The 1920s cottages on Barker Way were built from kits

PHOTO by ROSHEILA ROBLES

The little houses on Barker Way in Belmont Heights—and on the north side of Vermont Street between Lucille and Tremont avenues—aren’t a historic district yet.

But residents who own and love them have begun that process, meeting last year with the city’s Historic Preservation Officer Jan Ostashay and talking to their neighbors, many of whom they know well already. This is a small, close-knit neighborhood—literally.

“We need to build a story for establishment of historic status,” says seven-year homeowner Dianne Sundstrom, who shares an immaculate 1924 Spanish-style with her fluffy Siamese cat Nala. But they may already have the story (or some of it), for there is much to say about Barker Way and Vermont Street, starting with the vibe. It feels quaint and storybook, due partly to the narrow lot size. Many of the lots are just 40 feet wide—10 feet less than standard.

There is also a decidedly Continental flavor in the architecture here, which varies from Spanish-style to English cottage.

“If you look at it from the outside, it has a Spanish flavor, but the interior does not reflect that,” Sundstrom says of her 991-square-foot house, where an antique blue-and-white subway tile floor, pedestal sink and curvy enclosed bathtub contrast nicely with the dark stone countertops and natural wood cabinets in her modernized kitchen.

“They wanted them to look American inside,” her neighbor Patty Benoit says.

They were Pacific Ready-Cut Homes, Inc., of Los Angeles, which sold about 37,000 houses in California and other states from 1908 to 1940. And these houses (and the others) were kit houses. You could order almost anything you wanted, but your house always came the same way: on the back of a truck.

“They would deliver it and they would pour the footing for you,” says Benoit, who owns a 795-square-foot frame siding home with vintage cut-glass chandeliers and the original pull-out ironing board. “And you hired someone to build it. You picked everything in this house, from a Murphy bed to a closet bed to a wall bed. The pieces were numbered. They were giant puzzles.”

Benoit has the “build book” for her house, a gift from a friendly electrician who was doing some work for her. It lists all the custom features you could choose, plus floor plans, architectural styles and inspirational slogans. “Saving the House-Wife a Mile a Day” is one—referring to these houses’ compact sizes. (Size also makes them an interesting sell, when they do go on the market.)

But how did these houses get here—to Barker Way? This is the part of the story they haven’t confirmed yet, but it sounds right.

Apparently, old man Barker (not his real first name) was a Pasadena electrician who formed the Barker Investment Company at some point and built these three rows of vacation homes. He may even have lived in one.

“He built these houses for a group of Pasadenans who wanted to come and take the airs,” says Benoit, reminding me that, so far, this is just a folk tale. The only part they’ve confirmed is the company name. The words “Barker Inc Co” are stamped on the vintage curbing in at least two places. Well, that and the fact that these houses are surely wee enough to have been vacation homes.

“You have to be a little on the minimalistic side to actually live in those houses,” says real estate agent Marna Brennan, who specializes in Barker Way and has sold so many houses that she says some people call her “Ma Barker.” “It is a pleasure to have a listing on that street because everyone who visits the homes may not be able to actually live there, but it’s an absolute joy to look at them.”

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