Foy House
Encyclopedia
Foy House is an Italianate
Victorian architecture
style house that was built in 1872, located in Los Angeles
, California
. It was the eighth property in Los Angeles to receive Historical-Cultural Monument
status.
lands at the corner of 7th Street and Figueroa Street (then known as Grasshopper Street) in Downtown Los Angeles
. In 1872, Samuel Calvert Foy (September 23, 1840 - April 24, 1901) purchased the property from Los Angeles Mayor Thomas Foster
for $1,000. Foy moved to Los Angeles in 1854 and operated a successful harness business at 217 Los Angeles Street, which was the oldest business establishment in the city at the time of his death. Foy also served as the city's Chief of Police for a time. He built the Foy House at the corner of Grasshopper and 7th Streets in either 1872 or 1873, and it was there that Foy and his wife, Lucinda Macy Foy, raised their son and four daughters. The house was reportedly "the first three-story building in the city." At the time the Foys built their house, the site was considered to be "way out in the country."
Foy's daughter, Mary Foy
, was the city's first woman librarian
from 1880-1884, a leader in the California Women's suffrage
movement, a leader of the Democratic Party, and the first woman to be a member of one of the major parties' national committees.
Foy suffered from "dropsical trouble" during the last two years of his life and was eventually confined to the home. He died in April 1901, but his wife Lucinda Macy Foy remained in residence at the house. As the city's business district exapanded rapidly in the 1910s, the one-and-a-half acre site became one of the choicest building sites in the business district with 217 feet of frontage on Figueroa Street and 236 feet on Seventh Street.
The Wilshire Grand Hotel is located at the building's original site.
and across from Good Samaritan Hospital.
For more than 30 years from 1951 to at least 1981, the house served as the headquarters for Magma Power Co., one of the pioneering companies in the field of geothermal
energy. In September 1962, the Foy House was designated as a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument
(HCM #8), only the eighth property to receive the designation. In 1974, Magma Power restored the house at a cost of $50,000, using the services of five-time Oscar-winning set designer, Keogh Gleason, for the interior renovation. In 1981, About 10 of Magma's employees worked at Foy House.
In the early 1980s, the house was donated to Good Samaritan Hospital by businessman Ben Weingart.
historic district in Angelino Heights
. The hospital agreed to contribute to the move of the house, and Prager agreed to restore the home. In December 1992, the house was moved to its third location at 1337 Carroll Avenue. The Foy House was the seventh house to be moved to Angelino Heights, the first and largest historic preservation zone in the City of Los Angeles. From 1998 through 2006 it was highlighted in several episodes of the television series Charmed
.
Italianate architecture
The Italianate style of architecture was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. In the Italianate style, the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian Renaissance architecture, which had served as inspiration for both Palladianism and...
Victorian architecture
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
style house that was built in 1872, located in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. It was the eighth property in Los Angeles to receive Historical-Cultural Monument
Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument
Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments are sites in Los Angeles, California, which have been designated by the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission as worthy of preservation based on architectural, historic and cultural criteria.-History:...
status.
Figueroa Street
The original site of the house was part of the original Pueblo de Los AngelesPueblo de Los Angeles
El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles was the Spanish civilian pueblo founded in 1781, which by the 20th century became the American metropolis of Los Angeles....
lands at the corner of 7th Street and Figueroa Street (then known as Grasshopper Street) in Downtown Los Angeles
Downtown Los Angeles
Downtown Los Angeles is the central business district of Los Angeles, California, United States, located close to the geographic center of the metropolitan area...
. In 1872, Samuel Calvert Foy (September 23, 1840 - April 24, 1901) purchased the property from Los Angeles Mayor Thomas Foster
Thomas Foster (Los Angeles)
Thomas Foster served as the sixth Mayor of Los Angeles. He was a physician and responsible for the first schoolhouse to be built at Spring and 2nd Streets....
for $1,000. Foy moved to Los Angeles in 1854 and operated a successful harness business at 217 Los Angeles Street, which was the oldest business establishment in the city at the time of his death. Foy also served as the city's Chief of Police for a time. He built the Foy House at the corner of Grasshopper and 7th Streets in either 1872 or 1873, and it was there that Foy and his wife, Lucinda Macy Foy, raised their son and four daughters. The house was reportedly "the first three-story building in the city." At the time the Foys built their house, the site was considered to be "way out in the country."
