SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO : Historic House Has New Home

An 85-year-old piece of local history known as the Love House rolled to a new site on Valentine’s Day, escaping what would have been a less-than-romantic date with a wrecking ball.

Now, with some care, attention and money, the deteriorating Craftsman-style bungalow should be restored by fall to its original state, under an arrangement between the city and John Taylor, a San Juan Capistrano general contractor.

The city gave the house to Taylor and his wife, Marianne, in exchange for their pledge to renovate it. The city chipped in $5,000 toward the project. The money will be turned over once the house receives a certificate of occupancy. The move cost the Taylors an estimated $15,000, and the renovation should be between $50,000 and $100,000.

The house first belonged to the Yorba family, a local clan with deep roots. It got its name because the most recent owner’s last name was Love.

Had the Taylors not come forward, the house would have been razed, said Douglas Dumhart, a city management analyst. The 1,056-square-foot structure has sat vacant for at least the past four years on El Camino Real, where city officials envision part of a project called the Historic Town Center, consisting of an inn and retail shops.

The house traveled about a mile and a half to reach its new destination, a lot in the Los Rios Historic District, where the Taylors live in a 107-year-old house.

Pamela Hallan-Gibson, a local historian, said the Love House is one of only a few Craftsman bungalows in the city, and well worth saving.

The city had set Wednesday as the deadline for demolition if no one wanted the Love House, so the Valentine’s Day move date seemed appropriate, John Taylor said.

“It sounded like a good omen,” he said.