Pracht Humbolt House - Siskiyou-Hargadine Historic District - Ashland, OR - NRHP Historic Districts - Contributing Buildings on Waymarking.com

This private residence along Vista Street contains an official plaque designating this property as listed in the National Register of Historic Places as well as the Ashland Heritage Landmark List. The plaque also mentions this house as being a Craftsman home and built in 1910 by Frank C. Clark, architect. This residence is also one of 274 contributing buildings as part of the Siskiyou-Hargadine Historic District and listed as ID#82.00 on page 2 of the NRHP Nomination Form.

The following text are singled-out excerpts from the NRHP nomination form to describe the history of this residence:

The house built for Depot Hotel manager Humboldt Pracht at 234 Vista Street in Ashland, Oregon in 1910 is significant as one of a half dozen outstanding, sizable, high-style bungalows in the community which were designed by local architects or builders directly influenced by the work of California architects Greene and Greene. The Pracht House was designed by Frank Chamberlain Clark, the leading architect of the Rogue River Valley in the early years of the century. Its most distinctive exterior feature is the pair of large dormers on the front slope of the roof with their broadly overhanging eaves and intersecting vergeboards. The interior contains the panelling, wainscoting, wide brick fireplace surrounds, and built-in cabinetry which are characteristic of the Arts and Crafts ideal from which the Bungalow Style, in part, evolved. In addition to embodying the distinctive characteristics of its type, this well-preserved Bungalow possesses integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling and association with the heyday of railroad passenger traffic in Ashland.

The Prachts occupied the house at its completion and lived there for the next thirty years. Mrs. Susan Pracht was active in church and community groups. She had come to Ashland in 1884 and attended local schools. Her marriage to Humboldt Pracht occurred in 1900. Susan Pracht died on Easter Sunday, 1942 and is buried in Ashland. Humboldt Pracht participated in local business ventures and contributed generously to civic enterprises. He died August 12, 1943.

The architectural significance of the Humboldt Pracht House lies in its size, its integrity, and its being an outstanding example of work in the Bungalow Style by leading local architect Frank C. Clark. The exterior remains unaltered; the interior is only slightly modified. A photograph taken shortly after construction and memories of long-time Ashland residents indicate that even the exterior color remains close to its original appearance (UPDATE -- Not anymore, the color of the house is now green). Each owner since the Prachts (there have been three (as of 1981) has continued a high level of maintenance.

The picture above was taken c. 1912 and comes from the NRHP nomination form. When comparing the old photo with a current one, it is apparent that this residence has undergone quite a bit of updating, with a new addition built to include a detached garage. One of the neat comparisons is to looking at the young tree planting in the old photo and compare it to the photo now. The tree has grown beautifully near the street, while two of the other trees were cut down when the garage was put in.