On the Market: Spanish Colonial Revival in East Oak Lane
Built a century ago, this unique eclectic house is also the product of a 45-year labor of love that ended only last year.
Is this house at 7003 N. 12th St., Philadelphia, PA 19126 Colonial? It’s built out of brick, after all. Or is it Spanish? It has a colonnaded porch and clay roof tiles. Or is it something else altogether? Let’s just say that it’s a highly original blend of influences. / Photographs by Alcove Media via Elfant Wissahickon Realtors
Usually, credit for the appearance of a house goes to two people: its architect and its interior designer, if the builder or owner used one.
In the case of this East Oak Lane Spanish Colonial Revival house for sale, the credit should go to three people. One is Gabriel Blum Roth, the architect who designed this house for Walter H. Kohn in 1922. The other two — Judge Nazario Jimenez, Jr., and his wife, Carmen — are the couple who bought it in 1977.
Nazario, who passed away one year ago this past June 8th, spent the 45 years after he bought this house gradually restoring it by hand. In the process, he and his wife turned it into a unique blend of Colonial, Spanish and Mediterranean styles, flecked with some uniquely East Oak Lane touches.
Actually, calling this house a “Spanish Colonial Revival” house elevates its trim over its form. That’s because the clay tiles, brick walls, front gable and arched front porch cover what is at heart a classic American Foursquare. But between some of the original interior design features and the modifications made by the Jimenezes, this house has become something of a stylistic world tour.
Front porch
Two of the most notable changes the Jimenezes made you don’t even have to enter the house to experience. They’re the wrought-iron fencing and railings framing the yard and front porch and the arbor-covered side patio.
Side patio
They built the patio to add Spanish verve to the outdoor living experience here.
Foyer
Living room
The foyer and living room, which are one, retain their Early American character. But the Jimenezes took the Delft tiles surrounding the fireplace as a cue to redo this space in Wedgwood blue and white, thus turning a space that can often feel heavy into something much lighter while subtly channeling Colonial American elegance.
Dining room
They also doubled down on Colonial elegance when redoing the dining room but did so with a unique twist. In addition to refinishing the mahogany-inlaid oak floors to a high gloss and finding a period-appropriate chandelier to hang over the dining table, the Jimenezes commissioned an East Oak Lane artist studying at Temple University to paint a Japanese-inspired landscape triptych on its wall panels.
Kitchen
In redoing the kitchen, the Jimenezes went south of the border for the Mexican tiles used on its floor. They then added classic subway-tile wainscoting and backsplashes and traditional wallpaper and cabinetry to give its totally modern appliances a proper setting. The adjacent butler’s pantry off the dining room has a wood floor but similar appearance. The Mexican tile floor continues into the cross-timbered mudroom/laundry room, however.
The first floor also contains a powder room with an antique Carrara marble floor and pressed-tin wainscoting.
Home office (bedroom)
As any good Foursquare would have, the second floor of this house has four bedrooms and a hall bath. One of the bedrooms has been fitted with knotty pine paneling and functions as a home office.
Home gym (bedroom)
Another currently serves as a home gym. Here the Jimenezes imported the Caribbean in the form of both its ceiling fan and the tropical scene local artist Lisa Klevence painted on its walls and ceiling.
Primary bedroom
They went back to faithful updating when refreshing the primary bedroom. Here, they found period-appropriate wall sconces to mount over the fireplace; they complement the original light fixture on the ceiling.
Primary bathroom
The en-suite primary bathroom may look traditional, but its amenities are totally modern. Including the body sprays in its shower and the flat-screen TV in the nook over the soaking tub. This is a bathroom made for one to linger and relax in.
Two more bedrooms and an updated hall bath are on the third floor.
Basement lounge
Basement rec room
The Jimenezes made one more major transformation: They scraped and stained the exposed beams in its basement, installed ceiling panels between those beams, and turned the basement into a rec room, game room and lounge. There’s also a workshop in the basement.
Backyard
The landscaped backyard also has a whiff of the Mediterranean about it. And the Jimenezes also added the Southwest to the mix. According to listing agent Kelly McShain Tyree of Elfant Wissahickon Realtors, they grew cactus plants indoors in the winter and brought them out to the yard every summer.
In front of the one-car garage is a new, larger carport with an electric-vehicle charging station. Behind it is a potting shed.
In a very real sense, all the changes and improvements the Jimenezes made to this East Oak Lane Spanish Colonial Revival house for sale made it more like itself. After all, when it was built in the 1920s, many Philadelphians like Kohn had developed a taste for the eclectic and a desire to incorporate the Spanish styles showcased at the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco.
Here, then, you could say that the East Coast meets the West Coast in a fusion of early American, classical Spanish and tropical styles. This house has loads of personality in a neighborhood that has housed many such personalities over the years.
THE FINE PRINT
BEDS: 6
BATHS: 3 full, 1 half
SQUARE FEET: 4,058
SALE PRICE: $649,000
OTHER STUFF: Should the roof tiles ever need repair or replacement, you’re covered, for the Jimenezes bought plenty of spare ones. This house’s sale price was reduced by $11,000 on June 28th.
7003 N. 12th St., Philadelphia, PA 19126 [Kelly McShain Tyree | Elfant Wissahickon Realtors]
