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Historic Name

W.C. Schell House

Address

1894 N Euclid Avenue
Upland, CA 91786

Evaluation

Building
5/8/2007

Construction Date

1911

Current Owner

Lorin C. & Annabel T. Spencer

Current Owner Address

1894 n Euclid ave
Upland, CA 91786

Description

Occupying an acre parcel at the southeast corner of Euclid and 19th, this is a two-and-one-half story residence in the American Colonial Revival style. A side gable roof with boxed eaves caps the clapboarded structure. Brick chimneys mark each end of the ridgeline. Centered over the facade, a dormer containing a row of six-over-one double-hung sash windows is topped by an arched pediment. An attached one-story porch spans the lower facade. Defined by brick piers, the porch has been enclosed with windows. The entry is marked by an arched hood carried on paired brackets. Paneled pedestals and a lattice balustrade edge the porch roof. The upper story fenestration articulates three bays. On the south a rounded bay is filled by three twelve-over-one sash windows. A tripartite window consisting of a 2111 opening flanked by 611 is on the north. The center bay contains a pair of small six-over-one sash windows.

This impressive property is significant for its architectural merit, as a former grove house on Euclid Avenue, and for its association with several prominent members of the community. The assessment record indicates that trees were first planted around 1989, during the ownership of James Ford (c. 1895-1906). Josephine Volrath (1907-08) and Katherine Parker (1909-10) were the next assessed owners. The directories show Frederick D. Parker, orange grower, at the southeast corner of Euclid and 19th. Beginning in 1911 L.G. Baldwin held title. b ester G. Baldwin was the son-in-law of Henry Eckstein, the Crackerjack executive from Chicago whose winter home was in the next block north. According to a newspaper article of the time, Eckstein built a house for his daughter and son-in-law.

Other features include additional chimneys, arched windows flanking the chimneys in the gable ends, a paneled pediment over the side entry to the porch and roof balustrades in the rear. Dense vegetation screens further details from view. The property is fenced and gated, its driveway marked by pylons with fluted capitals. A pergola and carriage house with living quarters above it are also on the property. Substantially intact, it appears to be in good condition.

However, it may be that Eckstein had the Parker house remodeled, a scenario given added credibility by the following notice in the Los Anseles Builder and Contractor (11/16/11): "Architect Homer W. Glidden...is preparing plans for remodeling a residence at Upland for H.G. Eckstein. The interior will be entirely renovated and the work will include new bath, plumbing, painting, plastering, furnace, harwood floors, etc." Glidden was the architect of several homes nearby and the designer of the ~arnegie ~ibrary in Upland. Baldwin lived in the house as an orange grower until the property, including all of lots 318 and 317 of the ~ntario Colony, was sold to W.C. Scheu in 1922. Willis C. Scheu owned a factory at Stowell Street and Second Avenue in Upland which manufactured orchard heaters and smudge pots. According to historian Esther Black (Stories p. 106), Scheu was a pioneer in orchard heater design "and developed ten gallon bowls for oil and tall stacks to improve combustion when California boosters objected to the term 'smudge pots I . . . Three fourths of the ten million heaters in use in 1939 were Scheu heaters." Also a rancher, Scheu lived in the house for several years. He passed away in 1942 but the property remained in the family until 1962 when it was purchased by its present (1990) owners. The surrounding acreage was subdivided around 20 years ago. Nonetheless the house, outbuildings, and gardens retain a remarkable degree of integrity.