Among the hundreds of buildings designed by eminent architect William Weeks during his prolific career , Gilroy enjoyed the distinction of fifteen notable structures . Neighboring communities enjoyed even more of his talents . Weeks designed twentyseven buildings for Hollister , twenty-eight for Monterey , and Salinas boasted thirty-six of his timeless and beautiful buildings . In Santa Cruz , even today , the most famous building on the Boardwalk remains his elegant 1907 Casino building . Watsonville came out far ahead when it came to Weeks-designed buildings , because for a long time he made the community his home base . He designed forty public and commercial buildings , including two high schools , a hospital and the Apple Annual Hall , which could seat 3,000 .
Weeks was born in Canada to a designerbuilder father . When he was young , the family moved to the United States , living in Colorado , Kansas , Washington State , and finally settling in Oakland .
Weeks had developed affection for Watsonville after living there during construction of his earliest work , the 1892 First Christian Church . He established an architectural firm , and lived in Watsonville for 18 years before returning to the Bay Area . Many of the city ’ s large , stately Queen Anne style homes in the city ’ s older residential areas are Weeks-designed .
When word of Weeks ’ s design talent spread , he was sought out by other cities . He drew up plans for banks , hotels , theaters , schools , factories , hospitals and even jails , focusing mostly on cities in California ’ s central and Coastal regions .
At the height of his productive career , Weeks had offices in five cities , including
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San Francisco , and employed a staff of 30 , which included a brother . His son , Harold Weeks , joined the firm in 1924 .
Following the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fire , Weeks was a major force in helping the city to rebuild . But whether he designed large structures , such as the brick Spreckels Sugar Refinery , academic buildings at Cal Poly at San Luis Obispo , or San Jose ’ s DeAnza Hotel and Medico-Dental buildings , or smaller edifices such as those typically found in towns like Gilroy , Weeks was best known as the architect of the ordinary citizen . He sought practicality in his work , and chose materials to fit within the abilities of local builders and craftsmen .
In Gilroy , after receiving funds from millionaire Andrew Carnegie for the establishment of a local public library , Weeks became the project ’ s most prominent architect . The present Gilroy Museum on Fifth Street began as a Weeks-designed Carnegie library , completed in 1914 .
A stroll through Gilroy ’ s historic neighborhoods and along portions of Monterey Street reveals some Weeks structures of timeless artistic attraction and durability . Weeks favored the Queen Anne house style , and designed four prominent examples in Gilroy : the Willson House at 7341 Alexander Street , the Dunlap House at 7320 Forest Street , ( an older farm-style home remodeled by Weeks into a Queen Anne ,) the stately Holloway House at 7539 Eigleberry Street , and the Dr . Clarence Weaver House at 60 Fifth Street .
His other noteworthy styles were Classic Greek Revival , Gothic and Spanish-Mission styles . Along Fifth Street besides the Gilroy Museum ( Classical Greek Revival style ), is the 1929 Wheeler Hospital building at 650
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Fifth Street , an example of Spanish Eclectic or Mediterranean Revival style .
Mediterranean Revival buildings in Gilroy ’ s downtown are the Milias Apartments ( former Milias Hotel ) at Sixth and Monterey Streets , the former Ellis Garage building opposite the Milias Apartments ( now a furniture store ,) and the Habing Family Funeral Home at Fourth and Eigleberry Streets . The Rebekah Children ’ s Services building ( former IOOF Children ’ s Home ) on IOOF Avenue is also an example of Mediterranean Revival .
The durability of Weeks-built structures was evident in 1957 , when workers tried to tear down the original , brick and reinforced concrete Gilroy High building , located on IOOF Avenue , which Weeks had designed in 1912 . For days , the ball swung against the two-story school building , before it finally began to give . Demolished because it was not up to current “ seismic standards ,” the Weeks-built school was one of other such structures , which refused to budge . In 1953 , wreckers had the same problem trying to take down the 1916 San Luis Obispo High School . And in 1925 , the year-old Weeks-built Santa Barbara
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PHOTO OF WILLIAM WEEKS COURTESY OF GILROY MUSEUM |