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Craig Residence by Paul Williams in West Hills

8431 Pinelake Drive
6 Beds/4 Baths on 4,780 sqft on a total lot size of 0.67 acres built in 1939 West Hills. This home was last sold on July 25, 2008 for $775,000. This home was originally built for Talton R. Craig, an owner of the Los Angeles Full-Flow Valve Company by famed architecht Paul Revere Williams. Williams designed a one story U-shaped home with stables on 1600 acres known as the Peppergate Ranch which bordered the Chastworth Reservoir and The Orcutt Ranch (which was declared HCM# 31 in 1965).  This area was later subdivided into the Woodlake and Pinelake Estates in the 60s. According to the Paulwilliamsproject.org site, 
Local lore suggests that one of the three basements was used as a sanctuary for Japanese Americans hiding from internment during World War II and “drug fueled” parties of the sixties were attended by psychedelic rockers and their entourage of groupies. Through the years the house underwent a number of remodelings, not always sympathetic to the Williams’ aesthetic.  Because the present owners appreciate the home’s “charm and grandeur,” they hope to undo some of the previous work and preserve it for future generations. In April 2011, their hard work was rewarded when the house was given official status as  Historic-Cultural Monument #992.
In the SFV, Paul Williams also designed the Barbara Stanwyck home which was later purchased by Jack Oakie which was eventually preserved by the City of LA and received HCM# 484 (note, there is some speculation that Williams may have not been the prinicpal architect on this property). The other home that Williams designed is the Dr. A.E. Abdun-Nur residence in Tarzana which still exists but has not received an HCM status and its condition is not known as well as the Livingston Motor Car Company dearlership in Woodland Hills which also is not an HCM but still present. There may be other homes in the SFV designed by Williams which I am unaware of. If you have any info, please let me know.

Although this home is not currently for sale and probably wont be for awhile, I wanted to blog about this home because of its Historical status and its such a unique home which was heaved onto the public market before this blog was started. You can also view more pictures at Paulwilliamsproject.org.

You can view more SFV Architecture and Real Estate here



















Above images courtesy  Broussard Realty 
Craig Residence in 1952 on 1600 acres of farmland. Image courtesy Historicaerials.com
Craig Residence in 1959 on 1600 acres of farmland, still undeveloped. Image courtesy Historicaerials.com
Craig Residence in 1977 which had already become fully subsidized and developed with the original house remaining. Image courtesy Historicaerials.com
[Update July 15, 2013]: Some more pictures of the Craig Residence courtesy current owner Dodd Harris and through the Friends of the Craig Hacienda at Peppergate Ranch Facebook Page.





















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Marty Mcfly

Anything and everything about the San Fernando Valley. This blog will take you back in time when the valley was covered with dirt and orange groves to a leader in the space race to its current status as America's suburb. Come along and join me on this adventure, I guarantee you have been influenced/impacted by the San Fernando Valley in one form or another even if you have never visited or heard of the SFV.

9 comments to ''Craig Residence by Paul Williams in West Hills"

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  1. Nice blog mention. We're the current owners of the TR Craig House. My kudos for your site and affinity of the SFV. Let me know if you're interested in seeing the restoration updates

    Dodd Harris

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Dodd,

    Thanks for visiting the site and the kind comments. I would definitely be interested in seeing the latest progress. Send me an email with your contact information at sfvalleyblog@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. Dear Mr Dodd, you have a wonderful home and a diamond in the rough. I love the architecture and history of your home. Thank You for being such a cornerstone to our community. Enjoyed reading about your home and seeing the pictures..
    Hope to meet you some day!
    Sincerely,
    Mike

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks for the nice words. Any efforts to enlighten and educate people on the value of preserving and celebrating great architecture is welcomed. Whenever I have a discussion regarding the tragedy of losing significant homes and buildings (the battle over personal property rights vs. the preservation of significant structures) I always use the analogy of "Is it right to scrape off a significant painting to re-use the canvas?"

    ReplyDelete
  5. A few of Williams' other works that I know about in SFV are:

    The Julie London residence- 16074 Royal Oak Rd., Encino

    10433 Kling St., Toluca lake

    The Luther M. Barrick/Lloyd Bacon/Tex Ritter(?) residence-10063 Toluca Lake Ave, Toluca Lake

    Utter McKinley San Fernando Mission Mortuary-11071 Columbus Ave, Mission Hills

    ReplyDelete
  6. Sorry for the late response. Thanks for letting me know about the other locations. I will mark them down in my notes and keep track of them if they ever pop up for sale excluding the Mortuary obviously. I did blog about the Tex Ritter home previously owned by Jennie Garth on October 9th that was recently sold. http://sanfernandovalleyblog.blogspot.com/2013/10/celeb-re-exes-peter-facinelli-and.html

    ReplyDelete
  7. Love that house.
    It was the first house I lived when I came to America. The owners were a Hungarian couple who hired me, my sister and my brother to work for them as babysitter and my brother was his companion whenever he traveled to deliver paintings that he painted or restored. His name Laszlo Kadlacsik
    There was a hiding door in the middle game room that I loved to hide my letters. the dressing room built almost underneath the swimming pool. The master bedroom with that beautiful view. The lovely swimming pool in the middle.
    The house was sold to Mr.Terence Cooney when we moved to Lodi California, that was I believe in 1976. Always have told my kids that one day I will take then to Canoga Park to show them the first house I ever lived in America.
    I now reside in Pearland, Texas

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm Laszlo Kadlacsik's daughter (hi Terike!)... I have always loved and missed that house and sometimes still dream of going back to it. Nights of skinny dipping in the pool with my mom, curling up in front of the TV with my grandfather... the family of raccoons that used to come down the palm tree to the kitchen door, waiting for my dad to feed them cookies! This house will forever be my favorite and in my heart always with my fondest memories...

      Delete
    2. i have some questions for you about this family. could you email me?
      shoppingsoccermom@gmail.com

      Delete

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