Frank A. Forster House

The Frank A. Forster House in San Juan Capistrano, California is a 6,000-square-foot (560 m2) stucco, Spanish tile roofed mansion built in 1910 for $10,000 by Frank Ambrosio Foster, grandson of rancher John (Don Juan) Forster. It is the only remaining home of its style and era in the area.[2] It was designed as a 5-bedroom, 1-bathroom home in the Mission Revival style by Los Angeles architects Robert Farquhar Train and Robert Edmund Williams (Train & Williams). Upon the deaths of Frank and his wife Ada, their daughter Alice Forster Leck inherited the house, and bequeathed it to her nephew Pancho Forster.[3]

Frank A. Forster House
San Juan Capistrano Historic And Cultural Landmark
Frank A. Forster House
Frank A. Forster House is located in California
Frank A. Forster House
Frank A. Forster House
Frank A. Forster House is located in the United States
Frank A. Forster House
Frank A. Forster House
Nearest citySan Juan Capistrano, California
Coordinates33.5025°N 117.655278°W / 33.5025; -117.655278
Area6,000 square feet (560 m2)
ArchitectRobert Farquhar Train
Robert Edmund Williams
Architectural styleMission Revival
NRHP reference No.86002405
Added to NRHPSeptember 11, 1986[1]

The property changed owners in 1975, and was purchased as a fixer-upper in 1983 by interior designer Martha Gresham, who traded two Porterville ranches for the house. It came with a legend of a ghost, nicknamed "George the Ghost" by Gresham. She spent $350,000 restoring the mansion,[4] and used it as a home and office until 1990 when she sold it to photographer Phillip Stewart Charis.[3]

The mansion is a San Juan Capistrano Historic and Cultural Landmark.[5] It was added to the National Register of Historic Places listings in Orange County, California in 1986.[6]

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. Manniello, Robert (August 17, 2010). "Forster Mansion a hidden San Juan treasure". Orange County Register. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
  3. "The Forster Mansion – 27182 Ortega Highway". San Juan Capistrano Historical Society. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
  4. Ryon, Ruth (May 20, 1984). "A Mansion for Martha: Old 'Tear-Down' Now a Showcase". The Los Angeles Times. p. 1. Retrieved October 17, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.; Ryon, Ruth (May 20, 1984). "A Mansion for Martha: Old 'Tear-Down' Now a Showcase". The Los Angeles Times. p. 12. Retrieved October 17, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.; Ryon, Ruth (May 20, 1984). "A Mansion for Martha: Old 'Tear-Down' Now a Showcase". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 17, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. "Detailed List of SJC Landmarks" (PDF).
  6. Byrnes, Ilse M. (August 15, 1986), National Register of Historic Places Registration: Frank A. Forster House, National Park Service, retrieved October 14, 2017

Further reading
  • Jensen, James M. (1969). "John Forster: A California Ranchero". California Historical Society Quarterly. University of California Press. 48 (1): 37–44. doi:10.2307/25154327. JSTOR 25154327.
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