Built between 1933 and 1938, the house features an abundance of recycled and reclaimed materials and finishes, ornate hand-carved details, and colorful decorated ceilings. Some ahead-of-their-time systems include a 1935 roof-mounted solar water heater enclosed by repurposed Model T windshields and seismic fittings in the basement to protect against earthquake damage, informed by Weber's early work as a teenager with architects including
John Galen Howard and
Julia Morgan following the
1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire. While Weber was trained and highly skilled in the Beaux Arts style of architecture, for his personal home much of the design was inspired by what he had seen on his year-long honeymoon travels in Europe and North Africa from 1931 to 1932, in particular Mediterranean Moorish and Spanish architecture. The house was initially designed to be expanded into a three-bedroom home with a lookout tower and adjacent den, but Weber never finished the intended expansion due to increased development in the area and other practical restrictions. Rooms include a three-bay garage with basement, wash house, kitchen, breakfast room, and living room with one bedroom and one bathroom. The house was surrounded by ten acres of citrus, stone fruit, and nut trees and bordered a branch of the Gage Canal at its south end. When mother-in-law Amelia Hartnett came to live with them in 1941 after the death of her husband, the Webers relocated their sleeping quarters to the rooftop deck with a corrugated metal shade for protection and slept there year-round. It remained the family home for Weber, his wife Clara, son Peter N., and Amelia Hartnett for almost 40 years. ==Rescue from demolition==