With the end of the Fassking’s Gardens era at Grand Station, Alameda’s next phase of growth was about to begin. Alameda, once primarily a place for weekend picnics and summer retreats, has become a town of houses. In Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 of this story, we learned how German immigrant Louis Fassking founded Alameda’s largest and most successful hotel and resort at Fassking’s Park. The railroads, which had done so much to bring business to his resort, were now bringing that business to the West End seaside resorts, the most famous of which was Neptune Beach. Those same railroads, as they expanded their lines and stations, also made Alameda a more desirable and convenient place to live, with regular rail and ferry services to and from San Francisco and Oakland.
A view of Grand Station in 1940 and today. From the founding of Fassking’s Hotel here in the early 1860’s to the introduction of the railways in 1864, through the era of the ‘Big Reds’ in the South Pacific to 1941 and into today’s bustling CBD, this station has been a hub of activity for over 160 years. Left photo unknown source. Right photo Steve Gorman.
Marcuse & Remmel excel in real estate
1726 Lincoln Ave., adjacent to Minturn Court, was built on the former Fassking’s tract as part of Marcuse & Remmel’s 1891-1892 development of 15 houses there. This Queen Anne High Basement Cottage was built in 1892 and sold for $2,300. It displays a particularly large and spectacular variation on the sunbeam theme in its pediment. Photo Steve Gorman.
At the end of the 1880s, the businessman Felix Marcuse (1847-1925) and the musician Julius Remmel (1855-1913), independently of one another, began to deal more and more with the sale of real estate. Although each was successful in their chosen field, they couldn’t resist Alameda’s booming housing market. By 1890 they had merged and when Fassking’s tract was vacated of its old hotel buildings they were perfectly positioned to seize the opportunity. A large, empty piece of land right next to a train station must have seemed like an excellent investment to the new company Marcuse & Remmel.
They bought land for 10 cottages on the newly created Minturn Court, along with enough land for five more houses on Lincoln Avenue. Although new to the field of house building, they hired architects and builders to build affordable homes in the style of the period – Queen Anne High Basement Cottages. While other builders such as Joseph Leonard and Charles Shaner built larger and more opulent homes for wealthier clients, Marcuse & Remmel focused on more modest but stylish cottages for the average earner. Their cottages typically cost $1,400 to $2,500 and can be purchased on installments with as little as $100 down payment and $10 per month.
Join historian Dennis Evanosky and the Alameda Post for a walking tour of Caroline and Weber Streets on Saturday, February 25 or Sunday, February 26 at 10am. We’ll learn about the notable architects – including Marcuse & Remmel – who designed and built homes in the 1200 and 1300 blocks of these Gold Coast streets. We will also learn personal details about some of the people who lived in the historic houses there. We meet at the intersection of Caroline Street and Fair Oaks Ave at 10:00 am both days. Tickets are $20 each for the Saturday or Sunday tour. Limited tickets may be available on the day of each tour.
Fassking’s hotel page comes to life
An early view of 1525 Minturn Ct., one of Marcuse & Remmel’s creations on this block, compared to a current day view. Like much of the street, this home was built in 1891 in the Queen Anne High Basement style and originally cost $2,250. One of the distinctive features of these houses is the heavily decorated gable with a full circle sunburst. Left photo unknown source. Right photo Steve Gorman.
Marcuse & Remmel’s first major project was to convert an empty lot three blocks from their Bay Street offices into Mastick Court, a cul-de-sac of 11 Queen Anne-style cottages built in 1890. The success of this project led to the Minturn Court development where 15 cottages were built in 1891 and 1892 on the site of the old Fassking’s Hotel. Ten of them can still be seen on Minturn Court itself, with another five located just outside Lincoln Avenue. They are in various stages of alteration, renovation or conservation but there are some excellent examples of the work of Marcuse & Remmel in the early 1890’s along these streets.
It is interesting to compare the cottages on Mastick Court, Marcuse & Remmel’s first major project, with those on Minturn Court, the firm’s second major project. Within a year they had greatly improved their game, and the increased level of detail and beauty of the houses shows it. The firm was constructing 58 buildings in 1891 and averaging 60 buildings a year through 1896, making them among Alameda’s most prolific builders.
