Paul Shoup Historic Ranch Restoration

Los Altos, CA

The Paul Shoup House, also known as the Shoup House, is a historic residence in Los Altos, California. It was built as an American Craftsman - Shingle-style home in 1910 for railroad executive Paul Shoup; a well known name in Northern California.

Mr. Shoup was a frequent contributor to Sunset Magazine as a means to encourage railroad use. He was the founder of the town of Los Altos, and later become President of the Southern Pacific Railroad in the 1920s - even making the cover of Time magazine in 1927.

The Shoup House is a wood shingle-clad house originally occupied a trapezoidal lot that crossed Adobe Creek in Los Altos. The house now sits on reduced acreage that retains its relationship with the creek, surrounded by denser residential development at 500 University Avenue.

Old California customer's Bill and Tricia Jennings bought the Shoup House in 2003 when it was already on the city's list of historic residences. What followed were several years of planning to strip down the house to its original look and feel from a century ago. Construction began in 2009, removing layers of modern flooring, sheetrock, and paint to reveal beautiful details, such as the original narrow-plank wood floors.

"As we restored the exterior with new paint and trim, it was time to replace the aged and worn light fixtures", said Bill Jennings. "One distinctive part of the home is the ancient wisteria that has been growing for decades on the facade of the house over the covered front porch. It all came together when we found the Old California Lighting's Westmoreland line of fixtures, with the wisteria filigree - they fit the decor of the house, and enhanced the beauty and functionality of the home as soon as they were installed".

Homeowners Bill and Tricia Jennings applied for National Register status on behalf of the Paul Shoup House with assistance from Garavaglia Architecture, Inc. of San Francisco. Their application was successful and the house was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on September 23, 2011; the first Los Altos property to be added into the register.