I am going to tell the story of my uncle and aunt's home, as they are now both dead, and the house has been recently sold, and will probably be torn down. It is a story well-worth the telling. I worry a bit about going overboard and boring everyone, but this house meant a lot to me. My mother and her brother were very close, and we would visit as often as possible. I lived with them for a year when my grandfather was dying. It was like a second home.
When my uncle Willis Stoner got out of WWll, got married, and came home, he had saved enough money to able to buy a corner lot on a man-made island (Treasure Island) in Alamitos Bay.
The island straight ahead (above) is Treasure Island. The lot they bought is the left corner, where the palm trees are. Because he was a veteran, he was able to buy lumber to build, during this era of conservation.
Above is a photo of my grandfather, Peter Stoner, framing the joists for the 2nd story, taken from under the body of my uncle Willis, probably by his wife.
Above is the framing for the original house; complete, or nearly so.
Above is a photo of Willis' wife, Katherine (Tindell) nailing the diagonal sheathing on the roof (this was before the days of plywood.)
Here is the original house complete, in 1947.
As my uncle's family grew, and his business was successful, they were able to add on to the house. In 1956, he hired architect Ray Kappe to design the addition. Below is the drawing he did, which fully incorporated the original house, adding a long, narrow, 2-story front to it, and incorporating a facade to make the original house look like a part of the whole.
Again, Willis and his father did much of the construction work. Below is his wife, Kathy, sheathing the roof, again.
Here is a photo of the house from the front:
Here is a photo taken from the patio, in the back, where you can see the original house, as incorporated into the final house, on the right hand side.
