Mguire Real Estate - 100 Buck Ave. HIL

MAY 2020

100 Buck Avenue: The Cornerstone of Historic Downtown Vacaville

MCGUIRE CAPITAL GROUP REALTY

We’ve all spent plenty of time lately thinking about our homes, wondering if it’s time to replace the wallpaper, open up the kitchen or create a garden in the side yard. Mark and Lu Ann Chambers didn’t have the luxury of such optional enhancements when they purchased the Hartley House in Vacaville 20 years ago. Built in 1922 by Clement Hartley, a prominent fruit grower and banker, the historical home was in dire need of repair, from a leaky roof to electrical upgrades. Over the next two decades, the Chamberses transformed the Spanish Colonial Revival home on historic Buck Avenue into an exceptional family compound. Getting there became a full-time labor of love. The resulting masterpiece and compound has proven well worth the effort. “I actually remember this house from the very first time I was in Vacaville to meet Lu Ann’s parents,” recalls Mark, a machinist by trade. “I remember thinking as we drove past, ‘That could be an incredible home if someone were to fix it up, clean up the overgrowth, repaint it and fix the crack running down the facade.’ Little did I know it would be me who would be fixing that crack!”

Clement Hartley founded the Hartley Fruit Co. and later merged with the Vacaville Fruit Co. He then managed the Bank of Italy while constructing his family manor. The 4,500-square-foot home remains a popular landmark on historic Buck Avenue and is featured in “Historic Homes: A Downtown Vacaville Walking Tour,” a self-guided tour designed by the Vacaville Museum. The property’s legacy was entrusted to Carolyn Hartley, the third generation to occupy the grand home. Lu Ann was driving on Buck Avenue past the home when she saw Carolyn outside and, having always admired the property, decided to stop and introduce herself. “We spent three hours together, walking through and discussing her family home,” says Lu Ann. “She just wanted to know we weren’t intending to tear it down, that we were going to restore it and raise our children here. Once she knew the home’s legacy was secure, she offered to sell it to us on the spot.”

MAIN HOUSE EXTERIOR

POOL

Unlike many new occupants, who might have gutted the interior for a more contemporary and practical rebuild, Mark and Lu Ann set about making the home first livable and then exceptional. Although half a dozen five-gallon buckets stood in the living room to collect water from the leaky roof, Mark and Lu Ann were determined to preserve the coffered ceiling. They also kept the crystal doorknobs and many other historical details. Of course, modern conveniences, from three-phase wiring to a new pool house, were added as well. Today, this five-bedroom Spanish Colonial Revival, which sits on almost an acre of land, presents an extraordinary opportunity to own a historically significant house on Vacaville’s most picturesque residential street. “Clem Hartley really created a bold home at the time,” says Mark. “He chose to create this Spanish Revivalist manor when Victorian architecture still ruled the landscape. There were also many innovations for 1922, like the garage that had a below-ground pit for working on an automobile. That garage also featured a butler’s apartment, so the family was clearly well off.”

Over the years, Mark and Lu Ann’s plans for the home have incorporated all the amenities of a prominent Bay Area home, starting with an in-ground pool. They discovered before offering to buy the home that a side lot that was full of debris was also part of the sale, increasing the plot to just shy of an acre. This allowed Mark, who’d earned his contracting license at the start of the project, to add the expansive pool house and build a four-car garage with a studio apartment above. This studio space has undergone several evolutions, from office to teen rec room for their boys. The pool house can also be used for offices or an in-law suite. “Helen Hartley, the daughter, hosted many Halloween and Fiesta Days parties here after the parade when it travelled down Buck Avenue. We’ve continued her tradition of hosting parties here practically every weekend in the summer when our boys were younger,” says Lu Ann. “We have a good view of the fireworks, so we always threw a July Fourth event; we’d have friends over to light the Christmas tree as well as annual birthday parties. Halloween is a favorite, because the kids are always so curious and honest, asking to come inside and asking us why we get to live here. It’s just an outstanding home for entertaining.” While their social calendar will be up to the new owners, Mark adds that there is a certain level of responsibility that comes with owning the Hartley House. “People are going to stop by, ask about the home’s history and take an interest in its upkeep. When we were restoring it, several folks came weekly to check on the updates. And the evolution has never quite ended—removing the trampoline to put in the pool, moving the fountain from the back to the front to make room for the garage.”

As one would expect, the new owners will enjoy a formal dining and living room, updated kitchen and all the amenities of a luxury lifestyle. Over time, Mark has added an outdoor pizza oven; renovated a bedroom into a craft space for Lu Ann, who is an avid seamstress; and built out the gardens to further embellish the street appeal. This blend of old and new makes the Hartley House an incredible opportunity for its next caretakers. Through all of the changes, however, the ginkgo tree that Helen Hartley, Clement’s daughter, conveyed from Japan more than 70 years ago remains front and center, a testament to time for the home’s occupants and passersby alike.