The lieritage @oeigtg of Paeifie Grove P.O. Box 1007 • Pacific Grove • California • 93950 • • www.pacificgroveheritage.org January 10, 2014 Mike and Daria Ogden 785 Mermaid Avenue Pacific Grove, California 93950 Dear Mike and Daria: This letter is in response to your 2013 query regarding a Plague Request and any historical information we may have at the Barn on your 785 Mermaid Ave. home. Your plague and informational request was researched by the Heritage Society Research Team and submitted to the Pacific Grove Heritage Society's Board at our January 2014 meeting. Unfortunately, as discussed with you previously, although the Board found your home to be architecturally attractive it was felt that additions to the original house and window and door treatments and modifications over the years compromised the historical integrity of the original structure. Maintenance ofthe historical integrity ofthe home (at the time of its original construction) is a paramount consideration in approving plague requests. This is not meant to demean the beauty of your home as it is one of the more attractive homes on Mermaid Ave. Tax and assessor records indicate that the property was first assessed and built in 1922 by Jane Johnston. However, it was noted in our Assessors File that the house built in 1922 was not the cottage that currently occupies Lot 44 ofthe Beach Tract. The 1928 Building and Classification and Computation Record indicated that a cottage was originally built in 1923, not 1922 andthatthe original owners were Laban and Ethel Johnston, possibly relatives of Jane Johnston. I was unable to confirm whether the Assessors File or the Building and Classification Report were accurate. It should be noted that the Abstract of Title Report of 1926 indicated that Laban and Ethel were owners ofrecord. In addition, there was footprint of a cottage on a 1926 map ofthe Mermaid Avenue tract in the Don Howard's The History of Pacific Grove Volumes I and II books. The aforementioned reports are attached to this letter for your review. Building permits of note obtained at Pacific Grove City Hall, CDD, were quite informative. In January of 1981, the Planning Director of Pacific Grove indicated that the residence was unoccupied and in an unsafe condition. In September of 1981 a code violation was issued declaring the property as being unsafe to be occupied due to its "rundown and decrepit condition". In July of 1984, the new owners obtained an ARB permit to make unspecified improvements to the property. In August of 1996, Vivian Savitski, owner at the time, obtained a Use Permit approval for a 22 square foot addition The Heritage Society of Pacific Grove, a 501 (c)(3) organization, was incorporated July 1976 as a California Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation. , OCR Text: The lieritage @oeigtg of Paeifie Grove P.O. Box 1007 • Pacific Grove • California • 93950 • • www.pacificgroveheritage.org January 10, 2014 Mike and Daria Ogden 785 Mermaid Avenue Pacific Grove, California 93950 Dear Mike and Daria: This letter is in response to your 2013 query regarding a Plague Request and any historical information we may have at the Barn on your 785 Mermaid Ave. home. Your plague and informational request was researched by the Heritage Society Research Team and submitted to the Pacific Grove Heritage Society's Board at our January 2014 meeting. Unfortunately, as discussed with you previously, although the Board found your home to be architecturally attractive it was felt that additions to the original house and window and door treatments and modifications over the years compromised the historical integrity of the original structure. Maintenance ofthe historical integrity ofthe home (at the time of its original construction) is a paramount consideration in approving plague requests. This is not meant to demean the beauty of your home as it is one of the more attractive homes on Mermaid Ave. Tax and assessor records indicate that the property was first assessed and built in 1922 by Jane Johnston. However, it was noted in our Assessors File that the house built in 1922 was not the cottage that currently occupies Lot 44 ofthe Beach Tract. The 1928 Building and Classification and Computation Record indicated that a cottage was originally built in 1923, not 1922 andthatthe original owners were Laban and Ethel Johnston, possibly relatives of Jane Johnston. I was unable to confirm whether the Assessors File or the Building and Classification Report were accurate. It should be noted that the Abstract of Title Report of 1926 indicated that Laban and Ethel were owners ofrecord. In addition, there was footprint of a cottage on a 1926 map ofthe Mermaid Avenue tract in the Don Howard's The History of Pacific Grove Volumes I and II books. The aforementioned reports are attached to this letter for your review. Building permits of note obtained at Pacific Grove City Hall, CDD, were quite informative. In January of 1981, the Planning Director of Pacific Grove indicated that the residence was unoccupied and in an unsafe condition. In September of 1981 a code violation was issued declaring the property as being unsafe to be occupied due to its "rundown and decrepit condition". In July of 1984, the new owners obtained an ARB permit to make unspecified improvements to the property. In August of 1996, Vivian Savitski, owner at the time, obtained a Use Permit approval for a 22 square foot addition The Heritage Society of Pacific Grove, a 501 (c)(3) organization, was incorporated July 1976 as a California Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation. , Heritage Society of Pacific Grove,Historical Collections,Buildings by alpha folder,Mermaid,785 Mermaid,785 mermaid,785 MERMAID_001_redacted.pdf Page 1, 785 MERMAID_001_redacted.pdf Page 1