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Loma House -
1708 7th Avenue
 Print Listing
Historical Name -
Stech House
Style -
Bungalow
Built Year -
1922
State ID -
5WLXX12
Description -
The west-facing bungalow at 1708 7th Avenue has a rectangular plan, concrete foundation, vinyl siding, a brick chimney, and a front gabled roof with exposed rafters, triangular knee braces, and composition shingles. The partial width, open front porch dominates the home’s façade. The porch features a front gabled roof with plain wood shingles and triangular knee braces on the gable end, and three massive piers. Squared columns rest on two of the three piers, but the center column has been replaced with four small turned spindles. Six concrete steps with wrought-iron railing lead to the front door, and there is a large six-over-one light window on the north side of the door. Also on the façade, a metal awning covers the window south of the porch, and there is a three-light hopper window at the basement level. The north elevation has two one-over-one aluminum windows, one larger than the other, as well as one basement window. The south elevation also has two one-over-one aluminum windows, a pair of one-over-one aluminum windows on the east end, and two basement windows. The three windows and door on the home’s east elevation are covered by metal awnings. All three windows are aluminum frame with a single light lower sash; the awnings conceal the upper sashes. A back door with a metal screen door and fixed pane basement window are also visible on the rear elevation.
Historical Background -
Greeley City Directories list Samuel and Dora Stech as the first occupants of 1708 7th Avenue in 1923. Apparently a retired couple, it seems that Mr. Stech passed away in approximately 1934; Mrs. Stech became a housekeeper and lived in the home until 1936. From 1937-1938, Mrs. Blanche Gardner lived at the address.
Beginning in 1938, Mrs. Rae Batstone, the widow of Reverend A. Gordon Batstone, and her daughters, Alice Virginia and Barbara, lived in the home. A prominent Baptist minister, Mr. Batstone had passed away on October 26,1938, after battling a long illness; Mrs. Batstone and her daughters lived in the home at the time of his death. Mrs. Batstone continued her occupation as a school teacher after moving to Greeley. She taught at Gibson School and Washington School until retiring in the early 1960s. Mrs. Batstone lived at 1708 7th Avenue until 1981 when she moved to Sunnyvale, California, presumably to be closer to her daughters who resided in California. She died on May 17, 1991.
After Mrs. Batstone vacated the home in 1981, City Directories reveal little information about the home’s occupants for the next 25 years. Pedro Loma purchased the home in 2006 and currently lives there.
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