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CLEAR Temp: 60 °F Wind: CLM at 0 mph Sunday, September 1, 2002 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Cyberchef E The People Golf Job Network Headbone Zone Wellness Connection Movie Times Newspaper in Education Oregon CarZone Outdoor Journal Personals Prime Times Real Estate Tempo A & E TV Times W3 Magazine CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Destinations Automotive Communities Employment Entertainment Publications Real Estate Recreation Shopping Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Jobs @ Mail Tribune Email Story to a Friend August 11, 2002 Councilman, wife remodel 1905 home in west Medford If the walls in this 1905 Craftsman-style house in west Medford could speak, they might have some entertaining tales for the new owners. Related story: Looking west in Medford . "This was a prestigious part of town and this was the farm house in the neighborhood," said Jan Esquivel, wife of Medford City Councilman Sal Esquivel. Both in the real estate business, the Esquivels are remodeling their home on Quince Street not far from City Hall. They paid $113,900 for it last spring and plan to invest about $30,000 restoring and updating it. "We only had so much money to spend and we both have always wanted to take an old house and restore it," Jan Esquivel said. The Esquivels found the house by searching the Multiple Listing Service by price range, narrowing the choices to a new, 1,200-square-foot home or the 1,540-square-foot historic Quince Street home. "They built these old homes on the west side so beautifully," said Jan Esquivel, who works with her husband at Diamond Key Properties Inc. Sal Esquivel added, "Architect Frank Clark’s first home that he built for his family is a few blocks over on Summit Avenue. It’s easy to recognize because it has an ‘M’ in the roof line." The Esquivels already have started remodeling their kitchen, updating it with cupboards, a dishwasher, garbage disposal, microwave and tile floor. They will add French doors and create a breakfast nook on the sun porch, typical of a Craftsman home built at the turn of the century. They’ll keep the parts of the house that reveal its Craftsman character, such as the parlor plate shelf and the pressed-glass chandelier in the living room built shortly after electricity arrived in Medford. Beveled glass remains in the front door and there’s a curving stairway leading to three tiny bedrooms. The Esquivels plan to take a wall out upstairs and create a master suite. Behind the house is a livery stable where the turn-of-the-century property owners kept their transportation — a horse. Sal Esquivel hopes to turn the stable into a shop. There’s also a front porch made of pine tongue-and-groove joints and framed by stately columns. "We’ll put furniture out here, probably rocking chairs, and when you drive by, you’ll see us out here sitting and rocking and talking," Jan Esquivel said. They hope their remodeling efforts will encourage more people to buy and restore homes in old Medford. "About 50 percent of this neighborhood is nonowner occupied," Sal Esquivel said. "We’ve been reading about Realtors who have gone into older neighborhoods, bought homes and fixed them up. It encouraged the neighbors to do the same and increased property values." — Melissa Martin Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright 1997-2002 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy web master feedback A D V E R T I S E R S