The 1928 Model View Home is situated at the “Top of the World” in reality the topmost peak in Montclair Highlands, overlooking several counties as well as affording a magnificent sweep of the entire bay and part of the Pacific Ocean beyond.
Montclair Highlands Commands Ones of The World’s Finest Views, and Only 15 Minutes From Downtown
Montclair Realty – 1928
Combining modern features in fixtures with a marine view, the Spanish themed home with certain additions, designed by Hamilton Murdock, an Oakland architect.
Oakland Tribune 1928
Oakland Tribune March 1928
The “1928 Model” View Home “The Home Electric.” All the latest features of proven merit – the things you have wondered about are used in the “1928 Model” home, including Oakland Tribune Mar 25, 1928
Complete Electrification
Quartz-Lite – window glass
Colored plumbing ware
Venetian Cabinets
Linoleum Floors
Balanced Illumination
Oakland Tribune 1928
Screen Test for Children
In November of 1928, they held a movie screen test for children in the “1928 Model View “ home. The screen test was under the direction of the Sherman Clay Company.
Oakland Tribune Nov 11, 1928
The Oakland Tribune November 1928
The “1929 Model View” Home
For a few weeks in 1929 is was renamed.
Oakland Tribune Dec 1928
Oakland Tribune 1936
Asking price $8750.00
1954 – Asking price $17,500
1969
Location
The “1928 Model View” home is located at 1949 Asilomar Drivein Montclair. It was one of the first homes built in the hills directly behind the business district of Montclair. The area was called Montclair Highlands. The 1928 Model View Home was built just up the hill, the lone home to the left of the arrow.
1928 photos showing the of the Observation Tower – The solitary home to the left of the yellow area is the Callahan House
at 1989 Asilomar Drive Photo from East Bay Hills Project
The house has 4 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms and last sold in 1974. I don’t have a present-day picture.
English Tudor with a panoramic view of the Bay. Every room in the homes takes full advantage of the panorama of Oakland, San Francisco, and the Bay, which includes both bridges and everything from San Pablo Bay to miles down the Peninsula.
With an extra-large living room, dining room, and breakfast room and kitchen. The kitchen is usually large and is a masterpiece of careful planning and scientific, step saving arrangement. Oakland Tribune Aug 09, 1936
Oakland Tribune Aug 1936
Three big bedrooms and two bathrooms and a sundeck on the second floor.
Women will marvel at its extra cupboard space and the way we have provided for thoses hard to store odds and ends
A tour of six modern furnished homes was opened for inspection on Sunday, August 13, 1939. The houses were in Berkeley, Moraga, and Oakland. I will highlight the two places from Oakland.
Oakland Tribune August 13, 1939
Lincoln Highlands
Oakland Tribune Aug 27, 1939
Harmony Home
2700 Alida Street
1939
$6750 up
Lincoln Highlands
Irwin M. Johnson – architect
W.H. Wisheropp – owner and builder
H.G. Markham – realtor
Oakland Tribune Aug 1939
Harmony Home was one of several homes constructed in Lincoln Highlands in 1939. It is located on Alida Street at the top of Coolidge Avenue.
The compact plan included a large living room, a dining room, a kitchen with a breakfast nook, a tile bath with three bedrooms, and an informal den with access to a double garage.
Oakland Tribune August 20, 1939
Oakland Tribune August 27, 1939
In less than a month, over 12,000 had toured Harmony Home.
Before the opening of Hempstead House in Sheffield Village, the H.C Capwell’s Company created a full-scale floor plan model wholly furnished in the furniture department on the fourth floor of their downtown store.
Prominent real estate companies and builders in Montclair held an “open-house” week during the Oakland National Home Show held October 22- 30, 1937. Oakland Tribune Oct 22, 1937
A while back, I was doing a simple search on buildings in Montclair. I came across this article (posted below) from 1962, with the attached photo. It was about the destruction of the building that was to be replaced with a new $125,000 building. The new building was called the Eberhart Building.
Of course, I needed to learn more about the building that was now just a pile of rubbish, as seen in the photo above.
Location of the building – google maps
The photo above shows the structure as it looks today. In researching the address, I found that the real estate firm Winder and Gahan first occupied the site in 1938.
