RESIDENCE OF ROBERT S. MOORE MENLO PARK, CALIFORNIA - ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT

RESIDENCE OF ROBERT S. MOORE
MENLO PARK, CALIFORNIA - ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT

Calif.. Burlingame—C. H. Bennett Building Company awarded contract for the erection of a new home to cost $100,000 at Menlo Park for Robert S. Moore, head of the Moore Shipbuilding Company. Engineering & Contracting, 1920

Albert L. Farr

When Albert Farr created the home of Robert S. Moore in Menlo Park, a dream came true. With an author's privilege, let us translate his thoughts and visions into speech.


"It is Mexico, the golden; Mexico, land of sunshine, of fruit and flowers; Mexico, the 'New Spain' of the West. The traditions of the early colonists from the mother country have become a settled heritage in language, customs, buildings, modified sufficiently to meet local conditions of climate and soil.

"In my veins flows the blood of the conquerors.   The home I build must recall the land of my forebears; in it I wish reflected the pride and pomp of a noble race, softened by the charm and romance of its devotion to family ties.

"The spirit of hospitality must be evident—that traditional hospitality of the Orient which has become also a tradition of Spain, revered and handed down to Spain's children.

"And, indeed, there must be more than a suggestion of the Orient itself. For Moorish art and imagery are entwined in the life of Spain. Let there be felt, then, subtle influences of Grenada, of the Alhambra; the cool tinkle of water in a thirsty land, a tiled fountain in a courtyard, delicate arabesques and arches, interlacing grilles, recessed balconies. 

"But there must be no discord between the old world and the new. Our actual conditions are to be considered ; our climate and countryside, the wealth of verdure, the spread of branch, and the riots of color that succeeding seasons bring. And all the accessories and devices that add to the comfort and convenience of modern life are to be provided. To weld together all these varying elements of the past and the present into a harmonious ensemble—this is the ideal for which I will strive."

ENTRANCE DRIVEWAY - RESIDENCE OF ROBERT S. MOORE
MENLO PARK, CALIFORNIA - ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT

Accepting the differences between Californian and Mexican vegetation, this is the ideal which Mr. Farr has accomplished. An alluring picture greets you as you turn from the highway into this broad avenue with its sentinel guard of tall, straight poplars. 

MAIN FACADE - RESIDENCE OF ROBERT S. MOORE
MENLO PARK, CALIFORNIA - ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT

Straight through the outer court gate goes your eye, to the focal point of the picture—the richly modeled Churrigueresque doorway "chiseled like a jewel," as Ibanez says of the Toledo porch. The charm of this bit of fanciful ornament is emphasized by its axial importance, the surrounding simplicity of wall surface, and its sentimental significance.

DETAIL OF MAIN ENTRANCE - RESIDENCE OF ROBERT S. MOORE
MENLO PARK, CALIFORNIA - ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT

The branches of a magnificent oak cast delicate tracery of light and shade upon the near corner of the house, still further enriching the setting of the door ; and the mass outline, above and around, frames a background with a well-defined "informal balance".

THE MIRROR POOL - RESIDENCE OF ROBERT S. MOORE
MENLO PARK, CALIFORNIA - ALBERT FARR. ARCHITECT

While all these elements of the picture do not consciously register at once, it is certain that the mellowness of color causes an instant stir of pleasure.  Walls of a soft salmon pink; tile of varying shades from tan to reddish brown, with occasionally one of warm blue; woodwork and grilles of that tone which is the borderland between blue and green; the emerald base of lawn and the sapphire crown of sky—here is a luscious combination which would disarm the severest critic.

CARRIAGE COURT GATEWAY - RESIDENCE OF ROBERT S. MOORE
MENLO PARK, CALIFORNIA - ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT

Passing around the house, each side has its own special interest.

THE LAWN - RESIDENCE OF ROBERT S. MOORE
MENLO PARK, CALIFORNIA - ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT

The living rooms and living porch lead to a broad open terrace overlooking lawn and rose garden. 

OAKS AND LAWN - RESIDENCE OF ROBERT S. MOORE
MENLO PARK, CALIFORNIA - ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT

This lawn, with its splendid surrounding oaks, is obviously intended by nature and art for an open air annex to the living quarters of the house ; and the walled rose garden for similar use when greater seclusion or shelter is desirable. 

