This weekend I went to an open house in Ramona for an A. Quincy Jones home that's for sale. It was hosted by Keith York of Modern San Diego. You might be asking yourself, how did an A. Quincy Jones house land in a small rural community like Ramona?
The house was commissioned by Everett and Elrena Warnes through Cal-Sun Building Co.
In 1948, A.C. Hvistendahl asked A. Quincy Jones to design an exhibition house to meet the need Hvistendahl saw for low-cost contemporary housing in San Diego.
The prototype was a wood post and beam 1,000 square feet home with 2 bedrooms. It's known as the "San Diego" house.
The concept won an AIA award for Builder's House of the Year.
Source: Architectural Forum, 1950
As of 1950, 28 "San Diego" houses had been built. It's unclear exactly how many were built in total. Keith has a list of the ones that are known in San Diego here.
Source: Maynard L. Parker, photographer. Courtesy of The Huntington Library.
Back to Ramona.
In 1946 Everett and Elrena Warnes purchased a one acre lot in Ramona.
The couple worked with Furlow & Associates, the Exclusive Sales Agents for the Sun-Villa, to purchase their home. The modifications the couple requested increased the price from $8,750 to $12,449. They signed the contract on September 9, 1949 and here it is.
The amount of documentation that comes with this home is pretty incredible. The original Sun-Villa brochure, contract and photos documenting the construction have all been passed down through the subsequent owners.
This two car garage may have been one of the upgrades they requested.
A Citroen is quite a car for Ramona. Up to that point, the town's claim to fame was being the poultry capital of the US.
The kitchen has been remodeled and there might be a few other "updates" but all-in-all it is in surprisingly original condition.
Classic Jones
Source: Builders' Homes for Better Living, 1957 by John L. Chapman, A. Quincy Jones, and Frederick E. Emmons
Post & Beam
Tongue & Groove
Interior of the Hvistendahl San Diego model house has the identical fireplace.
Source: Maynard L. Parker, photographer. Courtesy of The Huntington Library.
That looks like a General Lighting fixture.
At the open house, Keith pointed out the boat hardware that was used on the San Diego houses.
Source: Maynard L. Parker, photographer. Courtesy of The Huntington Library.
It's still there.
Keith at the ephemera table.
Contact him if you're interested in purchasing this modern gem in the country: Modern San Diego
The sales office for Furlow & Associates was located at 4415 El Cajon Boulevard.
The San Diego house model was located a couple miles west on the 2500 block of El Cajon Boulevard, at Hamilton.
The address for the Sun-Villa model home was 2548 El Cajon Boulevard, San Diego, CA. The site is now occupied by a former Lyon's Van & Storage building that can be seen here in the background.
In the photo above, you can also see California Neon Products next to The Berkshire hotel. What a great little building that was. They moved to 2514 El Cajon Boulevard in 1956. Now it's a parking lot. The Berkshire Motor Hotel is still in operation.
The San Diego model house on El Cajon Boulevard. This is one of the only photos I've come across offering a little neighborhood context. The corridor was a busy street. In fact, at the time it was still US Highway 80.
Source: Maynard L. Parker, photographer. Courtesy of The Huntington Library.
That must be the neighboring church's roof.
This is 2548 El Cajon Boulevard today. The church on the left has been there since the 1930s. Lyon Van & Storage was built in 1955, which means the Hvistendahl model home wasn't around for very long.
Hey! There's the North Park Water Tower peeking over the fence.
Source: Maynard L. Parker, photographer. Courtesy of The Huntington Library.