Get a Double Dose of the Weber House This Sunday

Old Riverside Foundation President Dave Stolte will be doling out a double dose of the wonderful Weber House on Sunday, December 8. First, at 1 PM, the Riverside Historical Society meeting will take place in the Brockton Avenue basement of the Riverside Medical Clinic. Dave will be going over some of what he submitted in the RHS Journal story on the ORF headquarters, The Peter J. Weber House. He promises to go off script and share some of the other things going on at the House and share updates on his research for his upcoming book on Peter Weber.

“The Weber House, a local landmark, is compelling to me on multiple levels. First, for its artistry, it is in an uncommon Medieval Spanish style and is highly decorated. It was designed by architect Peter J. Weber, who worked as lead designer for G. Stanley Wilson on hundreds of buildings over a thirty-seven-year period, including the Mission Inn’s final expansions. Secondly, the Weber House was built on a shoestring budget during the Great Depression, and Weber relied on salvaged materials to make it happen. Third, it embodies the power of local advocacy in historic preservation — the House was threatened with demolition in the 1980s. I’ll be sharing details about all this during my talk on Sunday.”

Later, from 4-7 PM, you can trade your learning cap for a nightcap at the Weber House for some magic in the Marriott Parking Lot and relax a little with mulled wine and a song at the piano. The Weber House has been shut down for some paint refreshing, and this is a great chance to see the update and spend some time in one of the most unique spaces in Riverside.

What separates the Weber from so many of the grander spaces around town is that its charm does not lean on opulence and luxury. We tend to think of important homes as big, and the Weber House is the humble home of a man with a passion for his dwelling space and for bringing his experiences around the world into his home. This is not an architectural expression of unlimited resources but of unlimited imagination. Built of Depression Era ingenuity, The humble Weber House compels stewardship. Maybe the energy transferred from Peter Weber in the placement of every brick and tile has an energy that attracts the Weber House and makes it good at making friends.