ROSE GARDEN FROM TERRACE - RESIDENCE OF ROBERT S. MOORE
MENLO PARK, CALIFORNIA - ALBERT FARR. ARCHITECT

There is a fascinating atmosphere of the Old World in the rose garden; long, curving, tile-capped walls, with high arched gates, posts crowned with urns, silhouetted against the background of feathery pepper trees and trembling poplars—one might well be in the "Forbidden Garden" of some Andalusian convent.

THE HOUSE FROM SOUTH GARDEN
RESIDENCE OF ROBERT S. MOORE - ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT

On the opposite side of the house, the guest chambers look out over a bright garden border to an oblong lawn in which lies a long, narrow pool surrounded by stepping stones. This will in time be shielded by a high hedge, so that it will form a little retreat of absolute privacy.

THE HOUSE FROM WEST GARDEN
RESIDENCE OF ROBERT S. MOORE  - ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT

The service court is surrounded by flower beds and orchards, and from this side the house presents a picturesque grouping of roofs and chimneys far removed from the usual utilitarian aspect.

MAIN FLOOR PLAN
RESIDENCE OF ROBERT S. MOORE  - ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT

A square, high-vaulted hall connects the entrance directly with the patio, which is the heart of the house. 

FOUNTAIN IN PATIO - RESIDENCE OF ROBERT S. MOORE
MENLO PARK, CALIFORNIA - ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT

It is practically impossible to describe any patio; there is an elusive charm that must be experienced in person. 

PATIO - RESIDENCE OF ROBERT S. MOORE
MENLO PARK, CALIFORNIA - ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT

 This one, indeed, is not just an enclosed court; it has a romantic air; one expects something to happen, but nothing except what is peaceful and joyful.

PATIO TOWARD LIVING PORCH - RESIDENCE OF ROBERT S. MOORE
MENLO PARK, CALIFORNIA - ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT

Only the growth of vine and shrub is needed to perfect it, especially in the case of the urns cropping out of the roof along the sides, and the balcony at the rear. 

PATIO - RESIDENCE OF ROBERT S. MOORE
MENLO PARK, CALIFORNIA - ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT

Incidentally, the corresponding pinnacles along the outer terrace side of the living porch do not quite justify themselves.  A clear sweep of roof would have been somewhat more pleasing there.

PATIO AT NIGHT - RESIDENCE OF ROBERT S. MOORE
MENLO PARK, CALIFORNIA - ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT

                 THE INTERIORS

LIVING PORCH - RESIDENCE OF ROBERT S. MOORE
MENLO PARK, CALIFORNIA - ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT

The living porch itself, with its walls of sliding glass between patio and terrace, is a long room in pleasant tones of tan with an extremely interesting Moorish tile wainscot of blue and grayish white with touches of yellow. The wooden ceiling is noteworthy, stained a soft dove gray. 

FOUNTAIN IN LIVING PORCH
RESIDENCE OF ROBERT S. MOORE - ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT

Living and dining rooms are treated with plain plaster walls painted a creamy white, and with rich honeycomb ceilings. They are dignified, restful rooms, and furnish a good foil for the more brilliant portions of the house.

STAIR HALL TO PRIVATE SUITES - RESIDENCE OF ROBERT S. MOORE
MENLO PARK, CALIFORNIA - ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT

The stair hall opening from the patio and leading to the private suites in the upper story has quite the flavor of Grenada with its tiled wainscot and floor, its curving stairs with delicate metal railing, and its fountain under the broad Moorish arch.

When these rooms are completely and consistently furnished the interior of the house will acquire the distinctive character which the exterior already possesses; for, although barely finished, this house and its setting have already acquired individuality and harmony.

                 THE GARDENS

PLOT PLAN
RESIDENCE OF ROBERT S. MOORE - ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT

Probably the feature that has caused the greatest comment in the gardens recently developed at the R. S. Moore home at Menlo Park is the rapidity with which these new gardens have taken on an old and mature effect. Only three months after the gardens were completed attention was called to the fact that they looked to be at least five years of age. Most new places look new, and do not take on the time-worn feeling for several seasons and only after nature has been given time to do her work. In this case, however, time was "taken by the forelock" and nature by the "ears" and given a premature push into early maturity. As in business Mr. Moore demands maximum results in a minimum of time, so in this work maximum results were sought for in the shortest possible period.

