Morey Mansion

Known through the years as “Hermosa Vista” and “America’s Favorite Victorian Home”, the Morey Mansion has a rich history and beautiful architecture. Jerome Seymour designed the home in the Queen Anne Style, though the home also incorporates elements of French, Italian, Chinese, and Russian styles. For example, the home features a prominent “onion dome” inspired by Russian styles. In addition to the prominent onion dome tower, a number of other elements contribute to the beauty of the exterior design. On the porch, Roman style columns feature carved ivy leaf and stem designs and the railing around the veranda is a Chinese style. Different styles of windows are featured on the different levels of the house: Gothic, arched windows for the third floor; Roman, round, arched windows for the second; and both beveled plate glass from Belgium and stained glass from France for the first. The front door made of carved oak contains a window etched with the letter “M” for “Morey”. The house is built out of Redwood and the interior is Golden Oak. 

The interior of the home features detail work such as intricate wood carvings and specially ordered light fixtures. The house did not have electricity until 1909, when the fixtures were made into combination fixtures so that gas lighting could be used if the electricity went out. Some of these details relate to David Morey’s previous experience as a shipmaker, such as carvings of nautical subjects like anchors or the use of “captain’s quarters” style paneling in the dining room. Other details like carved orange blossoms on the hearth of the dining room are a nod to the citrus industry in Redlands. Elements such as the inclusion of Calla Lilies, Mrs. Morey’s favorite flower, in carvings in the Reception Hall and the Dining Room and a panelled Union Jack on the ceiling of the Vestibule pont further to the amount of care and detail included in the design of the house.

As David Morey was a carpenter by trade, he did much of the work on the house himself. For example, he did much of the intricate decorative carvings. After retiring from his career as a carpenter, David Morey and his wife Sarah permanently settled in Redlands as some of the early residents of the city. Mr. Morey served as the third president of the Redlands Water Company. In Redlands, David Morey managed orange groves and Sarah Morey tended to a prosperous orange nursery, selling saplings to other growers in the area. This as well as Mr. Morey’s work on Redlands area buildings earned them the money to build their extraordinary home. 

In 1906, Willard Cheney purchased the property. It was the Cheney family that nicknamed the home "Hermosa Vista", meaning "beautiful view" in Spanish. Cheney was the brother of Mrs. Helen Cheney Kimberly, one of the original residents of the Kimberly Crest home, another well known example of Redlands’ signature Victorian architecture. The Cheney family were related to actress Carole Lombard, and as a result it is reported that she stayed in this house as well as at Kimberly Crest; one of the rooms in the Morey Mansion is called the Lombard Room in her honor. It remained in the Cheney family until 1936, and between then and the 1980s it was used as a private residence by two other families. From about 1985-1998, owners Carl Ljungquist and Gary Conway operated a bed and breakfast out of the mansion. 

When Janet Cosgrove bought the home in 1998, she undertook a number of restoration projects and once again used the home as a private residence. In order to protect against earthquake damage, a whole new foundation was put in and most of the bricks were removed from the original chimneys, however special care was put in to ensure that brick veneers and other details were put in to maintain the authentic look of the house. Additionally, she went through a long process to pick out new colors for the exterior of the house that would maintain authenticity in addition to highlighting the details of the design. Inside the house, wallpaper was redone with a similar goal of restoring the house for the future while still fitting in with the Victorian era design. New shingles for the roof were cut to the same shapes as the original, and were then individually hand dipped in paint. After Cosgrove and her husband got divorced, she turned the home back into a bed and breakfast. Since then, the home has been through a couple of other ownership changes and is once again being used as a private residence.

A 1952 film, Talk About a Stranger, featured the Morey Mansion, as well as a horror film in 1971. Photographs of the building have been used in multiple magazines, postcards, advertisements, etc. to promote the landmarks of Redlands, Victorian architecture in general, or simply as a beautiful backdrop. Home and Gardens Television (HGTV) featured the renovations undertaken by Janet Cosgrove on an episode of the show “Restore America”. In his book on Victorian architecture entitled The Gingerbread Age, John Maass gave the Morey Mansion the nickname "America's Favorite Victorian Home".

A.K. Smiley Public Library, Heritage Room, Historic Resources Inventory, Historic Survey Form Scans

Challos, Courtney. "Morey Mansion Looks to the Future." The Press-Enterprise (San Bernardino, CA) December 29th 1998.

El-Hasan, Muhhamed. "New Owners Face Task of Restoring Landmark House." San Bernardino County Sun (San Bernardino, CA) January 13th 1999.

Stuck, Nelda M . "Morey House Ready for its Closeup." Redlands Daily Facts (Redlands, CA) October 10th 2001. .