Putting 257 W. Olive St. On The (Google) Map

If you google the Long Beach address 257 W. Olive St., what appears are several websites, including a listing on Wikipedia and a Facebook page devoted to the historic white stucco home. None of these sites were created by owner Carolyn Alvarado, who has kept busy as a restorer.  

In 2005, the home became the second in Long Beach to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places, the federal government’s list of buildings “deemed worthy of preservation,” and is listed on the City of Long Beach's Register of Historic Places, for the special place it holds in Long Beach and Jewish history.

Built in 1927 by Samuel Vaisberg, a doctor and operator of a Jewish newspaper in Brooklyn during the Great Depression, the Spanish-Revival style home served as a place to treat less fortunate patients. He raised his family there, too, and eventually passed it down to his son, Maurice, a doctor who conducted medical studies and developed several medicines there. Then along came Alvarado.

"We bought this house from Maurice's wife after he passed on," Alvarado said. 

Houses that are veritable pieces of history often require a lot of care and planning to maintain and to preserve their pasts. And 257 W. Olive was no exception, especially since the property was vacant and dilapidated for many years before Alvarado purchased it in 1990.

"The atmosphere fed me," she said. "I could see the guts of the house were solid and that the rest was cosmetic." 

Alvarado, a professional artist for 35 years, comes from a long line of carpenters. She had a knack for restoring interesting aspects of the apartments where she had resided, including pieces of furniture she had found. So when it came to her Long Beach home, the years of abandonment were no match for her precision for detail and restoration experience.  

Alvarado was able to replace only that which was in need of restoration, and did so with authentic parts that she searched for and found. She was, mostly on her own, able to resurrect the home and its original details, right down to the kitchen sink. 

"Creating is my life, my greatest joy, so restoring the home has been nothing but wonderful," she said. "However, I would not recommend people buy an old house and restore it if they don't love it." 

Today, while the home has caught the attention of historians and is featured on the Internet, Alvarado's restoration skills have gained notice among City of Long Beach officials, who hired her to restore the portrait paintings of the "City Fathers" that line the walls at City Hall, as well as residents interested in having everything from their homes to furniture restored.  

Alvarado transformed her historic home's garage into a cottage gallery in order to provided the space she needs to work on all the items she receives.

"I can find pieces that other people pass on and restore them into something beautiful," she said.