“When we build, let us think that we build forever. Let it not be for present delight, nor for present use alone; let it be such work as our descendants will thank us for, and let us think, as we lay stone on stone, that a time is to come when those stones will be held sacred because our hands have touched them, and that men will say as they look upon the labor and wrought substance of them, See! this our fathers did for us.” — John Ruskin
More than a style
The Craftsman style, and the Arts and Crafts movement that inspired it, wasn’t just a home style. It was a philosophy of living that promoted simplicity, quality, natural materials, and a lack of unnecessary decorations. The Arts and Crafts ethos was inspired to a large degree by John Ruskin (1819-1900), an English writer, art historian, lecturer, draftsman, and philanthropist of the Victorian era. Over his lifetime Ruskin wrote over 250 works, covering such diverse topics as art criticism, history, architecture, geology, the environment, ornithology, politics, and social reform. He is considered to be a polymath—defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as “a person of great and varied learning; a person acquainted with many fields of study; an accomplished scholar.”
“Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.” — William Morris
Another highly influential figure in the Arts and Crafts movement was William Morris (1834-1896), a British textile designer, writer, poet, artist, and social activist. Morris sought to harmonize all of the arts in the design of the home, prioritizing nature and simplicity of form. His quote about having nothing in your house that is not “useful” contains perhaps the most important single nugget of wisdom of the Arts and Crafts movement—that to create a true and harmonious environment, everything should “belong” and not be an extraneous and unnecessary ornamentation that has no connection to the form and function of the building. The rustic and comfortable nature of Craftsman homes is a reflection of this philosophy.
American Craftsman
In Part 1 of this series, we met Gustav Stickley (1858-1942), a German-American designer, furniture maker, publisher, and leading voice in the American Arts and Crafts movement. His magazine, first published in 1901, was called The Craftsman, and its design philosophy ended up being a major influence on American Craftsman architecture. This style became the dominant form in American architecture from the early 1900s all the way through the 1920s.
Alameda’s own Craftsman legacy
Alameda has a treasure trove of Craftsman style homes, dispersed throughout the older sections of town. The collection of homes on Burbank Street, Eighth Street, and Portola Avenue is a particularly concentrated group of Craftsman style homes. Historian Dennis Evanosky describes this area as “the Burbank-Portola Heritage Area, originally known as the Bay Park Tract and once home to Schuetzen Park.” Many of the homes in this Heritage Area were built by builder George H. Noble, who also has a street named after him in Alameda. Noble Avenue, a single block between Tilden Way and Broadway, features another collection of classic Craftsman style homes.
A Craftsman on Central Avenue
We learned in Part 1 of this series that the home at 2450 Central Avenue was built in 1909 and first owned by Ralph C. and Daisy M. Davis, who purchased their new home for $2,474. The Davis family owned the home until the early 1950s, with the Davis’s son Wesley being the last member of that family to live there.
After that, a series of owners became the caretakers of the home, with one family having a 30-year residency there, lasting from 1984 to 2013. They would prefer their names to be left out of this article, but according to the daughter of this family, her mom is alive and well and living in a retirement community now, while her father, who has passed, was once the director of the Alameda Housing Authority.
The Surunis years
In 2013, this well-loved home was purchased by Christ Surunis and his wife Tamsin Orion, who would live in the home for the next eight years, along with their son Teo. Christ, who now lives with his family in New Hampshire, remembers his time in Alameda fondly. “I actually lived in Alameda for over 20 years and at three different parts of the island—East end on Briggs, Stonehenge off Lincoln, and then 2450 Central. A truly lovely place to live.”
The Surunis family loved the Craftsman style of their home, and took good care of it during their years there. Not only did they fix the holes in the living room floor left by a former dental office, but also replaced the roof, installed an emergency gas shut-off valve, added new skylights to the large attic, installed vintage doors on the garage/studio, and generally lavished attention on its care, beautification, and preservation. I had the privilege of looking through all of the home records that Christ left behind for the current owners, and it was obvious from these records that Christ was a very caring and detail-oriented homeowner.
The next generation
The current owners, who purchased 2450 Central Avenue in 2021, have chosen to remain anonymous, but graciously opened their home to Alameda Post readers in order to share their love of this historic home’s Craftsman style. During their time in this house, these owners have undertaken a major kitchen remodel, which involved increasing its size and relocating a bathroom, while at the same time respecting and maintaining the original Craftsman style. They also upgraded the home’s main electrical service, added a car charger, and replaced a damaged chimney. All of these upgrades, whether to the expanded kitchen or increased electrical capacity, represent ways that older homes must evolve to meet the needs of residents as times change.
2450 Central Avenue is an example of how an older home can be updated to meet the needs of a new generation, while at the same time retaining the timeless style and beauty of a previous generation. In that sense, this home, like so many in Alameda, has managed to achieve the best of both worlds.
America’s favorite style
For well over 100 years, the Craftsman style has been one of America’s favorite architectural styles. Today’s open floor plans and built-in cabinetry and seating are a direct result of the ideas popularized by the Craftsman style homes of the early 1900s. These homes resulted from a shift toward handcrafted work and a rejection of the mass-produced decorative elements of the industrial age. In Victorian times, kitchens were not generally open to the rest of the house, but the Craftsman style sought to open rooms up to each other and foster better flow and social connection. Today’s “chef’s kitchens,” where guests gather to socialize around large kitchen islands, are the evolution of these early Craftsman ideas.
An architectural wonderland
We are fortunate in Alameda to have so many different architectural styles to appreciate and learn about. With styles such as Gothic Revival (1850s-1860s), Italianate (1870s), Stick (1880s), Queen Anne (1890s), Colonial Revival (late-1890s into early 1900s), Craftsman (1900-1925), and later styles such as Spanish Revival (1915-1935), Mediterranean Revival (1920-1940), Storybook (1930-1935), Streamline Moderne (1935-1950), and so many more, we have a wealth of visual beauty to appreciate on our neighborhood walks and history tours.
Stay tuned to this series about our Alameda Treasures; you never know which one will be featured next.
Contributing writer Steve Gorman has been a resident of Alameda since 2000, when he fell in love with the history and architecture of this unique town. Contact him via [email protected]. His writing is collected at AlamedaPost.com/Steve-Gorman.
