Tour showcases Petaluma’s architectural charm

It was love at first sight when Ron Bausman and Art Wagner walked through the door of a 1920s-era Petaluma home on the corner of D Street more than two decades ago.

The couple, both Pennsylvania natives who had careers in visual merchandising, were enticed by the charm and originality of the single-story vintage English cottage designed by Brained Jones, a Petaluma architect who’s credited with creating many of the city’s structures.

“We knew somehow that we were going to be opening and closing these doors a million times,” Bausman said.

After they bought the house in 1994, the duo got to work revamping the 2,400 square-foot residence, which was crafted for Bill Thomas and his wife, Lucretia McNear Thomas, a member of a prominent local family. The stately home is outfitted with bricks made at the McNear family’s brickyard, where the custom floor tiles were also created.

The home’s second occupant, hide and tallow businessman Paul Heney, had lived in the house since 1930 and maintained its original styling. The residence features fireplaces, a sun room adorned with 100 glass windowpanes and a buzzer under the dining table that’s intended to summon the maid from the quarters, which still stand next to the home.

“We loved the fact that it was original, because no one had messed it up and it was sort of a blank canvas,” Bausman said.

The couple, who are both 68, joked that it took “about 14 coats of paint,” to revamp the house, but they continued to expand and remodel parts of the home in an authentic style reminiscent of Jones’ original vision. They gutted and updated the kitchen while maintaining the cabinet detailing, and added a master bedroom suite that leads to a new terrace and pergola.

Their work on the addition in conjunction with local architect and Jones expert Shawn Montoya earned a Heritage Home Preservation Award in 2001.

Most recently, Wagner and Bausman renovated the west side home’s garden, landscaping with plants and trees prominent in 1920s style gardens. The couple, who have been together for more than four decades, were married in the garden in 2013.

Maintaining the home’s character was vital for Wagner and Bausman, who have spent years living in and renovating historic houses around the country, including a San Francisco Victorian that “leaned to the left,” a 1950s-era modernist house and a brick Georgian colonial-style home, Wagner said.

“We were suckers for looking at ads in the paper that would say ‘fixer upper’ and we could just feel the house asking for help I think that’s what we felt here, too. Being designers, it’s natural for us,” Wagner said.

The pair also unearthed Jones’ original blueprints for the home, a discovery that sparked Bausman’s interest, compelling him to work with Montoya to delve into research about the architect, with the hopes of one day publishing a book about his life and work.

Wagner and Bausman’s labor of love will be on display at the Sept. 18 Heritage Homes of Petaluma Biennial Tour, which is this year showcasing seven residences, including a home designed by renowned architect Albert Farr and two crafted by Petaluma’s Jones, as well as the newly-renovated Petaluma Hotel.

Heritage Homes of Petaluma, a nonprofit that recently merged with the Petaluma Historical Library and Museum, has spent the past 49 years advocating for the protection and preservation of local structures with architectural, cultural or historic significance.

Heritage Homes and Landmarks Committee Chairman Rob Girolo said there are about 300 buildings in Petaluma that have been designated as “heritage,” a title he said denotes local significance but isn’t accompanied by the restrictions that often come from registering as a historical resource or landmark in state and national rosters.

The tour affords locals and tourists alike a rare glimpse into the homes that shaped history of Petaluma, he said.

“It’s really just about getting a feel of how homes vary – they’re so different but you can still make them so that you can live in them now but they have this beautiful character. They’re not really a just a home, they are their own life force. Each is unique and homeowners come and go but house stays and has its own life to it,” he said.

About 400 people are expected to attend the event, which will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Proceeds from the tickets sales will be used toward a project to retrofit the Petaluma Historic Library and Museum building, which was constructed through funding from industrialist Andrew Carnegie.

Katherine Rinehart, a local historian who authored “Petaluma: A History in Architecture,” said heritage homes add to the city’s desirability and contribute to its unique charm.

“They’re attractive homes with a lot of character,” she said. “There’s also pride of ownership – people really take a lot of interest in restoring the homes, which benefits the community at large, both for those who live there and enjoy looking at them and for tourists they bring to town.” (Contact Hannah Beausang at hannah.beausang@arguscourier.com.)