Resource Name: 163 Carrie Street

a. County: Santa Clara

b. USGS 7.5’ Quad: San Jose East   Date: 1978

c. Address: 163 Carrie Street  San Jose 95112

d. UTM:

e. Other Location Data: Parcel No. 47227045 

This two-story residence is generally rectangular in plan. The roof of the building is composed of intersecting gables and is covered in composite shingles. The wood-framed house is clad in horizontal wood-siding. There is a one­ story covered porch with a half-hipped roof supported by columns on the front (north) facade facade. A wood Slat balustrade wraps around the porch. The front facade is centered by the front door which is flanked by a one-over-one, double-hung wood­framed sash windows on either side. A two-over-two, double hung wood-framed sash window is centered in the pediment. The open pediment is clad in físhscale shingles. A/though the building has little ornamentation, the form of the building is in the Gothic Revival style.

Historic

1890: Estimated age

Matthew C. and Elizabeth Hall

163 Carrie Street

San Jose, CA 95112

Jody Stock / Bridget Maley

Architectural Resources Group

Pier 9, The Embarcadero

San Francisco, CA 94111

The residence at 163 Carrie Street was one of the first two constructed on the block and was built in approximately 1890

The City of San Jose prospered from the 1870s through the 1890s, and the commercial core of the City spilled over from 1st to 2nd Street. The increased development of downtown and an expanding population made the surrounding streets prime locations for residential development. In these and the subsequent three decades, numerous new houses were built in downtown neighborhoods like the one surrounding Washington Square. The blocks bounded by South 4th. South 11th, East Santa Clara and the present-day Interstate-280, were platted for primarily residential development. Victorian Era Queen Anne Style houses and later Craftsman bungalows filled out these lots by the end of the 1920s. The majority of properties surrounding Washington Square (now San Jose State University) are residential and include mostly single-family dwellings with some duplexes and apartment buildings. Most of the historic residential buildings within the neighborhood are of wood-f'rame construction. During the 1950s and 70s, with the expansion of San Jose State University, the demolition of a number of older single-family resident properties occurred, and multi-family housing was constructed in their place. This house reflects the context of early resident development in this area of San Jose from the 1880s to the 1930s.

The residence at 163 Carrie Street was one of the first two constructed on the block was built in approximately 1890. From 1895 through 1913 Elmer E. Worcester, a bookkeeper for Griffin & Skelley Company, and Lulu Worcester, his wife, lived in the residence. John W. Nice and Herbert W. Nice, a carpenter, resided in the house in 1919, and Curtis L. Srnirl, a laborer, lived the house in 1924. By 1930 Joseph and Alby A. Rogers owned and lived in the building. From 1935 through 1964 Thomas F, and Eunice A. Rogers owned and lived in the house, Thomas worked as a clothing cleaner. Matthew  and Elizabeth Hall owned and lived in the building in 1989.

The residence retains a high degree of integrity; the location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling and association appear to be unchanged. The footprint of the building matches that shown on the 1891 Sanborn Map. The residence’s setting is also intact; it is part of a block of historic structures.

This house does not appear to meet the level of significance necessary for individual National Register of Historic Places or California Register of Historical Resources eligibility at the local, state, or national level. However,.the residence appears to be eligible as part of a potential district under National Register Criterion C (and similarly California Register Criterion 3): buildings that illustrate the changing architectural tastes and attitudes in San Jose from 1880 to 1930. The buildings in this potential district are significant at the local level within the context of residential architecture and development in San Jose and include dwellings as diverse as large Victorian residences, bungalows, and cottages, Within each of these building types there are examples of the major architectural styles popular in San Jose during this period, most notably Victorian and Craftsman as well as Carpenter Gothic buildings such as this house.

The house at 163 Carrie Street appears to meet the criteria for a Candidate City Landmark under the City of San Jose Historic Preservation Ordinance. Under the Historic Preservation Ordinance it has distinguishing characteristics of an architectural type or specimen. The building is an excellent example of the Gothic Revival Style. When evaluating the building using the San Jose Tally Sheet, it scored 67 points.

McAlester, Virginia and Lee. A Field Guide to American Houses. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2000.

National Register Bulletin 16A. US. Department of the interior, National Park Service, Inter-agency Resources Division, National Branch, 1991.

Polk City Directories for the City Of San Jose, 1887-88, 1898-97,1901, 1907,1913­14, 1919, 1924, 1930, 1935, 1939, 1943, 1949-50, 1955, 1950, 1973.

Property Information Sheets. Office of County Assessor, Santa Clara County, California, “Sanborn Company Fire Insurance Maps", 1884, 1891, 1915 and 1950.