Maharajah’s House
This 25-room, Streamline Moderne house in the Floral Park area of Santa Ana was designed by Donald Kirby of Balboa Island and built by the prominent local developer Allison Honer in 1938. It is called the Maharajah’s House because it was, in fact, the 18th home owned by the Maharajah of Indore, Sir Yeshwant Holkar. Considered the richest man in the world at the time, the ruler of Indore, India, wanted to escape the civil unrest in his country, so he moved to Orange County, bringing his 4 year old daughter, Usha, with him. The house was built without windows on the first floor and a gate was on the indoor stairway because he feared his child might be kidnaped like the Lindbergh baby. The house cost about $50,000 to build and another $150,000 to furnish, a fortune during the Depression.
Santa Ana, Orange County
Photographer: Al Russell