2337 California Street

1902

Present Owners:
Jim and Susan Waddingham

Original Owner:  James W. Marvel

Architectural Notes:  The solidly symmetrical, bold Eastlake stacked bays are in contrast to unusually restrained Queen Anne detail.  These Queen Anne elements include the pediments atop the bays and fish-scale-pattern shingles on the second-story walls.  The first-floor rusticated siding horizontally contrasts with the vertical paired bays.

Notable Features:  The principal decorative feature of the interior is a surprising use of lathe-turned columns and pilasters in a front room.  They are slightly irregular since a former owner bought rejected ones from a local mill.

Historical Notes:  This was the Marvel House, first owned and occupied by longshoreman James W. Marvel.  He was a descendant of a Ferndale family.  Also residing here were Floyd M. Marvel and his wife Geneva.  Floyd was a printer by trade, working for a time as pressman for the Humboldt Times.  This property passed from Marvel ownership in 1923 to Lucian Langdon.  He was a cement contractor and lived here 25 years.  The Waddinghams purchased the home from the Jack and Lorna Spencer family, who lived here for over twenty years.

This home is enjoying its second time on the Eureka Heritage Society Home Tour.