This 1916 mansion was also known as “Mi Sueño Del Sur” was designed by Architect Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue who is known for designing the LA Central Library. Most of the windows were 6 feet tall and the doors were over 9 feet. All are monumental, double swing-out units with cremone bolt hardware and period bronze security hinges–an innovation when the home was built. Experienced window and door craftsmen turned this job down because of the myriad difficulties. Doors and windows had to be cut and fit on site to their individual openings, and accuracy had to be exact as hinge adjustments were out of the question. Any door or window that swings out must have hinges on the exterior of the house, and that often means they cannot the type that can be taken apart. This rules out the easiest way to adjust them. Adding to this challenge was that these were historical “storm-proof” casement windows. as described in Radford in 1911 with a built in half-round “tongue” lining the outer edge that interlocks with a corresponding recess in the jamb (see figure below). Also due to the security hinges, the second story work had to be done from the outside on scaffolding. All were thicker than your usual house windows and doors, meaning weight was an issue.
Despite all the new windows and doors we installed here, this was nonetheless a historical restoration. The 1916 bronze hinges by Sargent from the original sashes had to be removed, stripped of paint but with their delicate patina preserved, mortised into the new windows and doors and precisely integrated such that the the locks, rebates and tongues all aligned perfectly. New cremone bolts had to integrate visually and mechanically with historic receivers. All fasteners on this project were slotted.
Work was completed while residents occupied the house. Despite all these challenges, this job came in under budget.
images courtesy CRMLS and Radford.
HERBERT COPPEL HOUSE, South Pasadena, California. 16 reproduction French windows and doors fitted to original openings