In Part 1 and Part 2 of this look into 921 Grand Street, the 130-year-old Colonial Revival home that has stood at this corner since 1895, we learned about its noteworthy architect, A.W. Pattiani, and about its past and current owners. We also explored why a house located around the corner—1625 San Jose Avenue—seems to be oriented to face the backyard of 921 Grand Street, and the mysterious objects that were found inside the walls during renovations.
1890s kitchens
While many owners of Victorian-era homes like to maintain the style of that period, almost no one is living in a true 19th century home at this point. Changes in expectations regarding electricity, plumbing, refrigeration, and heating have resulted in major upgrades to older homes, with no area being riper for change than the kitchen.
In the 19th century and prior, kitchens were seen as utilitarian spaces, rarely visited by guests and seldom photographed. In wealthier homes, they were mainly the domain of hired domestic help. According to Old House Living, “Victorian kitchens—those before 1900—mostly had not changed a great deal since Georgian times in the early 1800s. They had a fireplace or ‘range’ (built-in to the chimney) for cooking, a dresser to keep china on, and a kitchen table for food preparation. Refrigeration was mostly non-existent, unless one was wealthy and had an ice house. Ice boxes could keep food cold only for short periods.”
Gaslight days
When 921 Grand Street was first built, it is likely that the kitchen stove burned coal, as did the furnace and boiler. The home was probably lit by gas lighting, as electricity wasn’t common in homes yet. Although gas was used for lighting, the natural gas supply and piping system wasn’t developed enough for use in stoves and furnaces until the early 20th century. There was some electricity in town, though, and according to Alameda Municipal Power, “In 1887, the City of Alameda paid $20,000 for the installation of 13 streetlights and a 90-kilowatt generating station to power them. And with that, the oldest public electric utility west of the Mississippi was created—right here in Alameda.” And so, while electricity in homes wouldn’t be widespread for a few more years, many of our Alameda streets and major intersections were brightly lit with arc lamps suspended high off the ground from cables or masts.
Kitchen revolution
Between 1900 and 1920, a wave of modernization occurred in the American kitchen. City water was connected to most houses, so wells, tank houses, and carrying water became outdated. Natural gas made shoveling coal a thing of the past as well, and electricity provided brighter and safer lighting. In the 1920s, home refrigerators were introduced, doing away with yet another onerous task—keeping the ice box stocked with fresh ice. The very first refrigerators were quite expensive though, and cost more than a Model-T Ford. And instead of plain-looking rooms with individual pieces of furniture scattered around, kitchens started to be designed with numerous built-in cabinets and drawers. The beginnings of the modern kitchen had begun, and it has been a continuous evolution ever since.
A narrow galley
When Natalee and Jeff Thomas purchased 921 Grand Street in 2018, the home had been well-maintained and some upgrades had been added over the years. But the kitchen was still a very narrow space that made cooking difficult, unless you enjoyed bumping into other people while working. Nevertheless, the Thomases decided to upgrade the bathrooms first, and so it wasn’t until early 2024 that they were finally ready to take on the kitchen.
The designer
Megan Warren Design took the job of designing a new kitchen for 921 Grand Street. After almost 130 years of being in basically the same footprint, Megan, whom the Thomases met while their children were in the same preschool, took a fresh look at the kitchen and came up with a plan to make it more functional and enjoyable to work in. Megan is a graduate of the Art Institute of California, San Francisco, where she studied Interior Design. After working for a handful of design firms, she started her own company in 2011, and specializes in high-end residential remodels. She also loves historical projects, and occasionally does small jobs.
Old job creates new problem
Originally the plan was to increase the kitchen size by up to 115 square feet. The idea was to expand it both to the north and the south, but there was a problem. The adjacent room to the north was over the garage, and was at a different level, creating a “split-level” space. This split level space was created years ago when a garage was added under the north side of the house, creating a bump-up of space into the room above it, which is now used as Jeff’s office. This previous project created a problem for the current project, because they couldn’t intrude into the garage space without significant structural engineering, such as excavating the garage lower into the ground.
A unique solution
Ultimately, the solution Megan settled on was to expand into Jeff’s office by just a few feet at counter height, but leave the garage space below that expansion intact. What this meant was that the kitchen cabinet doors below the counter are “blanks,” and don’t open to anything, because that area is actually garage space. This unique and creative solution still allowed the kitchen to be expanded by a total of 75 square feet, extending a little bit to the north and a good amount to the south. This design, in Megan’s words, “took the kitchen from postage stamp to chef’s kitchen.”
Another improvement accomplished with this remodel was to bring the kitchen ceiling height to over 10 feet; previous owners had lowered it to 8.5 feet for some reason.
The job took eight months, but the Thomases are thrilled with their new kitchen, along with the new folding French doors that lead out to a spacious new deck overlooking the backyard. The setup is perfect for entertaining, which is something the family loves—especially their large Halloween parties.
Ready for the future
The house that A. W. Pattiani designed in 1895 is well-suited for its next 130 years, as it continues to be improved and modernized to fit the lifestyles of its current residents. While each owner has made different improvements over the years, the home has largely kept its original style intact, and is a significant contributor to the historic beauty of this stretch of Grand Street. This home takes its place among our Alameda Treasures, and it has been an enriching experience to learn more about it, as we continue to share these gems with Alameda Post readers.
Thanks to Natalee and Jeff Thomas for opening their home to us, and to Megan Warren for sharing the story and photos of the major kitchen remodel.
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.
