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The Redman House is a prime example of a West Coast Victorian farm estate home situated on almost 14 acres of farmland adjoining Highway 1 in the Pajaro Valley of California's Central Coast. She greets the Pajaro Valley's visitors and passersby like a grand lady fallen on hard times, only just a faint vestige of the noble and gracious beauty that commanded the views of the river and valley from her overlook on West Beach Road. Her former elegance has been lost to time and the elements. The once magnificent 2 story Queen Anne Victorian home stands out like a beacon in the middle of a large farm field bounded by Lee and Beach Roads. She was built for James Redman in 1897; designed by renown architect William H. Weeks. The building contract was let to Will Porter. His was the lowest bid, $3,368, in a field of five. Porter, however, made a hasty departure from town and the local firm of Lamborn and Uren, that had made an original bid of $3,843, finished the construction. The interior of the home was finished in eastern oak, birds eye maple and natural hardwoods. In her early years she was lighted by acetylene gas and it was said she contained all the conveniences for modern housekeeping. When the James Redman family died out in the
1930s, the house and property were sold to the Hirahara family
and, in fact, in the Japanese community the house is known as
the Hirahara House. Home to this distinguished and honorable
Japanese family, the house continued in her role as a farming
headquarters. When World War II broke out, the Hiraharas, along
with the other Japanese families in the Valley, were removed
from the area and delivered to internment camps. Somehow the
Hiraharas managed to maintain ownership of the house and their
lands and after the war they returned home. It was during this
period that the house became an interim home for several other
Japanese families while they reestablished themselves in the
community. |