Item 4 - Ord./Johansen-Moody - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

City of Eugene - dohansen-Moo% .~touse ~ Historic Landmark Designation Application - Written Statement Page 4 March 24, 2004 Neils purchased an additional seven acres, adjoining the house to the south, from Uriah Holeman in 1909 (see property deeds~ Attachment C). There Neils built a second home (330 River Road), where he and his wife lived after selling the main house to Laura and Arthur Moody. The Moodys did not have any children; however, nieces and nephews spent summers there. The size of the original dairy and alfalfa farm and homestead was 45 acres; however, when it was sold in 1922 to Laura and Arthur deed records indicate that the property was seven acres in size. In 1926, three acres were sold to Jens and Ane Elgaard, who built the Elgaard House still located at 390 River Road, and established as a Eugene Historic Landmark per HD 01-2. .Physical Description The Johansen-Moody House was erected in 1901, as reported by the owner in 1910, when taxes were first levied on the property. Descendents of the original ownerS report it to be a kit house, but no documentation exists to verify this. Research by the current owner shows that the Aladdin Company from Chicago was the only kit house manufacturer selling houses as large as the subject house in 1901. Sale records were subsequently destroyed by fire at Aladdin's manufacturing plant. The house is in its original setting and remains generally unchanged since its construction. It is an excellent example of the Vernacular Gothic (American Farmhouse) style. The house is typical of the Vernacular Gothic style in its emphasis on the vertical and its undecorated exterior. It is 2.5 stories in height and set on a cast stone foundation, which is in excellent condition. Small ornamental brackets accent the roof peaks. The house has a covered front porch that was widened soon after its construction. There are two front doors; one provides access to the hall/dining area with built in pass-through hutch, and the other opens onto the front living room. With two exceptions, the doors are all five panel originals, as are the two screen doors, all woodwork, and all fixtures (note decorative twisted hinges on front screen door). The windows are primarily double hung wood sash (a few windows have had the glass replaced). The small stained glass windows in the attic are original. All rooms feature Douglas fir casings and door molding, picture hanging molding, and Douglas fir floors. The walls are lathe and plaster and were skim cOated during the 1970's. The house originally had two chimneys; the north chimney still services the dining/kitchen area. When indoor plumbing was brought to the house during the 1950's, the kitchen was remodeled, a bathroom was created by enclosing the west porch, and the hand pump on the north porch, the original source of water, was removed. A hot water heater was added to the kitchen pantry during the same period. In the 1960's or 70's, a bathroom was added upstairs by borrowing space from the center upstairs bedroom. An error in the blueprints led to a construction quirk in the upstairs hallway; a bearing wall was located 1.5 feet east of its intended position, and as a result the floor slopes noticeably down to the east. House inspectors over the years have verified that this characteristic does not pose a risk to the structural integrity of the house. 54