Redman-Hirahara house facing final chapter

The Redman-Hirahara house has sat on a 14-acre parcel on the outskirts of Watsonville since William Weeks built it in 1897 for farmer James Redman.

Since then, the Queen Anne Victorian has become an iconic piece of Watsonville history, epitomizing the agricultural epicenter the region was to become. 

But the story runs even deeper than that.

The house, located at 1635 W. Beach St., also exemplifies both the resilience of the people who live in the Pajaro Valley, and their willingness to help their neighbors in adverse times.

Now, after a failed attempt by a local group to restore the structure—which left it sitting untouched in a field for nearly 20 years—the storied house may be entering its final chapter.

The Santa Cruz County Historic Resources Commission has taken the first steps toward removing it from the National Register of Historic Places, which would clear the way for its demolition, says county senior planner Matthew Sundt, who oversees the commission.

That agency will make a recommendation to the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors in May to delist the house from the National Register of Historic Places. 

If approved, it will go for consideration to that organization, which is run by the National Park Service.

In a report to the supervisors, the commission said that the building’s deteriorated condition, coupled with “there being no interest in the community or current or previous property owners to restore the building,” is evidence weighing in favor of its demolition.

The structure is uninhabitable and has lost its historic integrity due to deterioration, the report states. 

Inspectors said that most of the building’s doors and windows are missing, and there are holes in many walls and the roof.

In addition, the structure neither rests on a foundation nor is connected to water, sewer or electricity.

“Loss of integrity, if sufficiently great, will overwhelm the historic significance a resource may possess and render it ineligible for historic listing,” the report says. 

Designed by architect William Weeks, the Victorian house has been a source of both adoration and scorn, with some hoping to preserve it and restore it to its former glory, and others calling it an eyesore and hoping it will be torn down.

The Redman family lived in the house for three decades, growing sugar beets that were processed in the local mill run by Claus Spreckels, says historian Sandy Lydon. Those industries carried the Watsonville area through the troubled economic times of the late 1800s, he said.

“The depression of the 1890s never came to the Pajaro Valley, because Spreckels had put his sugar mill in town, and the sugar rained money all over the Pajaro Valley when everybody else in the country was having a terrible time,” he said.

Eventually, the house was sold to the Hirahara family, who farmed on the land until they were forced into a Japanese internment camp during WWII. 

But local attorney John McCarthy protected the property so that it stayed with the Hirahara family. McCarthy also testified in front of a congressional committee against the displacement, Lydon said.

The family returned after the war and went back to farming, this time housing displaced Japanese families in a separate building on their property.

They lived there until the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake, when the property was red-tagged.

The Redman-Hirahara Foundation purchased the house in 2005 for $1.9 million, and led efforts to place it on the National Register of Historic Places. The group also launched efforts to restore the house and use it as a centerpiece for a visitor’s welcome center. 

It was moved slightly in 2007 and lifted onto cribbing to allow for repair of the battered foundation. There, it has languished untouched for nearly two decades.

The organization filed bankruptcy in 2009 and lost the house to foreclosure.

“We just couldn’t get critical mass,” said Lydon.

Karell Reader, who was part of the Redman-Hirahara Foundation, says the house is a cornerstone of Watsonville’s history, and one that parallels today’s political climate.

“It’s a comeback story of a family that lost everything but their dignity,” she says.

“Watsonville really showed its true heart; they were very supportive. Watsonville stood up and said, ‘they are good people, they never deserved this treatment.’ That house represents that time, and it just kills that that history will be lost.”

The property on which the house sits is now owned by the Tut family, Reader says.That family owns Elite Development Inc., which has built several hotels in Watsonville, including the Hampton Inn & Suites, on Lee Road. The company did not respond to a request for comment about plans for the property.