History Center Update
By Candace Bowers MVHA President
It’ s always exciting to receive a phone call out of the blue that begins,“ Hello, my name is _____ Stierlin” or“ This is _____ Castro.” So when the History Center was contacted recently by a member of the Whisman family, asking whether we’ d be interested in some of their family photos, we were thrilled to say yes. They kindly sent us several items of family memorabilia for our collection.
We’ ve also received an anonymous donation of photographs that show the ground-breaking and construction of Eagle Park.
Immigrant House Update
By Marina Marinovich Publicity Chair & Hannah Hasbun
Financial Report
By John Figueroa Treasurer
Checking Account Balance as of 6 / 8 / 16: $ 13,083.91
• Income: $ 261.18
• Expenses: $ 2,034.42 Checking Account Balance as of 8 / 31 / 16: $ 11,310.67
Certificates of Deposit Balance as of 3 / 9 / 16: $ 71,867.07 Certificates of Deposit Balance as of 8 / 31 / 16: $ 71,893.83
We are pleased to announce that after great collaboration between the City of Mountain View and Santa Clara County and much community effort, Mountain View’ s historic Immigrant House has settled into its new home. From its original location on Bryant Street, now the site of a new office building, and after a three-year hiatus in storage at the Municipal Operations Center, the 400-square-foot cottage was safely relocated 2.5 miles away to the new Heritage Park site at 771 N. Rengstorff Ave on August 8. The trip went smoothly thanks to extensive caution and sophisticated methods used to transport it in one piece.
The city has hired an architect experienced with historic structures to ensure the building meets the rehabilitation standards set by the Secretary of the Interior. Amazingly, upon removing the dry wall in the restoration process, six layers of wallpaper possibly dating back to the 1860s were discovered. The beautifully unique wallpaper offers a glimpse of the original decor of the houses’ parlor and kitchen. It was determined that the first layer was applied when the house was first built.
Additionally, when the sheetrock in the kitchen was removed, long-forgotten artifacts were uncovered. Among these artifacts was an old Dixie ice cream cup lid, such as one might find on an ice cream packed in a school lunch with a wooden spoon inside. In the 1940s, movie stars were printed on the insides of these lids and were collected with incentives like a free poster, similar to the way baseball cards are collected. The found lid features a headshot of Roy Rogers, dating it to around 1943. The going theory is that children living in the house saved the lids. This leads us to believe that at some point Immigrant House may have acted as additional storage for the main house on the corner.
Senior Project Manager Rey Rodriguez agreed that the wallpaper unveiling was fascinating. Even more interesting“ has been the history uncovered on the people who lived in the house,” he mused.“ All of that is based on the census that I’ ve looked at over the years, and some sleuthing.” He and Candace Bowers, our president and librarian of the history room at the Mountain View Library, have been busy researching the house throughout the project.
Immigrant House undergoing restoration( Courtesy Rey Rodriguez)
Heritage Park, which will be passive-use, is set to open in December and will feature the 1880s-era Immigrant House as its central focus, accompanied by community gardens, paths, a beehive area and an 80-year-old windmill. The park will stand as a tribute to Mountain View’ s agricultural origins and provide a glimpse into daily life of the 19th century. Even further, it will reveal insights into immigrant involvement in the region’ s agrarian past.
With the historical redwood building scheduled for demolition, the Friends of Immigrant House raised the funds for its salvation and restoration including a $ 50,000 contribution each from Google and Santa Clara County. With Heritage Park preparing to open and the renovation of Immigrant House well under way, these are exciting times for residents and descendants of immigrants who once lived in this house. One such local( yours truly) is Mary Kay“ Marina” Marinovich, of Croatian heritage.
I think I can now tell my dad I helped move the little house. That the house may now thrive in an environment suited to its original purpose is a monumental blessing for immigrants and Mountain View locals of the past, present and future alike.
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