San Luis Obispo County CA Archives Photo Place.....Chapman House ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ca/cafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com November 27, 2006, 10:27 pm Source: Unavailable Photo can be seen at: http://www.usgwarchives.net/ca/sanluisobispo/photos/chapmanh123gph.jpg Image file size: 137.8 Kb THE CHAPMAN HOUSE Shell Beach, California History and Description: One of the few examples of English Tudor Architecture on the Central Coast is in Shell Beach. Designed in collaboration with an unknown architect, built and originally owned by Arthur Rogers, this house and its outbuildings took 30 years to complete. The caretaker cottage was built sometime between 1910 and 1915. The main house, swimming pool and windmill came in 1930. The sea wall was built in 1934 and the garage and lighthouse were constructed in 1945. The house was used as a weekend cottage until 1945 when Mr. and Mrs. Rogers came to Shell Beach to live the year around. Mr. Rogers died a few years later and Mrs. Rogers followed a few years after her husband. In 1963 the house was purchased by Mr. Clifford Chapman. The construction of the house and the outbuildings varies considerably. The caretaker cottage is wood frame with wood exterior walls and a shingle roof. The windmill was used to pump sea water up to the swimming pool. The pool utilized a unique type of solar heating device to raise the sea water to 73°F. The water was made to flow in a thin stream over terra cotta tiles which absorbed heat from the sun's rays. The main house is wood frame with a steeply pitched shingle roof. The exterior walls are wood sheathed, stuccoed, or a masonry veneer. The main house has 16 rooms including six bathrooms and a fully furnished basement set partially in the rock. The current owners estimate the original construction cost at $12,000. The seawall cost $7,000 and took an entire railroad car of cement to build. Both the garage and lighthouse are bearing masonry structures. The garage has the same steep shingled roof as the main house. Sources: Mr. Clifford Chapman, owner Additional Comments: Extracted from Discovering San Luis Obispo County by Carleton M. Winslow File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ca/sanluisobispo/photos/chapmanh123gph.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/cafiles/ File size: 2.6 Kb