201 Van Buren Street
1860 Victorian
This splendid Victorian was built in 1860 by whaling captain Manuel Perry and his wife Mary Mello Silva of Boston. The house remained in the family until 1963. Restored in 1967 (1).
Having fallen in love with the Monterey Peninsula during his many sailing trips to the area, Captain Manuel Perry, a New England Whaler and Ship Captain, decided to move his family to Monterey. Captain Perry built the original house in 1860 where his family lived for generations, but during the depression and war years of the 1930s-1940s the house fell in disrepair and was later marked to be replaced with an apartment building.
Thankfully, in the 1960s, Margaret (“Maggie”) Downer saw the property’s potential and set out to save it. After many meetings with the city council, she convinced them to let her bring the property back to life. Ms. Downer conceived the idea of a party room for the Carriage House, which sits among the gardens and was originally a true carriage barn and horse stable. She hired a famous San Francisco Architect to design it around a huge stained-glass dome that she found in San Jose. From the 1960s into the 1990s, the Perry House has been home to art galleries and flower shops, as well as a restaurant and tea room.
In the late 1990s, Ms. Downer sold it to the Monterey History & Art Association who used it to display a Historic Costume Collection. In 2010 the History & Art Association needed to sell the property, and even though The Perry House was again in desperate need of extensive care and love, the Events by Classic Group saw through it and sought to expand on Ms. Downer’s original intent and turn the whole property into a dazzling special events venue. Now, The Perry House again sits proud and we expect it will last another 150 years while creating wonderful memories for all who enter (2).
- Monterey History & Art Association
- https://perryhousemonterey.com/history/
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