Greene & Greene Virtual Archives
Mrs. Mary M. Kew House
San Diego, California, 1912-13
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Mrs. Mary M. Kew House
San Diego, California
1912-13

Mary Marston Kew commissioned the Greenes to design a five-bedroom English-style residence, garage, and landscaping in 1912. The massing and materials of the house were similar to the James Culbertson house built in 1902, but with a refined result more analogous to the Mortimer Fleishhacker Sr., House in Woodside, California. The lower level had carefully placed stones at the base of the foundation that gradually gave way to a pebbledash wall surface. The upper levels had half-timbering and shingle infill. The house was elaborately appointed with an expensive rolled-eave roof with a subtly sculptured surface meant to resemble thatch. The shingles were individually shaped to give the roof an irregular surface treatment. The Tudor style was carried out with the small windowpanes, oak linen-fold paneled interiors, and broad carved stone fireplaces. Construction lasted over a year, from early 1913 to 1914.