The Last Bungalow- 2505 Q Street

2505 Q Street was first advertised for sale in October, 1907

The Last Bungalow- This ad appeared May, 1908 in the Sacramento Bee. The Bungalow at 2505 Q was originally on the market from October 1907- November 1908

The May 1908 ad reads

​The Last Bungalow
On "Q" Street, Between 25th and 26th Sts.
                                                          $400
                                                              Gives You The Deed

                          You pay this much yearly for rent and only have a bunch of Rent Receipts to show for it. Won't buy you a thing. 
                      Pay the rent to yourself; enjoy the feeling of posession. Settle down in your own home, one that you actually own. 
___________

                There is but one block of Bungalows in all of California north of Los Angeles, and this is the last one remaining unsold in the block.
Five beautiful rooms; quaint panels and plate rail; open fireplace; built-in sideboard; splendid kitchen; porcelain tub and patent toilet; hot-water connection; gas and electricity; beamed ceilings; walls and ceilings tinted. Everything a home should be. Shades and fixtures go with the house. All ready to move in. Large lot, well graded and filled. House 30 feet back from walk. No front fences. Cement walks. Sewer in alley, all connected. Two car lines within a block and a half. Good property all around.

The price is low. The terms are generous and easy, and this is absolutley the LAST ONE out of the 12.
The opportunity for a modern home in block where everything is new--where the owners are proud of their possesions, and where you CAN be in yours now.
By ringing up Main 96 one of our salesmen will call on you. Will surprise you at the moderate price asked, show you through the property, and for your own good try and break you from the rent-paying habit. Our number is Main 96
___________________________
Wright & Kimbrough
607 J Street                       Main 96

A series of advertisements 1907-1908

The October 1907 ad reads

Another Los Angeles Bungalow Ready

$400 Cash Makes it Yours
EACH BUNGALOW WE BUILD HAS IT'S OWN CHARACTERISTICS. WE NEVER DUPLICATE.
​
It's a little beauty-- even case-hardened, super-critical salesmen say that, and every nook and corner in it spells comfort. Its location is on Q Street, between 25th and 26th, on a 40 x 80 high-graded lot, with cement sidewalk down, not only in front, but all around the house.

From the broad, generous, sunlit porch you enter a combined reception hall and parlor with a quaint window seat and paneled walls. This in turn opens into the dining-room, whose massive pillars, open, clinker brick fireplace, old-fashioned beam ceiling, high panels, and plate rack suggest infinite comfort and good taste. Here, too, is another wide window, with deep window seats fitted with lockers, and also a combination china closet and sideboard cut through into the pantry behind.

There are two splendidly light and airy bedrooms, with a snow white bathroom between, containing porcelain tub, washstand and medicine cabinet, and ample closet room has been provided.

The back porch has patent toilet and stationary tubs. Gas is piped for cooking and electric light is all through the house.

Then there is- but, no, the ad man has taken too much space already, and a whole page in The Bee would fail to do it justice. It must be seen to be appreciated.

The keys, the price (which is absurdly low) and a host of interesting details can be obtained in our office, where you are cordially invited to come and see us about it. Come quickly, though, for be it ever remembered that a unique little home like this will go like winking, and it's "First come, first served."

Wright & Kimbrough
Sacramento's Specialists in Real Estate
607 J Street​​​​​

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The Bungalow at 2505 Q Street, as it stands in July 2020

The Bungalow at 2505 Q Street. A new Brick base has replaced some of the original siding, but the home is otherwise in tact and resembles the 1908 sketch to a "T"

Architectural Features: Low-pitched, end gable roof with overhanging eaves, four-over two sash windows in the front, eight-over two sash windows and a craftsman style oriel on the West side of the house to accomodate the window seat inside. Sunny, open porch.

 Early Residents of 2505 Q Street:

Newlyweds Clyde J. Tharp & Marie Edna Tharp (Belchee)

