Foundation plans Goethe House remodel

A historic house is being renovated by the CSUS Foundation into a venue for meetings, gatherings, and other events like weddings and receptions for members of the CSUS community.

The Foundation, in connection with students and faculty of the program of design and other community representatives, is currently in the process of developing the Julia Morgan/Goethe House Project.

The project will provide for the renovation and restoration of the historical Charles M. Goethe residence, pronounced "gatie" and located at 37th and T streets in midtown Sacramento.

When the restoration is completed, the two-story building will house a fitness center for the elderly, a center for non-residential services to children who are victims of abuse, a room for a caretaker to reside in, a bedroom for visiting scholars at the University, a library, and an area to hold meetings and other functions.

Foundation spokesperson Nancy Pennebaker said that there would be an addition built onto the back of the house to accommodate for the fitness center.

She said that the front of the house will be restored back to its original 1920s style.

"The front part of the house could hold about 100 people," said Pennebaker, "and there is a kitchen that could be used to keep food hot and cold for various meetings and other functions."

Design students and faculty will be involved in planning the conservation of the residence and in the restoration.

"There are two parts that the students will have opportunities to work on," said Lee Anderson, director of the program of design. "One is the addition to the building and the other is the rehabilitation to the front part of the house. Students and faculty will be researching the original design, colors and other factors to restore the front part of the house to its original 1920s state. The landscaping will also be worked on by design students."

The cost of the renovation and restoration of the property will be approximately $1.2 million. "This amount includes the costs of the modifications to the building and an endowment fund to provide for ongoing maintenance to the property," said Pennebaker.

"The Foundation has donated $200,000 towards this project and is in the process of raising the rest of the funds through grants and donations."

The Goethe house was bequeathed to the Foundation in 1966 upon Goethe's death. It was designed and built in the 1920s by Julia Morgan, the first woman licensed to practice architecture in the state of California. Out of the 700 buildings she designed and built during her 50 year-long career, it is the only residential project she built in Sacramento.

A well-known philanthropist and educator, Goethe was concerned with helping children and the elderly and "stipulated in his will that the house be used as a library and to contribute to the well being of children and the elderly," said Pennebaker. Although he had no children of his own, "neighbors who remember him said he would give out nickels to children," she said.