According to the article from 1962 – In 1921, a group of real estate men stood with “high hopes” in front of a small Spanish-style stucco building that looked entirely out of place in the open fields of the Montclair District.
“There was just a building with a sign “tract office” on it, the open fields and a dusty, narrow road in in front of it.”
This is probably how Montclair looked when that group of men stood in from of the building “with high hopes.” I don’t think they were standing in front of the same building demolished in 1962, as noted in the article. Unless it is one the right, and they moved it and changed its style?
Sales offices of real estate brokers and home builder Cos Williams 6501 Moraga Photo c1921 by Cheney Photo Advertising F-2830 Oakland Public Library, Oakland History Room.
Cos Williams office is the small building on the left in the above picture. The street going uphill is La Salle Avenue. The address was 6501 Moraga Avenue.
Oakland Tribune Oct 31, 1925
New Real Estate Firm in Montclair
In 1933 A.H. WInder opened an office at the corner of Moraga Avenue and La Salle Avenue. The address was 6500 Moraga Avenue.
Oakland Tribune Sept 24, 1933
Winder was the exclusive sales agent for the Forest Park extension and Shepherd Canyon Park.
I bet you are wondering what this has to do with the building at 2070 Mountain Blvd. Trust me; it will all make sense soon.
In 1936 A.H. WInder and J. J. Gahan formed a new firm called “Winder & Gahan Corporation.”
Oakland Tribune Sep 24,1936
New Location Announced
“With the expiration of their present lease at 6500 Moraga Avenue,” states A.H.Winder, “we will build a new office on the on the recently -acquired site, using a frontage of 72 feet on Mountain Boulevard”
Oakland Tribune Oct 1937
Oakland Tribune Oct 24, 1937
In 1937 the real estate firm of Winder and Gahan announced the recent purchase by the firm of a piece of land (Block “H”) in the heart of the business district, near the intersection of Moraga Avenue and Mountain Boulevard.
Block H – 2070 Mountain Blvd
The Heart of Montclair Business Center
Oakland Tribune Feb 25, 1940
Winder & Gahan moved into their new office at 2070 Mountain Boulevard in November 1938.
Oakland Tribune Mar 05, 1939
It would eventually be the home of Eberhart Realty. I am not sure exactly when they moved to 2070 Mountain Boulevard.
Oakland Tribune May 20, 1962
2070 Mountain Blvd Google maps
My Research
Montclair from 1935 Courtesy East Bay Regional Park District.
The above picture shows “Block H,” an empty piece of land (the small triangle). In 1938 Winder & Gahan built their new offices there. That small building would be there until 1962. It was destroyed by a bulldozer, as noted in the first article I posted above.
Maybe they moved the other building in the photo from 1921 and updated, enlarged, and added stucco. The more I looked at photo
6466 Moraga on the right
I think the building on the right is the oldest in Montclair now and in 1962 it one of least two buildings that were from the 1920s. I do think after looking at the picture from the 1920s that it is quite possible that it the same building that was moved and became the Winder offices.
The grey building on the left is probably from that same era.
“Silver Windows” was a display home in the Piedmont Pinessection of Montclair. The house opened for the public to see in 1936. The house was designed by F. Harvey Slocombe. It is on Darby Drive.
Windows, from which one glimpses the bay through lofty pines are not the only feature of this new show home.
Oakland Tribune Dec 06, 1936
Oakland Tribune Dec 06, 1936
Sunlight through “Silver Windows”
Oakland Tribune Dec 13, 1936
Oakland Tribune Dec 13, 1936
Oakland Tribune Dec 1936
From the curved window in the living room, you could see all of Oakland, plus two bridges,
Oakland Tribune Dec 1936
Oakland Tribune Dec 1936
The kitchen, with its floors curving into the wall, eliminating dust-gathering corners was of particular interest to the women visitors. The kitchen was “all-metal” with a gleaming sink, drainboard, work board, and cabinets. Oakland Tribune Mar 19, 1937
William Pinkney Toler(1829-1899) and his wife Maria Antonia (1836-1926) owned 330 (349) acres of land in the foothills of Elmhurst. Maria was the daughter of Hermenegildo “Ignacio” Peralta. William and Maria were married in 1853.
