In 1947, the DeVries family bought this elegant house that is
opposite the Milpitas Public Library on Main Street. It is in the
prairie style design first made
popular by Frank
Lloyd Wright. The house was built in 1915 by Milpitas' second
doctor,
Dr. Renselaer
J. Smith, to serve as his office and home. For many years the lot
to
the south of
the main house was the location of a fresh produce stand operated
by
Dr. Smith's
son (today the Valley Medical Clinic is located there). The Smith
family sold the mansion and property to the de Vries
family in the
late 1940s. The city acquired the property in 1995 from the de
Vries
family for $2.5 million. The
process for listing of the mansion on the National Register of
Historic
Places was begun but never completed. Since the house was
moved off of its foundation, it is no longer eligible for listing.
Today, the mansion sits near Main Street and is the administration
offices of the Senior housing development located at the
site. There are three or four apartments upstairs were the
family bedrooms used to be.
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