The Henry Levy House at 155 S. G Street is a historic American Craftsman home located in Oxnard, California.[3] The house has 18 rooms with five bedrooms and five bathrooms, a detached two-car garage, and a detached workshop in the rear. It is approximately 5,200 square feet (480 m2) and sits on three parcels of land totaling nearly 21,000 square feet (2,000 m2).

Henry Levy House
Henry Levy House.jpg
Henry Levy House is located in California
Henry Levy House
Location155 S. G Street, Oxnard, California, U.S.
Coordinates34°12′07″N 119°11′13″W / 34.2020°N 119.1869°W / 34.2020; -119.1869
Built1915
ArchitectHomer W. Glidden[1]
Architectural styleBungalow/craftsman
Websitehenrylevyhouse.com
Part ofHenry T. Oxnard Historic District (ID99000109)
Designated CPFebruary 5, 1999[2]

History and historic designation

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Achille Levy settled in Ventura County California from Mommenheim, Bas-Rhin, France in the early 1870s. His wife's brother, Henry Levy, came from Paris, France, and joined him in business, establishing a brokerage business before the turn of the century and became one of the outstanding grain and bean dealers in Southern California. They became major leaders in the growth of the City of Oxnard and its surrounding territories.[4] The Bank of A. Levy was co-founded by Achille and Henry.

The house, built by Henry Levy, is part of the Henry T. Oxnard Historic District in downtown Oxnard, California, a 70-acre area that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.[2][5] In December 1982, it was listed as No. 74 on the list of Ventura County Historic Landmarks. Levy's brother, Achille Levy, built No. 75 on the list located at 201 S. D Street, just a few blocks away.[6][7] Eight employees (cashiers, tellers, bookkeepers) of the Bank of A. Levy or of a Henry Levy company also owned houses in the district.[7]

The house is a hybrid of the Craftsman and Tudor styles of architecture. It was designed by Los Angeles architect Homer W. Glidden, who was also known for designing Upland, California's oldest civic building, the Old Carnegie Library in 1913, and the firehouse adjacent to it.[8]

The two fireplaces in the house are adorned with handcrafted tiles by Pasadena tile craftsman, Ernest Batchelder.[9][10]

 
 
Henry Levy House Heritage Landmark Certificate
 
 
The koi pond at the Henry Levy House in Oxnard, CA

In the 1940s, a large master suite was added onto the second floor. In the early 2000s, the kitchen was remodeled and modernized, and a fence installed around the property. In 2020, a large koi pond was installed in the backyard.

Film location

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In 1996, the television show Melrose Place filmed 3 episodes[11] at the house for its 5th season. The house was used as the Bel Air home of Dr. Dan Hathaway played by actor Greg Evigan.

In 1997 the house was used in the made-for-TV movie[12] What We Did That Night, also known as Murder at Devil's Glen, starring Ricky Schroder.

The show was the 23rd season finale episode of "Ghost Adventures" on Thanksgiving night, 2022. Homeowners Eric Andrist and Jeff Rizzo detailed how locked doors were caught flying open on their security cameras and provided a clip to the show of a creepy voice while host Zak Bagans was filming on the second floor. The episode also featured a neighboring house with a family who knew the Levy sisters, depicting them as racist.

 
Ghost Adventures filming in the Henry Levy House

Other

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In 2017, the house was described in American Bungalow magazine and listed for sale at $1.45 million.[13]

References

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  1. ^ "Homer Glidden profile". ArchInform.net.
  2. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
  3. ^ "The Henry Levy House on Facebook". Facebook.
  4. ^ ""Henry Levy Dies at Home"".
  5. ^ "Oxnard's Henry T. Oxnard Historic District". Oxnard.org.
  6. ^ Williams, Kathleen (April 28, 1992). "LANDMARKS COUNTY HISTORICAL SITES : A. Levy House Was a Family Center". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
  7. ^ a b Benny M. and Rosanne Moss (June 8, 1998). National Register of Historic Places Registration: Henry T. Oxnard Historic District. National Archives. Retrieved June 13, 2021. Includes photos from 1998, with #96 depicting Henry Levy House on page 179 of PDF document. (Downloading may be slow.)
  8. ^ "Old Carnegie Library reference".
  9. ^ "So You've Got a Batchelder Fireplace? What does that Mean?".
  10. ^ "Pasadena Museum of History Batchelder Tile Registry".
  11. ^ ""Melrose Place" clips on YouTube". YouTube.
  12. ^ ""Murder at Devil's Glen" clips on Youtube". YouTube.
  13. ^ "The Henry Levy House". American Bungalow. Retrieved June 13, 2021.