498 Van Buren Street
1908 Colonial Revival
This home is referred to as The Bergschicker House as it was occupied by William Ferdinand Bergschicker and his family for many years. Mr. Bergschicker was born near Heidelberg, Germany in 1848. While living in Germany he served an apprenticeship in the cooperage and brewing business and after serving in the German army he moved to the United States in 1867. Mr. Bergschicker worked for one of his relatives in a brewery in Galion, Ohio until 1872. He left Ohio for California and became head breweryman for the Broadway Brewery in San Francisco. Later he was with the Bavarian Brewery and Jackson Brewery, and for a short time was head breweryman at Boca Brewing Company (Nevada County, California) where he brewed the first lager beer in California. In 1882 Mr. Bergschicker moved to Monterey, bought property and built the Monterey Brewery on Alvarado Street. He operated this as a highly successful business until the prohibition era (1919) when he complied with the letter and spirit of the law, closing out his business and retiring to this beautiful home (1).
The Bergschicker House is currently privately owned and sits prominently on the corner, a demanding presence on the streetscape. The low pitched hipped roof building has a turret and hipped roof dormer protruding on the front façade. A finial tops the turret and a brick chimney is prominent on the south side of the property. The roof is sheathed in composition shingles influence. An Adamesque swag detail is located on the frieze of the turret.
The front façade of the building is dominated by a formal entrance of a large porch with columns which support a flat roof with dentil crown molding. Three columns are placed symmetrically at the corners of the porch while two columns are located at the top of the entrance via stairs. Two pilasters are located on either side of the porch. The classical columns have a stylized floral detail at the capital of the column. A turned wood balustrade encloses the porch. The wood front door has a transom stained glass window which includes the numerical address of the property. Two thin fixed leaded windows flank the door and one fixed leaded window is located to the north of the front door. A large fixed window is located to the south of the front door. A wide wood staircase with turned balusters leads to the front porch. Two urns sit at the base of the staircase. Also located on this elevation is the dormer which has a fixed multi-pane window and open eaves with exposed roof rafters.
Originally, the top of the main entry porch served as a large balcony for the second story. Two glazed doors on the second story of the front elevation provided access to the balcony. Remnants of a decorative wall or railing can be seen on the top of the first floor porch. A two-and-one-half story bay turret dominates the corner of the building. A two-and-a-half story angled bay is located on the south elevation. This bay is identified by a small finial.
Originally designed as a single-family residence and Colonial Revival in style with transitional elements of both Edwardian and Queen Anne styles from the late Victorian era. The property was first identified as a historic resource based on its architectural prominence by D. Brovarney for the City of Monterey in 1987, and it was designated a landmark in 1991. The property is a unique resource constructed early in the twentieth century development of the Old Town Neighborhood.
1. California and Californians, Volume 4, Nellie Van de Grift Sanchez (1932)
Directions to the next house: Turn left on Jefferson Street (up the hill). The next house will be on your left, the Andrew Perria Home (599 Jefferson Street), #5 on the map below.
