BROKEN HOME\Quake coalition foots repairs for Victorian gem.

Byline: Mary Beth Alexander Daily News Staff Writer

Nancy and Steven Copsey weren't exactly thinking Victorian five years ago when they started searching for a home in which to raise their twin daughters.

But when Nancy Copsey saw the "for sale" sign in front of a century-old, yellow-and-white Dutch Colonial Revival on a tree-dotted, two-thirds-acre lot, she couldn't resist.

"I was looking for a large piece of property for the twins to climb and play (on)," Copsey, 37, said. "I stopped to look, and thought, 'Wow, neat!' "

The Copseys bought their dream house in 1991 for $380,000. But three years later, the Northridge Earthquake knocked it off its foundation, causing $130,000 worth of damage - according to one estimate - and leaving the first floor nearly unusable.

Downstairs walls, once coated with homey, earth-tone wallpaper, are exposed slabs of three-quarter-inch plywood now used for reinforcement. Ceilings are cracked, and pricey leaded window panels buckled.

But help for the Copseys is near. The family has been approved for $44,000 in grants to help pay for repairs. The money is being provided by the Historic Preservation Partners for Earthquake Response, a coalition of government and nonprofit groups who came together after the earthquake to assist in the restoration of vintage, quake-damaged buildings.

To ensure that it will never be torn down or drastically altered, the Copseys, meanwhile, additionally have asked that the old "Taft House" be placed on the city's Historic-Cultural Monument list.

"I want this house so it will never be destroyed. It will be here for a lifetime," Copsey said. "It has great significance in the Valley as the big yellow house. And it just has its own historical significance."

Kaye Beckham, a board member on the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission, said the house originally was built in Hollywood on the property of one of Hollywood's influential families, the Tafts.

Although it is unknown who owned the house first, members of the Taft family bought it and moved into it in the early 1900s, Beckham said.

In 1942, after the Tafts had sold it, the home was relocated to the 16700 block of San Fernando Mission Boulevard to make way for the Hollywood Freeway.

Beckham said the house has many of the characteristics of a cultural monument. It certainly has the history, she said, and it is old enough - built in the 1870s. Its pillared, wood-sided Victorian style also is a plus, she said.

"The chances of the (Copseys') house being designated a historic-cultural monument are good," she said.

The commission is scheduled to tour the Copseys' home in early February. After the inspection, they will consider the designation at a meeting later that month.

Beckham said the City Council must give final approval.

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Photo (1) Nancy Copsey is still dealing with earthquake damage to her historic Victorian home in Granada Hills. Terri Thuente/Daily News (2) The Taft House may be designated a historic-cultural monument. Gus Ruelas/Daily News