Q: I was born and raised in Bakersfield and I have been trying to figure where the Lopez house was located at California and Chester. Your article said it was across from Dewar’s. I realize Dewar’s is close to this corner, but it is located on Eye Street. Can anyone enlighten me as to where it was?
— Phyllis Smith
A: The Lopez house was actually catty-corner to Dewar’s.
The house was originally built in 1909 at the northwest corner of California and Chester avenues, facing Chester. In 1929, the house was rotated to face California Avenue and moved a bit west so it sat in the middle of the block between Chester and Eye Street, according to Glenda Rankin, whose mother, Lavern Hill, was the home’s most recent owner.
In this position, the house faced Dewar’s but on a slight diagonal.