Most of their work was in Alameda, but about a fifth of their commissions were in other cities, and they even opened a branch in San Francisco in 1890. Marcuse & Remmel eventually employed a team of over 60 skilled workers such as architects and draftsmen, carpenters, plumbers, plasterers and painters. Bert Remmel (1872-1927), Julius’ younger brother, joined the firm around 1895 and may have played a role in the shift to more ‘modern’ and transitional designs as the Colonial Revival style entered the scene.
The time of Marcuse & Remmel is coming to an end
In the late 1890s the ongoing depression began to take its toll on Marcuse & Remmel. Their annual number of homes fell below 50 and continued to fall each year. By 1898, new orders were coming mostly from San Francisco, and their incredibly prolific and prolific house building era in Alameda was coming to an end. In less than 10 years they had built over 500 homes in the Bay Area, most of them in Alameda. But as sales slowed and bills piled up, they found themselves in the same position Louis Fassking had at the end of his run at Fassking’s Park – in debt and in trouble with creditors. And so the cycle of boom and bust, so often repeated, reemerged.
An ad for Marcuse & Remmel in the Alameda Daily Argus in 1898. The ad lists their business address in San Francisco in addition to their original Bay Station location. By 1898, more business was coming from San Francisco, and their reign as Alameda’s most prolific house builders was nearing an end.
By Christmas 1899, reports in local newspapers reported the transfer of all of Marcuse & Remmel’s assets to the Puget Sound Lumber Company, their largest creditor. In February 1900, the San Francisco Examiner published articles with headlines such as “Home Builders Forced Under” describing the bankruptcy of Marcuse & Remmel. Both Felix Marcuse and Julius Remmel worked separately with Bert Remmel in other areas including notary public and real estate, but never again was there to be such a golden age of building as they witnessed in Alameda in the 1890s.
Julius Remmel died in 1913, Felix Marcuse in 1925, and Bert Remmel in 1927. Though they are long gone, their spirit lives on in the many examples of their fine work throughout Alameda and the Bay Area. Its characteristic elements such as sunbeams, molded plaster, structured facades, an enormous variety of milling work and curved metal sills under bay windows let the viewer know immediately that it is a creation of Marcuse & Remmel.
Learn about another member of the Remmel family, Jacob Remmel, who founded the Teutonia Park and Homestead Association in Alameda.
Lasting treasures from the past
While numerous examples of Marcuse & Remmel’s work still stand in Alameda today, there are less tangible reminders of Louis Fassking’s legacy. In Part 3 of this story, we looked at the two surviving sections of Fassking’s Hotel, which still stands today on the corner of Eagle Avenue and Stanford Street. But there is one remnant of the old Fassking’s Hotel, an ornate door that somehow escaped the junkyard and has been preserved in the Alameda Museum.
The Alameda Museum has an original door from Fassking’s Hotel, believed to date from 1874 when the hotel buildings were replaced after the Great Fire. The detail and beauty of this door suggests the grace and beauty of what was once Alameda’s largest hotel and resort. Photo Steve Gorman.
This door, accompanied by a framed description on the wall, is known for the fine craftsmanship of its time. Rather than being made of plywood or other cheaper construction methods, these door panels are “chamfered and mitered, stiles and railings joined with wooden dowels, and the panels fitted in mortise and tenon joints. The window is made from pieces of stained, textured and etched glass. This door is truly a work of art,” according to Ron Ucovich’s The Fassking Hotel Door. This door gives us just a touch of the grace and beauty that must have characterized Fassking’s Hotel and Gardens.
The late 19th century was truly a time of craftsmanship and beauty of design. Things were made to last, including buildings and houses. The fact that we can admire these treasures from the past today is a testament to the quality of the work, the building materials (old redwood) and the dedication of the preservationists to keeping them alive for future generations. Thanks to Cohen’s Railroad, Fassking’s Park, and Marcuse & Remmel, the Grand Station retains the basic layout of a 19th-century railway station and business district. Stop by anytime and take a stroll through history while admiring our Alameda treasures.
For more information on Marcuse & Remmel and the other leading builder in Alameda, Joseph A. Leonard, see Woodruff Minor’s book, A Home in Alameda, available in the gift shop and on the Alameda Museum website.
Special thanks to Alameda Librarian Beth Sibley for researching Louis Fassking and Fassking’s Park and a tour of the door of Fassking’s Hotel at the Alameda Museum.
Contributing writer Steve Gorman has lived in Alameda since 2000 when he fell in love with the history and architecture of this unique city. Contact him via [email protected]. His writing is collected at AlamedaPost.com/Steve-Gorman.
