One of Tom Gist's early Custom-Flex homes, our home was commissioned by the Gumbin family in early 1957. The plans were drawn up in March of 1957, and construction began shortly after. In the plans, the Gumbin family wanted the carport turned into a butler's quarters, and there were plans drawn up for that, but it seems that the Gumbins decided not to have Gist do the work, as the footprint of the quarters that were built are considerably different, and not in Gist's style. Within the following the decade, the house was sold to a young family, who lived there for a half century, until the house was sold to us in 2016.
Many thanks to Michael Fassett and Mrs. Gist (RIP) for allowing us to obtain copies of the original plans for the home.
how and why we purchased this home
Normal people do not look for a mid-century restoration project for their first home.
But then again, Nathan & Rachel are not normal people.
In 2016, and after being married for nearly 2 years, Nathan & Rachel decided that it was time to move on from the house they had been living in to purchase their own home. However, being appreciative of Tucson's unique architecture, they wanted something different than the basic tract homes that dot many of Tucson's residential neighborhoods. Something with character, something with a bit of history...that needed some work. It took nearly 4 months of looking at nearly 100 homes to find the Gist Restoration, but after looking over this house a few times, they purchased this home in October 2016.
What our home looked like when we bought it
Thankfully, we are only the third owners of our 1958 Tom Gist custom flex home. That being said, the second owners did quite a number on the house - the most egregious of all, painting over the internal adobe, which is costing us a pretty penny to fix. While you faithful readers are watching the restoration happen, here are some pictures of what our place looked like upon purchase, so you can see how far we've come.