The Frank A. Forster House in San Juan Capistrano, California is a 6,000-square-foot (560 m2) stucco, Spanish tile roofed mansion built in 1910 for $10,000 by Frank Ambrosio Foster, grandson of rancher John (Don Juan) Forster. It is the only remaining home of its style and era in the area.[2] It was designed as a 5-bedroom, 1-bathroom home in the Mission Revival style by Los Angeles architects Robert Farquhar Train and Robert Edmund Williams (Train & Williams). Upon the deaths of Frank and his wife Ada, their daughter Alice Forster Leck inherited the house, and bequeathed it to her nephew Pancho Forster.[3]
Frank A. Forster House | |
San Juan Capistrano Historic And Cultural Landmark
| |
 Frank A. Forster House | |
  Frank A. Forster House  Frank A. Forster House | |
| Nearest city | San Juan Capistrano, California |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 33°30′09″N 117°39′19″W / 33.5025°N 117.655278°W |
| Area | 6,000 square feet (560 m2) |
| Architect | Robert Farquhar Train Robert Edmund Williams |
| Architectural style | Mission Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 86002405 |
| Added to NRHP | September 11, 1986[1] |
The property changed owners in 1975, and was purchased as a fixer-upper in 1983 by interior designer Martha Gresham, who traded two Porterville ranches for the house. It came with a legend of a ghost, nicknamed "George the Ghost" by Gresham. She spent $350,000 restoring the mansion,[4] and used it as a home and office until 1990 when she sold it to photographer Phillip Stewart Charis.[3]
The mansion is a San Juan Capistrano Historic and Cultural Landmark.[5] It was added to the National Register of Historic Places listings in Orange County, California in 1986.[6]
References
edit- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ Manniello, Robert (August 17, 2010). "Forster Mansion a hidden San Juan treasure". Orange County Register. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
- ^ a b "The Forster Mansion – 27182 Ortega Highway". San Juan Capistrano Historical Society. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
- ^ Ryon, Ruth (May 20, 1984). "A Mansion for Martha: Old 'Tear-Down' Now a Showcase". The Los Angeles Times. p. 1. Retrieved October 17, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.; Ryon, Ruth (May 20, 1984). "A Mansion for Martha: Old 'Tear-Down' Now a Showcase". The Los Angeles Times. p. 12. Retrieved October 17, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.; Ryon, Ruth (May 20, 1984). "A Mansion for Martha: Old 'Tear-Down' Now a Showcase". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 17, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Detailed List of SJC Landmarks" (PDF).
- ^ Byrnes, Ilse M. (August 15, 1986), National Register of Historic Places Registration: Frank A. Forster House, National Park Service, retrieved October 14, 2017
Further reading
edit- Jensen, James M. (1969). "John Forster: A California Ranchero". California Historical Society Quarterly. 48 (1). University of California Press: 37–44. doi:10.2307/25154327. JSTOR 25154327.
 | This article about a property in Orange County, California on the National Register of Historic Places is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |