625 Ridge Avenue
1956
Robert and Marion Weber
The Webers' Hajjar home was the second of three that they had built in the West College Heights area of State College. The first was a smaller cottage and the last was built for one-floor living in retirement. They lived in this home for over thirty years.
The Webers were lovers of the mid-century style of furnishings for which Hajjar homes were intended, as well as admirers of other homes that Hajjar had designed. Their requirements were for a combined dining - family room for informal living, a separate apartment for a living father, space for Professor Weber's extensive collection of books, and several bedrooms for their family.
Front of main living unit and entrance.
Main living unit from street corner.
The house was constructed of California Redwood, admired for its durability as well as its color, as well as being reasonably available at the time. Daughter Meredith, still an area resident, recalls that the redwood was repainted several times by Gene Wettstone and sons. Gene was a longtime gymnastics coach at Penn State and painted homes in the area when the University was not in session in the summer.
Entryway inside main door. The wood here is the same vertical redwood as used for the exterior.
Bookshelves lined the second floor hallway to provide for Professor Weber's extensive book collection.
Living Room views to North and West show then high-fashion Mid-Century Modern furnishings.
Formal portrait of the Living Room facing North-West. Interior designer Shirley Palermo was the design Consultant.
Picture wall is to the rear of the Living Room. The furniture design influence is Scandinavian, often called Danish Modern.
The backyard playhouse was done in matching style and materials.
A party in the backyard shows the rear entrance to the house and a spacious setting.
A park bench provides a resting spot to enjoy Marion's summer garden.
Dining - Family Room shows family at the dining table and pass through window to the Kitchen, c. 1968.
Dining - Family Room shows family gathered at the fireplace end posing for a Christmas-time portrait in 1973.
Marion Weber and the architect together planned many convenient features for the house. In the Sewing - Mud Room behind the garage were a built-in sewing table, table-height windows so visitors at the front door could be spotted, and a pass-through milk delivery box, so the milk man could open a door from the outside and the milk could be retrieved from inside. The Kitchen featured a drop-down blender holder and a built-in bread box (but an available dish washer was considered unnecessary at the time). The furnace room also contained an incinerator for the family trash.
The house was constructed by Amish carpenters from the area. When the house was completed, the workers were proud of their construction (see their hand-carved hand rail turn on the stair case, for example) and asked if they could bring their wives to admire their work. The Webers were glad to acquiesce and a serendipity was that the wives brought along buckets and washed all of the windows.
Photos, drawings, and background information courtesy of Meredith Weber.
