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The architect, Julius Huber, built this home across the alley from his original home in Cochran’s Third addition to Edgewater. Huber was responsible for the construction of some of the earliest homes in the area and he lived in Edgewater for 20 years. As the years passed, he bought additional land and designed a smaller home with two bedrooms and a bath on the first floor. The original garage with servants quarters still stands at the back of the property. The permit was taken out in November 1904, and he did not move there until sometime in 1905, after his wife died. We believe that he designed the house for the needs of his wife, as there are two bedrooms on the first floor – a highly unusual feature in houses of this era – and that he had already sold his Lakewood home shortly before his wife died.

The home has an eclectic style of architecture, with the influence of the Tudor shown in the exterior half timbered detail at the second floor level. The rest of the exterior was either stucco or narrow board siding. Over the years the front porch was enclosed, but it is now open with a beautiful hand rail in the craftsman style. The exterior has been changed to cedar siding in a natural color. The white stucco at the second floor level is original. The roof line was adhered to and this gives the second floor rooms some unique corners. The foundation is face brick with some detailing.

Entrance is through a small hallway with new mosaic tile and into a reception hall. The striking feature of this space is the two arches framed in walnut, and the decorative plaster design in the space between the arches. This forms the double opening to a back hallway and stairs to the second floor. Locating the staircase separate from the reception hall signals American Craftsman design, with the staircase being a part of the intimate family part of the home, and the reception hall living room and dining room being the more public part of the home.

The floors are the original quarter-sawn oak. All the doors are replacements, but the moldings surrounding the doors are replacement walnut based on the original moldings in the upstairs master bedroom. The living room opens into the dining room, with a bay window and craftsman details. At the back of the dining room is the entrance to the newer kitchen.

The kitchen was expanded towards the back with an addition that includes a mud room. There is a center island and quarter sawn oak cabinets. The most remarkable addition is the antique style tin ceiling that covers the kitchen and eating area. It has been spray-painted gold. The eating area was once the second first floor bedroom. It now connects to a hallway with a full bathroom and a guest room towards the front of the home, with the original flooring of Douglas fir.

Ascend to the second floor on the original staircase with replacement spindles. A previous owner placed a large pool-like tub in the bedroom on the right. It was removed by the current owner and divided into a small bedroom and bath.

The Master bedroom is at the front of the home. One previous owner was a dance instructor and she used this space for classes. There was also an alcove off the room that has been made into a closet, and the floor is the original Douglas fir. The fireplace is the original gas with a grate that is the same as the one at 5222 Lakewood, also a Huber designed home. There is a master bath off the bedroom, with both a walk-in shower and an amazing vintage claw-footed tub with wood edging. The hallway opens to a third bedroom.

This was a gut rehab in 2004, and the contractor and owner chose to preserve many of the home’s original features, and upgrade many interior elements. The original woodwork was probably oak, but had been painted. All the crown moldings in walnut were copied from the moldings in the master bedroom. The reconfiguring of the first floor bedroom arrangement was done by a previous owner. The current owner commissioned the stained glass fixtures in the second floor hallway. Every effort was made to create an interior that matched the vintage of the home.