Heritage Square

You've driven by it if you've taken the 110. There on the side of the road. You've probably noticed the colorful Victorian house and the big white church. It is Heritage Square, a living history museum with eight Victorian-era structures saved from wrecking balls. Of the eight, there's a train depot, the church, a carriage house, and five homes representing the different economic levels of their residents.

These buildings were all moved here as part of a preservation plan. Think about those logistics as you exit Avenue 43 and drive down the narrow Homer Street toward Heritage Square.

Shown here is the Hale House, built in 1887. You definitely spot this one from the freeway due to it's flashy colors. Inside, the house is styled with appropriate furnishings. This one even has some of the furniture that belonged to the Hale family.

The rarest is the Octagon House, being one of only a few surviving homes of this layout in Southern California. I was surprised to find that the rooms are all squares! That means some jumbo sized closets and storage areas to fill the home's eight sides.

The volunteer tour guides are both knowledgeable and entertaining. My guide shared that the grassy space between the church and the carriage house may one day accommodate a vintage pharmacy. And, just in time for Halloween, she suggested cool-sounding mourning tours with a look at how Victorian folks handled death.

Click here to go to their Web site.