Two big factors enter into the element of quick results in garden construction: First, broad sweeps of lawn, and second, the purchase of large-sized nursery stock. By largest size nursery stock, we do not mean a full grown tree, but simply the largest size of stock that a nursery can handle with practical results. Thus in our selection of the nursery stock for this place only the very finest and largest specimens were purchased. It is a peculiar fact that there are no single nurseries in this State that contain the best stock of all varieties. The immense number of ornamentals which thrive successfully in California make it impossible for nurseries to specialize in everything, and we have found after much experience that it usually takes at least a dozen nurseries to supply every variety in a large plan if the best stock is desired. In this garden seventeen nurseries were patronized to obtain the stock necessary. Incidentally this is one of the big reasons why it does not pay to place the development of a garden plan in the hands of any one nursery.

John William Gregg

The main landscape plan in this garden was first conceived and designed by Professor John W. Gregg, of the University of California, and the excellence of the scheme as worked out has more than demonstrated Professor Gregg's ability in landscape design. The general scheme was of a two-fold nature: First, the carrying out of axes and lines of the house into the garden, thus tying in the garden with the house and making of the two a closely bound and harmonious unit, and second, to divide the garden into a number of separate and distinct compartments, as out-of-door rooms, each with its own function to perform. Only a visit on the ground can show how perfectly these effects have been worked out.

 SUMMER HOUSE - RESIDENCE OF ROBERT S. MOORE
MENLO PARK, CALIFORNIA - ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT

As the work progressed the writer had the privilege of developing some parts more in detail than the original plans indicated. Such an area was originally devoted to a gardener's plotting shed and hot beds, but was later redesigned to contain a garden house, a rockery with tree ferns and a naturalistic pool and waterfall, with an open-air fireplace for summer evening entertainment. A number of these details are shown in the illustrations. 

OPEN-AIR FIREPLACE - RESIDENCE OF ROBERT S. MOORE
MENLO PARK, CALIFORNIA - ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT

This compact little group of attractions exemplify the out-of-door living-room idea, and will be used continually in good seasons of the year.

GARAGE
RESIDENCE OF ROBERT S. MOORE - ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT

The property in 1941 showing the long driveway of poplars.

The property today, now in the town of Atherton.

Across the street is Moore Acres with a Robert S Drive.

The house today minus its Churrigueresque.

Moore Dry Dock Company

The Stanford Daily, Volume 77, Issue 19, 27 February 1930

ROBERT MOORE WILLS $30,000 TO UNIVERSITY

Bequest Giving Memorial Scholarship Is Probated In Redwood City Court

University of California Receives Like Gift From San Francisco Financier

By the terms of the will of Robert S. Moore of San Francisco and Menlo Park, filed for probate yesterday in the superior court in Redwood City, Stanford is to receive a gift of $110,000 for a scholarship fund to he Known as the Robert S. Moore scholarship. The University of California received a similar bequest to establish a Florence Moore scholarship. According to Acting President Swain, the University authorities have not been informed of the exact nature of the scholarship or its purpose. Dr. Swain declared that the gift had come out of a clear sky. Moore, a prominent San Francisco capitalist, was president of the Pacific Securities Company, chairman of the hoard of directors of the Paraffine Companies Ltd., and associated with the Risdon Iron Works and Moore Shipbuilding Company, he left an estate of over a million dollars, the greater part of which will go to his wife, Mrs. Florence Moore. One bequest of $50,000 goes to the San Francisco Community Chest. Another gift is one of $5,000 to the San Francisco Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Besides the two universities and Mrs. Moore, there are a number of smaller beneficiaries of the will. The well-known Menlo Park resident died February 16 in San Francisco. Moore was 73 years of age at the time of his death.

Florence Moore Hall

Designed by Milton Pflueger, head of California’s oldest architectural firm, Florence Moore Hall was deliberately built to be asymmetrical. The often-recounted story is that Florence Moore, who donated $1 million for the residence, provided the money on the condition that ice cream be served each day in the dining halls. She also specified that closets in each room accommodate a woman’s formal gown. Florence Moore’s husband, Robert S. Moore, joined her in having a residence named after him - the Row house called Robert S. Moore South or, more commonly, BOB.

"HILL GROVE" RESIDENCE OF MR. GEORGE LEWIS, BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA

 

"HILL GROVE"
RESIDENCE OF MR. GEORGE LEWIS, BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA
 ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT.   J. FRANCIS WARD, ASSOCIATE

     George and Gertrude Lewis were from a wealthy San Francisco society family.  Their wealth and unusual marriage enabled the Lewises to create "Hill Grove", one of the most beautiful and most storied estates in the history of Beverly Hills.  The Lewises had what was known as a modern marriage. They didn't live together most of the time, and they didn't interfere with each others personal... activities.

