Adobe House
14546 Riverside Drive
Designed by Mr. Douglas McFarland of McFarland
& Bonsall, Los Angeles architects, construction of the house
began in November 1958. Mr. McFarland also designed the Apple
Valley Ranchos building (most recently used as Town Hall) and Union
Bank.
The Apple Valley contractor was Gibbs, Clark and
Mangrum, (the Lloyd Mangrum of golfing fame). The home was the
first one built on Riverside Drive, and now is a portion of a
fenced six-acre estate property. The main house is about 4000
square feet, with over 6000 square feet of roof coverage, and
includes a pool/guest house of 900 square feet. The design for the
house was the inspiration of Mrs. Adelaide Newton, deceased in
1963. The present occupants of the house are Ede and George E.
Newton, the son of the original owner.
The house is constructed of wood and adobe brick,
and the interior is adobe brick accents and rough-cut cedar.
Originally the house was intended to be unpainted, and it remained
so until 1990. There is no refrigerated air conditioning in the
house as the high roofline, large overhang and open-air circulation
in the attic was always adequate to maintain comfortable
temperatures in the living areas. Beams in the main room are solid,
kiln-dried hard pine, 10” x14”, up to 25 feet long.
There was no natural gas available in this part of Apple Valley, so
the house was originally designed as a “Gold Medallion
Home,” an all-electric house featured by the Edison Company.
The home was also featured in advertisements for Apple Valley
Ranchos Development, and in the Home section of the Los Angeles
Times.
- From the brochure Historical Points of Interest in
AppleValley
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