Pampas Ricas Home Is Rich with History

When Pacific Palisades residents Peter and Suzanne Trepp agreed to participate in the Palisades Junior Women’s Club’s annual home tour last November, they decided to learn more about their historic home.   ’It opened up all these chapters,’ Peter said of their research last fall. ‘We realized, what a treasure.’   The Trepps, who moved into the house from Marina del Rey in August 2005, read books about the history of the Palisades and acquainted themselves with local historians.   They discovered their Spanish colonial-style house on the southwest corner of Chautauqua Boulevard and Pampas Ricas was originally built in 1928 as an office for the Santa Monica Land and Water Company, which sold property and water rights in Pacific Palisades, Santa Monica and Malibu. The company, owned by Robert Gillis, was responsible for developing what is now the Huntington neighborhood.   ’The office was designed to look like a model home, so that people could get a sense of what homes might look like here,’ Peter explained.   After Gillis died in 1947, his son-in-law Arthur Loomis succeeded him as president and moved the firm’s offices to the second floor of the historic business block at 15300 Sunset Boulevard (above Starbucks’ current location). The company continued to operate until the mid-1980s.   The Trepps’ foyer, living room, sitting room and library (now attached to the master bedroom) were a part of the original office.   The foyer features a soaring rotunda with the original hand-carved wooden beams, two iron-crafted wall sconces created by Forge Craft and orange-and-blue decorative tiles. The living room and sitting room have the original dark wooden floors and iron wall sconces.   A bathroom and the two bedrooms belonging to the Trepps’ children, William, 8, and Phillip, 6, were once a three-car garage. The office was converted into a residence in the 1950s and expanded in the 1970s.   The Trepps, who met while studying for their master’s degrees in business at UCLA and married in 2000, purchased the house from Larry and Gloria Dunn. At the time, they only had a vague idea that the home had some historical significance.   ’The owners made sure not to sell the house to a developer,’ Peter said. ‘It was a gentleman’s agreement that we would not tear down the house. We didn’t want to tear it down anyway. We loved it; there is something special about this house.’   Since then, they have hardly changed the house except for expanding the outdoor patio and highlighting the arches in the breakfast room and master bedroom with decorative paint details. As environmental conservationists, they have also installed solar panels and use LEDs throughout the house. Peter even drives a BMW Mini E, an all-electric car. He chronicles the experience on his blog, petersminie.blogspot.com.   Wanting a home that reflected their interests, they mostly decorated with pieces from their travels and family heritage such as paintings of Sweden (where Suzanne grew up) and maps of Switzerland.   The Trepps, who moved to the Palisades because they wanted to raise their children in a wholesome community, are active in the town. Suzanne, a money manager at Western Asset Management in Pasadena, is a member of the Palisades Junior Women’s Club (PJWC), and Peter, the chief financial officer of ServiceMesh (a software company), is a member of the board of the Palisades-Malibu YMCA.   Since moving here, they have fallen in love with the community, and after their research, they have become even more enamored of their historic home. Suzanne, who serves on the Pacific Palisades Library Association board, enjoyed meeting Jan Loomis, who presented her historical book ‘Images of America, Pacific Palisades’ at the library last fall.   Loomis, a San Diego resident married to the grandson of Arthur Loomis, gave the Trepps a photo of their house taken in 1928. The fa’ade looks exactly the same as today, with a three-arched entrance to the main entryway. The two olive trees and three palm trees on both sides of the circular driveway are still there ‘ albeit much taller.   Inspired by the photo, Peter had the Santa Monica Land and Water Company’s sign remade and redisplayed in the entryway.   Curious about the colorful tile, the Trepps also invited a curator and a docent/tile expert from the Adamson House, which features decorative tile from the Malibu Tile Company, to their home to examine it.   ’Peter and I decided that we finally needed to learn if the tile around our house and specifically the entry was Malibu Tile, which several non-experts suggested, or some other tile,’ Suzanne said.   In actuality, the decorative tiles came from Davies and McDonald (D&M Company), which existed from 1929-33. Peter noted that the rare tiles in their house are a popular collector’s item among local celebrities and featured in the ‘American Art Tile’ encyclopedia.   Additionally, the Trepps discovered that their property has a unique history, beginning when Francisco Marquez and Ysidro Reyes received the Rancho Boca de Santa Monica land grant in 1839. The 6,656 acres of land were bounded at the south by the sea, at the north by the hills, at the west by the point Topanga and at the east by Sullivan Canyon.   The Reyes family built their ranch home on Pampas Ricas near the intersection of Chautauqua, right next to the Trepps’ house. After Ysidro Reyes died during the smallpox epidemic in 1861, his widow, Maria Antonia Villa, had little interest in the ranch and sold the land. Eventually, the ranch house was torn down and Gillis purchased the property.   At a fundraiser for the La Senora Research Institute last September, the Trepps had the opportunity to meet Sharon Reyes-Siebuhr and Ernest Marquez, the descendants of the Reyes and Marquez families, respectively. Located in Santa Monica Canyon, the institute provides education about the early California rancho era.   The Trepps invited Marquez to sign his books (‘Santa Monica Beach: A Collector’s Pictorial History’ and ‘Port of Los Angeles: An Illustrated History from 1850 to 1945′) in their backyard during the PJWC’s home tour.   ’The families struggle to keep the memory and history alive,’ Peter said, noting that he and Suzanne wanted to help.   Whenever possible, the Trepps also plan to open their historic home to the public. They will host the PJWC’s 75th anniversary black-and white-attire party with an old Hollywood theme on September 25.   ’We are doing our best to be good stewards by preserving and sharing our wonderful Spanish home,’ Suzanne said.