The Weilheimer House( Continued from Page 4)
up in nice style.” The new home mentioned in the article is the same house that stands today at 938 Villa Street, built c. 1900. The house is recognized as an“ excellent example of a Queen Anne [ Victorian ] style cottage” in an architectural evaluation completed for the city by Carey & Co. Inc. Architecture in 2003. The house is one of the few buildings left in Downtown Mountain View that predates the 1906 earthquake and one of the few historic residences associated with the city’ s original merchant community still standing. Over the years, many of the homes of the Weilheimers’ fellow merchants have been demolished to make way for downtown’ s parking lots and other developments. The most recent house lost to redevelopment is the Pearson House, formerly located next door at 902 Villa Street, built c. 1888 and demolished in 2013.
During his time living at 938 Villa Street, Julius helped lead the newly incorporated City of Mountain View. He was elected to the City Council in 1904( then called the“ Board of Trustees”). He served as the city’ s third mayor( then called“ president”) from 1906 to 1909. In 1905, his childhood friend Jacob Mockbee opened the Farmers & Merchants Bank at 201 Castro Street( now home to Red Rock Coffee). Julius served as the bank’ s first vice-president. In 1927, the bank became a branch of the Bank of Italy, now known as the Bank of America.
Sometime after 1909, Julius, Fannie, and their two daughters moved to San Francisco so that Julius could take over operation of his brother-in-law’ s businesses. Julius passed away from“ an acute attack of indigestion” on December 31, 1922. When reporting his death the Mountain View Register wrote that“ No man ever lived in this town who had more real sincere friends than Julius Weilheimer, He was honorable, clean and upright and had the heart of a child.”
An article from the October 1997 edition of the Western States Jewish History Journal nicely summarizes the role of the Weilheimers in the region:
“ They were an integral part of their community and heavily involved in the business, political and social aspects of the community. They were among the few Jewish families in Mountain View and they affiliated themselves with the large, vibrant Jewish community in San Francisco. Their descendants still live in the area and are still active in the Jewish community. The Weilheimer name will not be found on any street signs or city parks, yet they were the first of many Jews who would later build a large, dynamic community on the Peninsula.”
Today, the Weilheimer House stands as one of the most visible reminders of the Weilheimer family and the important role they played in the earliest decades of Mountain View’ s history. The pairing of a historic merchant family’ s home so close to the historic commercial building where they ran their business( 124 – 126 Castro Street) is unique in Mountain View.
But the Weilheimers were not the only prominent Mountain View family to call 938 Villa Street home. Soon after the Weilheimers left Mountain View, the house was purchased by Arthur Free, who lived there with his family until 1914. During his time in Mountain View, Free built the foundation for a long political career. He served as Mountain View’ s first city attorney from 1904 to 1910 and as district attorney for Santa Clara County from 1907 to 1919. He was also appointed Arthur M. Free the town’ s postmaster by the federal government. Free was elected as a Republican to the 67th Congress of the United States and to the five succeeding Congresses( 1921-1933), representing California’ s District 8, which at that time covered Monterey, San Benito, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and Ventura counties.
Throughout the 20th century the house passed through a number of owners and occupants. For a brief period of time it was operated as a bed and breakfast named, appropriately,“ The Weilheimer House.” In the early 1980s, the property was purchased by George Aviet and Thomas J. McCombie, who opened their fine-dining French-inspired restaurant, Chez TJ, inside the historic house on November 26, 1982. Over the past 35 years, Chez TJ has earned a reputation as one of the Bay Area’ s best restaurants.
The next chapter in the Weilheimer House’ s history is clouded with great uncertainty. The current proposal put forth by the Minkoff Group— in partnership with Chez TJ and the Tied House— is to demolish all the structures on the site and replace them with a four-story office building. Although there is some talk of relocating the house, removing it from its context in Downtown Mountain View would greatly reduce its significance and value as a historic landmark.
For most of its history, Mountain View was a solidly workingclass town full of enterprising merchants and hard-working immigrants from across the globe. Our historic landmarks are not grand mansions, domed civic buildings, or grand commercial edifices. They are the simple and stately old homes and commercial buildings that have survived decades of redevelopment and serve as proud reminders of our city’ s humble roots. The Weilheimer House at 938 Villa Street stands out among our city’ s collection of historic buildings, not just for its charming historic architecture but for the important role the people living inside it played in the town’ s early history. The fate of this house now lies with our City Council and the community it represents. The question before us is simple: Is Mountain View’ s history worth preserving?
In 1896, the Weilheimer general store was doubled in size, as shown above. It still stands today 124 Castro Street. 5 5