The Ranch was on the foothills road between Elmhurst and San Leandro, later known as Foothill Blvd, and is now MacArthur Blvd. The ranch was close to both the Talbot Farmand theDunsmuir Home.
Oakland Tribune Oct 08, 1888
Toler Ranch Sold
After her husband’s death, Mrs. Toler sold the ranch to the Realty Syndicate for $110,000-$120,000. The land was then subdivided and placed on the market.
Oakland Tribune Mar 26, 1906
SF Call July 30, 1906
Oakland Tribune Jan 1906
Map of Toler Heights – 1907
Shows block and lot numbers, measurements, land ownership, etc. Covers area bounded generally by Stanley Rd. [i.e. Ave.], Wise [i.e. 99th] Ave., Foothill [i.e. MacArthur] Blvd., and Hillcrest Ave. [i.e. Seneca St.]. Panel title: Map of Toler Heights, Elmhurst, Oakland. Oriented with north toward left. Cadastral map. t
Opening Day 1907
Toler Heights went on sale in 1907. A group of Investors owned the property, and the Southwest Securities Company was handling the sales for them.
In 1910 the Henderson & Tapscotts Company purchased Toler Heights. The made a lot of improvements to the tract. Opening day in was held on May 22, 1910
Looking towards Thermal Street and 90th Avenue Cheney Photo Advertising Company c1910 Previously sold on eBay
The photo above might be showing the Silva Ranch on Foothill Blvd
“Quit paying rent; by build and live in HopkinsTown, Oakland’s newest subdivision”
Oakland Tribune Aug 19, 1922
HopkinsTown is located at Hopkins St (now MacArthur Blvd), Georgia, Maple, Peralta Ave (now Coolidge), and Carmel and Morgan Streets.
California Subdivision Company handled the sales. It opened in September 1922.
Josiah Rose Farm
HopkinsTown was once the farm of Josiah Rose, who settled there in 1864. When Rose lived on his farm, Antonia Mario Peralta was his neighbor.
Rose Property 1877 Map
Josiah died on August 25, 1894.
Oakland Enquirer – Aug 25, 1894
In 1922, Rose’s daughter Mary Mulrooney (Mulroony) and her son James still lived on a small piece of the farm on Peralta Street (now Coolidge). I found that in 1933, Mary lived at 2844 Georgia Street, part of a small commercial area where Loard’s Ice Cream is today. Mary died in 1933. – Oakland Tribune Aug 19, 1922
From 1933 Directory
“Hopkinstown Like City Within a City ;In Oakland”
Oakland Tribune August 14, 1922
“Get a Home — Your Own Buy — Build –Live In Hopkinstown All for $49 First Payment”
The Oakland Post Enquirer Sept 2, 1922
“The fastest growing “small home” community in the state.”
Oakland Tribune 1922
The Oakland Post Enquirer Sept 2, 1922
“Every lot is a GOOD lot, and NO HILLSIDES!”
His home was on Georgia Street – Oakland Tribune Aug 20, 1922
“From Bare Ground to Housekeeping in Two Days”
Oakland Tribune Sept 14, 1922
Free Home Plans
California Subdivision Company prepared plans to construct an ideal one-room home economically.
Oakland Post Enquirer Sept 8, 1922
Oakland Tribune Sept 7, 1922S
The one-room bungalow included every convenience needed in a modern home, including bathroom, built-in features, kitchen sink, etc.
Oakland Tribune Sept 16, 1922
Church for Hopkinstown
Oakland Tribune Sept 14, 1922
I didn’t find many homes built in HopkinsTown, at least not advertised. This is the area I live in now. I drove around the area, trying to locate some of the homes. I did notice small homes on deep lots.
In the late 1950s, the unsold Hopkins Town lots were being rezoned for duplexes or apartment buildings. The large lots zoned for single-family homes have long caused problems for the planning department.
Oakland Tribune Dec 17, 1959
I have noticed a lot of construction around Morgan Street. They are converting a few of the Hopkins Town Tract “lots” into duplexes or triplexes.