    When the Lewises built "Hill Grove", Benedict Canyon was still mostly rural and largely empty of residences. Ranch land and a few citrus groves were located on the lower, flat terrain, and patches of chaparral and clusters of live oaks dotted the steep, arid hillsides. Benedict Canyon Drive was a dirt road. 

    Upon its completion, ten-acre "Hill Grove" was a startling sight. Its grand wrought-iron gates, which stood on dusty, unpaved Angelo Drive, opened into a long, paved driveway that wound up the hill to the mansion, passing the swimming pool near the bottom of the property and the expansive, grassy lawns, which required a team of gardeners for constant watering and care. 

   

    For an estate of its architectural distinction, extensive grounds, and prominent location. Hill Grove nonetheless received almost no public notice upon its completion in 1925. Why? George and Gertrude Lewis-in true, blue-blood fashion-did not actively seek publicity for the estate. They didn't need to get press coverage by showing off their home, or to send out publicity stills to newspapers and magazines to increase the adulation of their fans. They weren't a part of the Hollywood hierarchy.

    But they were starstruck. Or at least Gertrude Lewis was.

  "Ever since Hollywood’s golden age of silent movies in the 1920s, cinema fans have flocked to Beverly Hills to see the 'homes of the stars'. One Beverly Hills resident, Gertrude Lewis, did not have to leave her 10-acre 'Hill Grove' to see the most famous actors and actresses.

    They came to her estate, and, no, she was not a powerful producer or director, or the financial backer of films.

    From the early 1920s to the early 1950s, Gertrude Lewis’ sprawling 10-acre 'Hill Grove' estate—and her very grand Tudor mansion—was a favorite shooting location for films, and later some early TV shows. Why did Gertrude Lewis rent out Hill Grove as a movie location so frequently? She  wasn't hard up for cash.

    Gertrude rented the estate for locations, then donated the fee to several charities helping the poor.

    The real reason was that she got to meet each decade’s leading stars and watch the filming of major motion pictures. Gertrude Lewis had plenty of time for this 'hobby'. Her husband, George, who owned Shreve & Co., the famed San Francisco jeweler, lived in the family’s San Francisco house.

    He enjoyed the life of a bon vivant. Herb Caen, the noted San Francisco Chronicle columnist, told some of the stories.

    George Lewis, wrote Caen, 'who owned the most beautiful women in town, was a good man to know: If he took a liking to you, gold baubles floated your way.' Another time, Caen wrote: 'Millionaire George Lewis, silver Champagne bucket at left elbow, ravishing ‘keptive’ at right, presiding over his sycophantic circle at the old Templebar.

    They knew how to keep women in those days: Nob Hill penthouses and open charge accounts, cinq-a-sept and off to Amelio’s for Bill’s peerless martinis.' Gertrude Lewis obviously knew about her husband, and obviously, she did not care.

    She had her Beverly Hills estate, traveled to Europe for a year at a time, and enjoyed meeting all the stars at her estate.

    Was Gertrude also entertaining men-friends at her home away from her husband’s prying eye?

    Like several great Benedict Canyon estates, 'Hill Grove' was demolished and its grounds subdivided in the 1960s.

    Today, 'Hill Grove', which had been such a prominent Beverly Hills landmark for so many years, and which appeared in so many films, has vanished entirely, except for a street named Hill Grove, which was one of the estate’s driveways." Haute Living — Los Angeles

"HILL GROVE"
RESIDENCE OF MR. GEORGE LEWIS, BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA
 ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT.   J. FRANCIS WARD, ASSOCIATE

  Pictured at the front gate of the estate are Laurel and Hardy and Jacquie Lynn (the child) in a scene from Pack up Your Troubles. 

"Manhunt of Mystery Island"
RESIDENCE OF MR. GEORGE LEWIS, BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA
 ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT.   J. FRANCIS WARD, ASSOCIATE

    Once the driveway reached the top of the hill, it traversed more flat lawn, passed through brick gateposts, and ended at the motor court with a circular lawn and lily pond in front of the mansion's main entrance.

