Walking by the home at 744 Morse Street today you'd never know that the home is now 94 years old! Take a look at the 2005 photo below to see how the home looked back when it was only 85 years old!
The residence was built in 1920 at 744 Morse Street in the Rose Garden neighborhood. The original owner William Raymond Wilson was married to Mary Adele Wilson (daughter of San Jose Mayor Charles Martin) and died in an apparent suicide at the Capitola Wharf in 1931. Mr Whitney Wright lived there from 1949 to until his death in 2005. Neighborhood residents Mark DeMattei, David and Clyde LeBaron purchased the house with plans on tearing down and subdividing the lot. The trend at the time was to tear down an older home and build 3 or 4 homes on the same lot with a shared driveway (like the multiple house sets on Naglee near Park and on Hedding and Park).
At the time, there was much discussion about what should happen. The YMCA had decided to give up its plans of owning the whole block when it sold the YMCA mansion at Morse & Emory and was willing to trade some of its remaining empty lot for parking space behind the Wright residence.
The biggest issue was the large number of old growth Redwood, Oak and Elm trees that were going to be cut down and if the new homes would fit in.
Thankfully the neighbors spoke up, and a compromise was reached where the LeBarons and DeMattei Construction agreed to move and restore the residence to its former glory. The catch was that she'd have to shed most of the acreage to make room for 2 new homes and 22 YMCA parking spots.
Here is how the 2 new homes fit in today (2014) with the 744 Morse Wright Home on the far right.
At the time, there was much discussion about what should happen. The YMCA had decided to give up its plans of owning the whole block when it sold the YMCA mansion at Morse & Emory and was willing to trade some of its remaining empty lot for parking space behind the Wright residence.
The biggest issue was the large number of old growth Redwood, Oak and Elm trees that were going to be cut down and if the new homes would fit in.
Thankfully the neighbors spoke up, and a compromise was reached where the LeBarons and DeMattei Construction agreed to move and restore the residence to its former glory. The catch was that she'd have to shed most of the acreage to make room for 2 new homes and 22 YMCA parking spots.
Here is how the 2 new homes fit in today (2014) with the 744 Morse Wright Home on the far right.
I encourage folks walking down this street to appreciate the quality of the homes and how well they fit into the neighborhood. The only bummer you'll encounter is that the sidewalk ends before you reach Emory!
If you want a peek inside you can read about check out the Look i Loos article.
If you want a peek inside you can read about check out the Look i Loos article.