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Hercules
Historic
Homes |
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enlarge and read caption |
Hercules
once had about 100 "company town" homes. Built
in the late 1890's for California Powder Works Company workers, most of
the homes in the "Village" were 1,600 square feet, with 6' 6"
ceilings,
some with basements.
 In 1920, monthly rent
for a two story home in Hercules Village was $10,
including electricity and water. In 1978, monthly rent in the
Village
jumped to $62, including utilites. Elsewhere three bedroom houses
sold for $55,000.
 In the early 1980's,
the City hired Architectural Historian Sally
Woodbridge
to survey the old houses for inclusion in an Historic District.
She
deemed 20 to be structurally secure enough to be renovated. Their
significance was as a representation of a company town, and not as
indivdual
architectural models and as such would be placed together.
Originally
strung out along several streets, 13 homes were moved in 1981 to form a
cluster with others on Bay Avenue, Pinole Street and Talley Way.
3 of these homes are built in the stylish Queen Anne motif, with
moldings
and trim throughout the interior. The 17 Colonial Revival motif homes
have
simplier interiors but include accents such as wide door mouldings and
panelled doors.
 In 1986, Aegis
Financial Corporation, developer of the Hercules
Historical
Homes project, won Grand Prize Award in "Renaissance '85" - a
remodeling
and rehabilitation contest sponsored by the "National Association of
Homebuilders
and Remodeling Magazine". They took first place over 100 other
contestants.
These homes have been placed on the National Registry of
Historic Places.
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