Originally constructed at the turn of the 20th century with its first location at Yosemite Avenue and D Street, then moving to F Street in 1927, the historic Victorian Rodden Home, on North Third Avenue since 1955, is now up for sale.
The home’s present owner, financial advisor Kenneth Boone, is moving to a larger and “newer” location – a 1920s ‘Craftsman’ model on F Street – to serve as his business headquarters as he looks to expand in the next few years.
Acquired by Boone in 2009, the once dull gray and dilapidated five-bedroom home had seen better days, but the renovations and modern-day convenience upgrades by Boone, while still keeping the Victorian appearance, are right out of a premiere episode of HGTV.
“I knew the house could be brought back to its old self with modern day necessities,” Boone said. “I strived to keep the theme Victorian.”
In addition to restoring the curved interior ceilings and matching the historic mahogany wainscoting and keeping Victorian colors for all the rooms, Boone added a period lead glass front door, re-shingled the tower with fire resistant ‘fish scale’ shingles and added some moldings for detail. He also replaced the weather damaged columns with an elaborate set of posts, railings, and spindles to enhance the Victorian period look.
“I feel the first story of the interior is the best look,” Boone said of the mahogany hardwood flooring, onyx tile hearth and molded mahogany mantel fireplace in the living room area as well as a Lincrusta wainscoting leading up the central stairway.
“We knew there was going to be a lot of work but the house comes with a lot of history and we spent a lot of time going through pictures of Victorians to find the look we wanted.”
The history of the home traces back to Ed Rodden of the Rodden Brothers that had a general merchandise business established in the 1880s and later branching out to banking with the Stanislaus County Savings Bank.
When it came time to paint the home, Boone turned to professional designers who advised the right colors could enhance the appearance and mask any shortcomings of the home, such as a lost Queen Anne dome that didn’t survive one of the moves.
The medium blue base color with a slightly different blue shade on the tower sections and off-white trim gave the home a renewed street presence. The home’s bright yellow and red accents also catch the eye.
“This type of detailing keeps the viewer focused on all the qualities of the Victorian,” Boone said.
His renovation efforts earned him a feature in a previous issue of Cottages and Bungalows.
Boone doesn’t know what might be in store for the home after he sells, adding it could be used for residential or business since it is in a location zoned for either use.
“That was a brilliant idea by the city to allow that,” Boone said.
He plans much of the same effort to restore his new project and office at 723 W. F St.
The home can be viewed on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IL3MoDDjrwg