The groom, Clyde J. Tharp held a "responsible position" for the Standard Oil Company, and the bride, Miss Marie Edna Belchee was the youngest of 7 daughters. All of Marie's sisters were married already, so Marie's wedding was the last one, and all of the Belchee girls were married off. The couple were married at noon on Thanskgiving Day, 1908, at the residence of Marie's Sister, Mrs. Warren Myers (née Luella Belchee) at 616 3rd Street in Woodland, California. Marie was not the only one of Luella's sisters to be married at the noon hour at the pretty c. 1890 Victorian on Third Street. Many wedding were held there at sister Luella's house, which seems practical when there are 7 daughters to hold weddings for. Warren Myers, Luella's groom, was manager of a Woodland Creamery, built in 1895 and burnt to ashes in a fire in 1904. He oversaw the rebuild, modifying plans taken from a Modesto Creamery. The Myers were also later very active in Real Estate   
     The Tharp wedding in Thanksgiving, 1908 was quite the event, juding from the mentions in various news articles. After the wedding, the newlyweds departed by train to Sacramento, where the new Bungalow at 2505 Q Street was already prepared for their arrival.  The grooms parents, Mr & Mrs. E. J. Tharp (née Lulu Gray) gifted the newlyweds with "the complete and elegant furnishings of one room of their new home." Oh, how I wish I had photos, but in the meantime, the descriptions from a newspaper article, printed in the Woodland Daily Democrat, paint the picture. 
​

Woodland Daily Democrat, November 27, 1908

                                

Weddings of
       Thanksgiving


Clyde Tharp and Miss Belche Married in Woodland







A pretty Thanksgiving wedding was solmenized at the residence of Mr. and Mrs. Warren Myers at the noon hour Thursday. 




The interior decorations of the Myers home were very artistic and attractive. The color scheme in every room was pink and green....pink ribbons radiated from the center chandeliers in all directions. 

















The bride wore a lovely gown of cream silk messaline, cut directoire style and trimmed in point lace. She carried an exquisite boquet of white carnations.

The bridesmand, Miss (Alta) Myers, was attired in a blue silk costume of pretty design and her bouquet was of pink carnations.

The pretty little ring-bearer (Roma Tharp) was dressed in white. 

wedding presents...consisted of silver, cut glass, pictures, linen, bric-a-brac, and a wide range of valuable articles, both useful and ornamental.

A complete silver set presented by the Sacramento employees of the Standard Oil Company was much admired.

The most valuable as well as the most useful remembrance was from the parents of the groom, the complete and elegant furnishings of one room of their new home.

...amid showers of rice and many good wishes, they left for Sacramento, where Mr. Tharp has prepared a pretty bungalow for the reception of his bride. The number is 2505 Q street. 

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    The Tharps, while they resided in Sacramento, visited Woodland often, sometimes bringing along their new Q Street neighbors, and they tended to return to Woodland for a Thanksgiving celebration each year. Clyde went to work for the Bert McDowell Wholesale Grocery Company sometime around 1912, and worked there until he passed in September, 1936, at the age of 52. While the Tharps lived on Q Street, they were quite social with their neighbors. Marie played bridge and was active in the Busy Bee sewing club with many of the neighborhood ladies.                                                                                                     In June, 1927, the Tharps sold the bungalow at 2505 Q to Reverend I. W. Young, the pastor at the Church of the Nazarene located at 28th & S streets. At the same time, they bought a home in the new St. Francis Oaks subdivision (present day Curtis Park) from William Murcell. You may rememer architect and builder William Murcell from my post about the Judge Shields Home. By 1927, the Tharps had lived in the little bungalow on Q Street for nearly 20 years. Their daughter, Dorothy (Dorothea) was born in February 1913 and grew up on our bungalow block. The Tharps must have started outgrowing the home, with the new baby, and also the house guests from Woodland or Oakland that were often visiting. In 1920, 2505 Q was listed for sale, but it didn't sell. Instead, the Tharps had a Summer Home built up near Phillips resort, where they had rented cabins and traveled with their neighbors in prior seasons. I imagine that this Summer Home gave them the space that they were seeking while they waited to sell Q street and upgrade to a larger home. When Dorothea was married in 1933, her wedding reception was held at the Tharp's new home, 2161 Markham Way. William Murcell was the builder of this home, with a permit filed February 12, 1927 to construct the dwelling and garage at 2161 Markham Way at the cost of $2,800. In June 1927, the Tharps purchased the home for $8,600 and sold their Q Street bungalow for $4,000. They left the little bungalow in the hands of Reverend Young, and they moved out to the next layer of suburbs, as many of their contemporaries had.
     The Tharps were the first family to make 2505 Q Street their home, and were deeply entrenched in the neighborhood's social scene. These little bungalows were perfect for newlyweds, and for starting families, and a deeply connected community began to form around the bungalow block. Even those who left the block found themselves returning to visit the familiar row of bungalows and their friendly neighbors. 

Clyde Tharp worked for the Bert McDowell Company for over 20 years. The photograph is from The California State Library Collection. Citation McDowell, Bert, Co. Sacramento, Calif: McCurry, 1910. Print.

Here is the artistic craftsman style oriel on the West side of 2505 Q. I can imagine Marie Tharp and her friends playing cards while seated at the window seat within.