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Month: March 2020

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Cottage Profile: 3210 Seaview

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Tom Heffernan

3210 Seaview Ave., Corona del Mar, CA (Photo: MLS)

This 1951 Spanish style cottage was renovated in the early 2000s but maintains a great updated, original look. Wood floors, exposed beams, curved doorways, and vintage-looking doors maintain the great character of this cottage that features great indoor and outdoor space. 

Living Room of 3210 Seaview Ave (Photo: MLS)

Despite being on a half lot, this house has an amazing patio off the side with an outdoor fireplace and heat lamps.

Side Patio at 3210 Seaview Ave (Photo: MLS)

When it was sold in 2010, it came with plans and a rendering (see photo) for a second story addition that would have doubled its size but the cottage is very charming in its current 800 sq ft, 2 bed, 1.5 bath configuration.
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CdM Village’s Widest Street

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Tom Heffernan

Guess… 
what street in Corona del Mar Village has the widest right of way?

​No… 
it is not the 80 foot right of way of East Coast Highway.

Original Tract Map for PCH
East Coast Highway at Iris Ave. (Photo: Ron Yeo)

No… 

it is not the 110 foot right of way of Ocean Blvd., where the additional space beyond the road pavement provides a pleasant ocean view walkway.

Tract Map for Ocean Blvd.
Ocean Blvd., Corona Del Mar, CA (Photo: Ron Yeo)

Yes… 

it is the 130 foot wide right of way of Bayside Drive.

It was originally called “Electric Way” but when the planned “Pacific Electric Railway” did not make it as far as the Village, the road name was changed. And the wide right of way gave the opportunity for the current scenic parkway. Another GREAT asset for the Village.

Bayside Drive, Corona Del Mar, CA (Photo: Ron Yeo)

Another wide street is Avocado which was doubled in size in 1953 when Irvine Terrace was developed.

Another interesting note about street width…
Most of the Village street right of ways are 50 feet wide, while the City’s General Plan street requirements for two lanes undivided is 56 feet.  The City Public Works Standard for local streets is 60 feet.  That extra 6 feet or 10 feet would certainly make driving around the flower streets a lot easier.

Thanks to Ron Yeo for sharing this blog post with us.

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Cottage Profile: 426 Dahlia

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Tom Heffernan

426 Dahlia Ave., Corona Del Mar, CA (Credit: CRMLS; 2020)

This 1939 cottage is a great example of retaining an original look from the street and interesting interior details like exposed beams while expanding to address modern needs (open floor plan, larger closets, ensuite bathrooms, etc) and make for a great living experience. With the recent amendment to the city’s Cottage Preservation Code, more cottage owners should take advantage of the opportunity to improve the livability of their space and ensure the long-term viability of their home.

Additional photos of 426 Dahlia Ave., Corona Del Mar, CA  (Credit: CRMLS; 2020)

Looking back through the photos from when it was sold in 2009 and then 2017, you can see the house in 2009 that sold for $1.2M looks very much like the type of house that developers are bulldozing all over CDM and replacing with lot line homes. In this case, the buyer invested in a beautiful update to this house, while keeping an original look from the street, and was able to sell it for $3.7M in 2017 and ensure that this house is much too nice to ever meet a developer’s bulldozer. That former owner profited and our community wins because we get to walk past this charming 1939 cottage for many years to come.

Photos of 426 Dahlia Ave. from 2009 (Photos: SoCal MLS; 2009)

Th 4 Bed/3Ba/2800sq ft house is on the market now, listed by The Thomas Group at Surterre Properties. After a recent price move it is priced similarly to what it sold for in 2017.

Photo Gallery of 426 Dahlia Ave., Corona Del Mar, CA in 2020 (Photo: CRMLS)

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From Rossi’s to CdM Restaurant

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Tom Heffernan

A postcard of Rossi's Cafe, then located at 2325 East Coast Hwy

In his column ‘The Verdict’, Judge Robert Gardner called Rossi’s Cafe “the finest Italian restaurant I have ever patronized.” He added, “Mama Rossi featured her pickled mushrooms, which had to be tasted to be believed. I have always thought that her pickled mushrooms were particularly good because Mama Rossi used wild mushrooms she picked on the hills surrounding the present Fashion Island.”

