Fantasy island homes

Luis Pena

“Did a helicopter really land here?” and “That house was bought for

how much?” were among the more commonly posed questions during the

inaugural Balboa Island Walking Historic Home Tour on Sunday.

The Balboa Island Museum and Historical Society hosted the event

to raise funds for the group.

Bill and Joyce McEwen are the proud owners of 213 Agate, also

known as the “mansion of Agate.” Their 1945 home was the youngest on

the tour, built as a house, not a cottage like most homes of the era.

It was built after World War II because the builder wanted the best

materials, which weren’t available during the war, Bill McEwen said.

The Agate house was built with a heliport because the first

homeowner had a helicopter and wanted the ability to fly off to an

airfield he owned at a moment’s notice, Bill McEwen said.

“It has a flat roof and it has steel beams that run across inside

those wooden columns ... it has, we’re told, the ability to support

the weight of a helicopter, but I don’t know if one was ever allowed

to take off from here,” Bill McEwen said.

“I remember coming here in 1945 and I don’t remember any

helicopter,” Corona del Mar resident Carolyn Conway said.

Most houses on the island face the front of the street, but not

the “mansion,” which used to be a double-lot property. The second lot

had a garage, badminton court and a garden, which were visible

through large windows in the living room. A previous owner built a

home on the second lot, so now the McEwens face a wall.

“We love it, it’s been a neat place for us,” Bill McEwen said.

The home used to have a movie theater in what is now the garage.

He also said the Voit family, of Voit Rubber, once owned the house.

“The tour is very well done and they do couple in a little bit of

history with each house so that you get a sort of a flavor for the

background of the house, as opposed to ‘here’s just another house,’”

Corona del Mar resident Jim Conway said.

On the other end of the size spectrum, Becky and Roger Yount own a

yellow beach cottage with no front lawn. Their 400-square-foot home

has beach sand in front, which they use for recreational purposes,

Becky Yount said. The single-walled, redwood home that’s never been

painted on the inside manages to fit two bedrooms, a bathroom and a

small kitchen. The inside of the house has been kept with a

minimalist style, Becky Yount said.

“We talked with an architect, a very nice young man, but he came

in and I was so offended by the time he left,” Becky Yount said. “He

said, ‘Just tear it down’ ... it made me so sad. I thought, well, I

think we’ll leave it the way it is.”

Roger Yount’s grandparents had to make an $800 down payment for

the whopping $2,000 price tag in 1938. Among the home’s relics are

the Santa Monica-made dishes bought when it was first built.

“It’s fun to see these houses,” Balboa Island resident Mary Hyatt

said. “I’ve seen them since I was a kid and it’s fun to get to go

inside and learn more history and stuff about them.”

* LUIS PENA is the news assistant and may be reached at (949)

574-4298 or by e-mail at luis.pena@latimes.com.