Foy's daughter, Mary Foy
Mary Foy
Mary Emily Foy was the first woman head librarian of the Los Angeles Public Library, appointed to the job in 1880 at the age of 18. She had graduated the year before from Los Angeles High School. She served for only four years but left a legacy for Los Angeles librarians to remember...
, was the city's first woman librarian
Librarian
A librarian is an information professional trained in library and information science, which is the organization and management of information services or materials for those with information needs...
from 1880-1884, a leader in the California Women's suffrage
Women's suffrage
Women's suffrage or woman suffrage is the right of women to vote and to run for office. The expression is also used for the economic and political reform movement aimed at extending these rights to women and without any restrictions or qualifications such as property ownership, payment of tax, or...
movement, a leader of the Democratic Party, and the first woman to be a member of one of the major parties' national committees.
Foy suffered from "dropsical trouble" during the last two years of his life and was eventually confined to the home. He died in April 1901, but his wife Lucinda Macy Foy remained in residence at the house. As the city's business district exapanded rapidly in the 1910s, the one-and-a-half acre site became one of the choicest building sites in the business district with 217 feet of frontage on Figueroa Street and 236 feet on Seventh Street.
The Wilshire Grand Hotel is located at the building's original site.
Witmer Street
In December 1919, the Foy family sold the property for a consideration reported to be approximately $600,000. At the time of the property's sale in 1919, the new owner announced its plan to start construction immediately of a six- or seven-story structure on the site at a cost of $450,000. Though there are varying accounts as to the date (either 1906, 1918, or 1920), the Foy House was moved to its second site on 631-633 South Witmer Street, just north of Wilshire BoulevardWilshire Boulevard
Wilshire Boulevard is one of the principal east-west arterial roads in Los Angeles, California, United States. It was named for Henry Gaylord Wilshire , an Ohio native who made and lost fortunes in real estate, farming, and gold mining. Henry Wilshire initiated what was to become Wilshire...
and across from Good Samaritan Hospital.
For more than 30 years from 1951 to at least 1981, the house served as the headquarters for Magma Power Co., one of the pioneering companies in the field of geothermal
Geothermal
Geothermal is related to energy and may refer to:* The geothermal gradient and associated heat flows from within the Earth- Renewable technology :...
energy. In September 1962, the Foy House was designated as a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument
Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument
Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments are sites in Los Angeles, California, which have been designated by the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission as worthy of preservation based on architectural, historic and cultural criteria.-History:...
(HCM #8), only the eighth property to receive the designation. In 1974, Magma Power restored the house at a cost of $50,000, using the services of five-time Oscar-winning set designer, Keogh Gleason, for the interior renovation. In 1981, About 10 of Magma's employees worked at Foy House.
In the early 1980s, the house was donated to Good Samaritan Hospital by businessman Ben Weingart.
Carroll Avenue
The house had fallen into disrepair by the early 1990s. In 1992, the Good Samaritan Hospital reached an agreement with James Prager, an attorney who owned a Victorian home in the Carroll AvenueCarroll Avenue
Carroll Avenue is a street situated in Los Angeles, near Echo Park. It is in Angelino Heights, one of the older neighborhoods of Los Angeles. It consists of Victorian-era houses within a picturesque neighborhood, which has served as the backdrop for countless motion pictures from the earliest days...
historic district in Angelino Heights
Angelino Heights, Los Angeles, California
Angelino Heights is a small quarter within the Echo Park district of Los Angeles, California . It is most notable for its impressive well-kept Victorian era residences, although these are small in number...
. The hospital agreed to contribute to the move of the house, and Prager agreed to restore the home. In December 1992, the house was moved to its third location at 1337 Carroll Avenue. The Foy House was the seventh house to be moved to Angelino Heights, the first and largest historic preservation zone in the City of Los Angeles. From 1998 through 2006 it was highlighted in several episodes of the television series Charmed
Charmed
Charmed is an American television series that originally aired from October 7, 1998, until May 21, 2006, on the now defunct The WB Television Network. The series was created in 1998 by writer Constance M...
.