CdM Restaurant is now at that location today.
Rossi’s was located where CdM Restaurant is today at 2325 E. Coast Highway. According to an OC Register article, this location has also been the home of Matteo’s, Brio, Garlic Joe’s, Tiramisu, Belle Theresa, and more recently, The Crow Bar.
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Frank Lloyd Wright’s Influence in CdM

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Tom Heffernan

Did you know…
Frank Lloyd Wright’s son, Lloyd Wright, designed a building along PCH in CdM? 

Retail Building at 2850-2854 East Coast Highway (Photo Credit: Ron Yeo)

A renowned architect in his own right, Lloyd designed the famous all glass “Wayfarers Chapel” in Palos Verdes as well as band shells at the Hollywood Bowl among other projects.  Lloyd originally designed the building at 2850-2854 East Coast Hwy for the Ensign Newspaper and it had a big floor pit that contained the large paper rolls for printing production.  The Ensign shut down in June 1989 after 41 years as “Newport Beach’s only home-based newspaper.”  Today, the Lloyd Wright-designed building is home to Bellissima Resale, Tony Florez Photography, Home Loans by Jeff Edwards, and California Closets.

Wayfarer's Chapel in Palos Verdes
Wayfarer's Chapel in Palos Verdes
Sowden House
Sowden House

One of the features that sets this building apart from the other storefronts along PCH are the diagonal masonry walls facing the western sun that protect the diagonal glass show windows.  

(Photo Credit: Ron Yeo)

Another unique feature is the delicate wood eave pattern that was made of teak and has now been painted over in black.

(Photo Credit: Ron Yeo)

The distinctive interlocking masonry corners can be seen at the start of the building on PCH by Bellissima or around the corner down Heliotrope at the back of the building.

(Photo Credit: Ron Yeo)

Special thanks to CdM Architect/Artist Ron Yeo for sharing this info and these photos with us.

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Cottage Profile: 2235 Pacific

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Tom Heffernan

2235 Pacific Dr., Corona del Mar, CA (Photo credit: MLS)

One of the rare survivors with an amazing view, this 1936 cottage sits on the edge of Pacific Dr. over Bayview, with a clear view of the Bay and out to the Ocean.

Photo credit: Google Maps

Located at the end of Acacia where it runs into Pacific, the 2-story home looks to have the main living areas and a secondary bedroom on the top floor and the master bedroom on the floor below it.  

Both the living room and master bedroom have massive views out the front of the house and there are decks on each level.  The 3BR/3BA, 1600 sq ft house sold for $2.45M in 2003 and looks like it has been rented out more recently.
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From Hurley Bell to Five Crowns

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Tom Heffernan

Five Crowns, 2018

Corona Del Mar’s oldest restaurant, known today as Five Crowns was built in 1936 by Matilda “Tillie” Lemon MacCulloch.  An American wife of a wealthy Scotsman, she lived in England but had grown up visiting Southern California as a child.  She modeled it after Ye Olde Bell, an inn at Hurley-on-Thames, 35 miles west of London, England and called it the Hurley Bell.   Local architect Shelby Coon used photographs of the inn to design it.  Originally planned to be an inn, the MacCullochs ended up making it their home.  

Matilda MacCulloch, 1900. (Credit: Marguerite Atkinson Collection, Sherman Library.)
​Shelton McHenry and Bruce Warren who ran the Tail o’ the Cock Restaurant in Los Angeles leased it for a new location in 1943 but it would only last for 3 years.  Tillie and her daughter would revitalize the Hurley Inn for a few years until Tillie’s death in 1948.  
Ye Olde Bell Inn in Hurley-on-Thames
Ye Olde Bell Inn in Hurley-on-Thames

After leasing it to a series of unsuccessful entrepreneurs, the restaurant was leased to the Frank and Van de Kamp families and was re-modeled and re-opened as the Five Crowns in 1965.  It continues to operate today, having been purchased by Lawry’s Food Corporation in the 1980s.