City Of Oakland, Mayor Jerry Brown To Honor Mrs. Lucille Allen
& The Reconstructed Allen House On The 8th Anniversary Of The Oakland Hills Fire

OAKLAND, CA (Oct. 20, 1999) The late Mrs. Lucille Guiton Allen, for many years one of Oakland’s leading African-American businesswomen, will be honored by Mayor Jerry Brown and the City of Oakland at a ceremony beginning at 4:15 p.m. on October 20, 1999, the 8th anniversary of the Oakland Hills Fire. The ceremony will be held at the site of the newly reconstructed “Allen House,” 6042 Manchester Drive, which burned to the ground during the 1991 firestorm. The formal program honors Mrs. Allen and her commitment to rebuild her home.

Mayor Brown will honor Mrs. Allen by reading a Letter of Recognition from the city and mounting a bronze plaque. Mrs. Allen passed away in 1998, two weeks after she approved final reconstruction plans. The Allen House is believed to be the only home in the Oakland Fire area that has been completely reconstructed according to its original plan.

Mrs. Allen commenced a seven-year effort to have her historically significant home reconstructed after the Oakland Hills fire. It followed the battle she and her husband, Mr. Boley Allen, had waged decades before to be accepted by the neighborhood after buying their home through a white intermediary in 1959. The Allen House was designed in 1928 by well-known California architect Albert Farr (the designer of Jack London’s Wolf House in rural Sonoma County) and construction was completed in 1929. The Allen House has been reconstructed by Plath & Company, Inc. General Contractors of San Francisco.

Mrs. Allen is being honored for “her strength of character, her desire to be a part of the American Dream, and for a commitment to her vision that brought the house back to life after the fire,” according to the city’s Letter of Recognition. Mrs. Allen was a member of the prominent Guiton Family, owners of Guiton Charter, a local transportation company that was well-known for transporting military personnel. For many years, Mrs. Allen operated her own business as a beautician at Lucille’s Beauty Parlor. She and her husband, Mr. Boley Allen, who was a longshoreman, also were co-owners of Guiton Liquors.

Also in attendance at the event will be Oakland Fire Chief Gerald Simon, on-duty members of Engine 19, the Oakland Hills fire station, civic and business leaders, and neighbors from the Upper Rockridge area.

The ceremony will give the public its first view of Lucille Allen’s beloved “Allen House,” a castle-like, 1929 French-Norman residence originally designed by Albert Farr. Mr. and Mrs. Allen first bought the home in 1959 through a white intermediary because of restrictions against African-Americans purchasing property in the Upper Rockridge neighborhood. Because of their race, Mr. and Mrs. Allen were unable to tour the home as prospective buyers.

When the Allens moved into the home, the previous owners began foreclosure proceedings, and some of the neighbors threatened legal action. Gradually, the neighborhood began to accept the Allens. The Allen House soon became a symbol of sorts to the local African-American community, and more than one formal party, wedding, and ceremonial event was hosted there.

The Allen House burned to the ground during the 1991 firestorm. Mr. and Mrs. Allen, then quite elderly, escaped the fire, but lost their home. Mrs. Allen was devastated by the loss, and wanted the Allen House to be rebuilt exactly like the original. For years she persevered to have the home reconstructed according to the original architectural plans. Mr. Boley Allen passed away in 1994. Mrs. Allen approved final reconstruction plans in 1998, only two weeks before she passed away.

Plath & Company General Contractors, noted for their historic restorations, have reconstructed the home in faithful detail. Architects Rosa Lane and Austine Warren of Berkeley drew up a new set of construction plans based on the original Albert Farr design. Some of its more elegant period features include hand-painted ceilings, decorative rosettes and plaster molding, a graceful staircase of wrought iron grillwork, and a signature.