How did it come about that HA Minton drew up nine plans for the remodel of the Shinn House?  What we knew about the remodel were from two dusty blueprints in the Shinn Archives. The architect was HA Minton, but we couldn't find much about him. 

The plans, much to our surprise, were at the Avery Archives at Columbia University. Also were many of HA Minton's projects - about 460 of them! 

Shinn House at 1251 Peralta

• H.A. Minton (PCAD) was the architect chosen to remodel the Shinn house after Lucy Shinn died in 1915. Florence was listed as the client on some of the blueprints that we found in the archives. 

• In 1910 Minton married Julia Gallegos , a local Mission San Jose woman in 1910. Julia was the daughter of local winemaker Juan Gallegos. 

• He went on to build Bank of Italy (later Bank of America) Buildings. At one time the San Jose Bank of Italy building was the tallest building between San Francisco and Los Angeles [needs reference]. Wikipedia

• Recently, we obtained the nine architectural drawings for the Shinn House from 1917. 

• We have the spreadsheet of Minton's projects, most of which were in California. Available upon request.

The DPR for the Perry House created in 2008, seventeen years ago as of 2025! What has changed since then?

Some issues with the DPR 

Note: The DPR (see above) was created without the inside of the house being studied.

Summary of DPR on Page 2: The Arts and Crafts house at 2057 Olive Avenue was built in 1917 for Manuel V. Perry, a Portuguese immigrant whose nearly 80-acre farm was acquired from the Palmdale Company in 1905, following the subdivision of the Palmdale Winery into farm lots. The house was designed by Henry A. Minton, a San Francisco architect known for his churches, convents, schools, banks, and office buildings. In 1942, half of the farm acreage (including the house) was sold to Ernest Vayassie, who began subdividing the property in the 1950s. The house possesses local interest as one of the few extant farmhouses associated with the 1904 partitioning of the Palmdale property, and as the work of a noted San Francisco architect; however, the loss of integrity (asbestos siding) precludes it from listing on the California Register of Historical Resources. If the house is restored, its eligibility to the California Register should be reevaluated. 

Evaluation
The Manuel V. Perry House, 2057 Olive Avenue, possesses great local interest as one of the few extant farmhouses associated with the 1904 partitioning of the Palmdale property, and as the work of a noted San Francisco architect; however, the loss of integrity (notably the asbestos siding) precludes it from listing on the California Register of Historical Resources under Criterion A, history, or Criterion C, architecture. The property also does not appear to be eligible for the California Register under Criterion B, persons. Under Criterion B, persons known to be associated with the property do not appear to be of individual importance in the area’s history. If the house is restored, its eligibility for listing on the California Register should be reevaluated. 

Note that this is just the superficial exterior of the house.

Opinions of several people: 

In the first DPR, the evaluator did not see the inside of the house. However, we can now see the interiors (Zillow).  Wow!

Michael  Corbett "If the interior still looks like this, a case could be made that on balance the house hasn't lost integrity. The exterior is covered with a superficial veneer and could be removed. And the interior has beautiful wood, built-in cabinets, and art tile. ... interiors are essential parts of buildings, so when an interior is known, it opens up the issue of signifiance and integrity again."

He also said that when they did the DPR in 2008, it was standard practice to say that a building a building with asbestos shingles had lost integrity." However, it's a superficial loss."

If you balance the shingles with the still beautiful interior, the building needs to be reevaluated to include the interior.