1981 HERITAGE AWARD RECIPIENT
The Redlands Area Historical Society, Inc.
Heritage Award 1981
William T. Bill House
409 West Olive Avenue
1901
Built in 1901 at a cost of $3000, the residence at 409 West Olive Avenue was owned by W.T. Bill. The contractor was Lynn and Lewis. Coming to Redlands in 1896 at the age of forty, William Thomas Bill purchased and operated an orange grove and then along with W.F. Holt became interested in the development of the Imperial Valley. He was a founder and became president of the Redlands Build¬ing Loan Association (which later became Redlands Federal Savings and Loan Association) and lived in this house until 1925 when it was purchased by the J.C. Roths. The house is now owned by Bob Roth, their grandson, and his wife, Arlene. Bob Roth remembers many happy days visiting and playing in the house as a boy. With appreciation for the neighborhood of Olive Avenue, the Roths have returned 409 West Olive Avenue from an apartment house in disrepair to a beautifully restored single-family residence.
The house is a ten-room, two-story “classic box.” It has a broad peaked roof with dormers and is constructed of wood overlapping siding. The first story has a covered, wrap¬ around veranda, and the second story has an open porch sup¬ported by square wooden posts and trimmed with a railing of turned spindles. The house has a variety of window designs and a prominent bay window on the second story. Adding to its significance is an ashlar wall at the sidewalk.