Wayne Manor - "Batman & Robin"

RESIDENCE OF MR. GEORGE LEWIS, BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA

 ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT.   J. FRANCIS WARD, ASSOCIATE

"HILL GROVE"
RESIDENCE OF MR. GEORGE LEWIS, BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA
 ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT.   J. FRANCIS WARD, ASSOCIATE

Wayne Manor - "Batman & Robin"

RESIDENCE OF MR. GEORGE LEWIS, BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA

 ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT.   J. FRANCIS WARD, ASSOCIATE

ENTRANCE COURT
RESIDENCE OF MR. GEORGE LEWIS, BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA
 ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT.   J. FRANCIS WARD, ASSOCIATE

"HILL GROVE"

RESIDENCE OF MR. GEORGE LEWIS, BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA

 ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT.   J. FRANCIS WARD, ASSOCIATE

"HILL GROVE"
RESIDENCE OF MR. GEORGE LEWIS, BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA
 ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT.   J. FRANCIS WARD, ASSOCIATE

Larrabee Mansion - "Sabrina" (1954 film)
RESIDENCE OF MR. GEORGE LEWIS, BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA
 ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT.   J. FRANCIS WARD, ASSOCIATE

"HILL GROVE"
RESIDENCE OF MR. GEORGE LEWIS, BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA
 ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT.   J. FRANCIS WARD, ASSOCIATE

Larrabee Mansion - Sabrina (1954 film)

RESIDENCE OF MR. GEORGE LEWIS, BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA

 ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT.   J. FRANCIS WARD, ASSOCIATE

Larrabee Mansion - Sabrina (1954 film)
RESIDENCE OF MR. GEORGE LEWIS, BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA
 ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT.   J. FRANCIS WARD, ASSOCIATE

"HILL GROVE"

RESIDENCE OF MR. GEORGE LEWIS, BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA

 ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT.   J. FRANCIS WARD, ASSOCIATE

    The Lewis mansion was an extravagant and skilled-essay in the Gothic Revival: stone-trimmed archways; large, leaded glass windows; slate roofs; castle-like crenellations at some rooflines; and picturesquely clustered red brick chimneys. Extensive stone and brick terraces around the house provided spaces for walking, or for gazing over Benedict Canyon.

TERRACE
RESIDENCE OF MR. GEORGE LEWIS, BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA
 ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT.   J. FRANCIS WARD, ASSOCIATE

"HILL GROVE"
RESIDENCE OF MR. GEORGE LEWIS, BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA
 ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT.   J. FRANCIS WARD, ASSOCIATE

"HILL GROVE"
RESIDENCE OF MR. GEORGE LEWIS, BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA
 ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT.   J. FRANCIS WARD, ASSOCIATE

LIVING ROOM
RESIDENCE OF MR. GEORGE LEWIS, BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA
 ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT.   J. FRANCIS WARD, ASSOCIATE

"HILL GROVE"
RESIDENCE OF MR. GEORGE LEWIS, BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA
 ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT.   J. FRANCIS WARD, ASSOCIATE

"HILL GROVE"
RESIDENCE OF MR. GEORGE LEWIS, BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA
 ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT.   J. FRANCIS WARD, ASSOCIATE

"HILL GROVE"
RESIDENCE OF MR. GEORGE LEWIS, BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA
 ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT.   J. FRANCIS WARD, ASSOCIATE

DINING ROOM
RESIDENCE OF MR. GEORGE LEWIS, BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA
 ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT.   J. FRANCIS WARD, ASSOCIATE

VIEW INTO LIBRARY
RESIDENCE OF MR. GEORGE LEWIS, BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA
 ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT.   J. FRANCIS WARD, ASSOCIATE

LIBRARY
RESIDENCE OF MR. GEORGE LEWIS, BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA
 ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT.   J. FRANCIS WARD, ASSOCIATE

"HILL GROVE"
RESIDENCE OF MR. GEORGE LEWIS, BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA
 ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT.   J. FRANCIS WARD, ASSOCIATE

BEDROOM
RESIDENCE OF MR. GEORGE LEWIS, BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA
 ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT.   J. FRANCIS WARD, ASSOCIATE

        Soon after "Hill Grove" was completed, it played a leading role in Clara Bow's Kid Boots for Paramount in 1926. 

Kids Boots (1926)

Betty Co-Ed (1946)

    "Hill Grove" also appeared in Republic's King of the Newsboys (1938), starring Lew Ayres and Helen Mack; The Crooked Road (1940); You Belong to Me (1941), starring Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda; and Night and Day (1946), a completely fabricated Warner Bros, bio-pic of composer Cole Porter starring Cary Grant as the apparently heterosexual composer and Alexis Smith. The estate appeared in Monogram's 1932 film Police Court. 

    George Lewis sold Shreve & Co. in 1948. According to Herb Caen, "George Lewis had to retire from running Shreve's jewelry store, because he doled out so much of the stock to pretty ladies. Square-cut, pear-shaped, they all looked alike to George"