January 20, 2010 -- A tiny, old, dilapidated house that was the subject of a heated battle a dozen years ago was leased to the Santa Monica Conservancy by the City Tuesday during a signing ceremony at City Hall.

The 20-year renewable lease for $1 comes more than two years after the Conservancy in December 2007 won its bid to relocate, rehabilitate and operate the century-old “shotgun house” as a historic preservation resource center, putting an end to a decade-long saga.

“Since the time this house was saved from demolition and designated as a landmark in 1999, members of the Santa Monica Conservancy have worked tenaciously to become the steward of this special property,” said Carol Lemlein, president of the Conservancy board.

“We’re ‘walking the talk’ by rehabilitating it and putting it back into service as our headquarters and a center for teaching about Ocean Park’s early history as well as historic preservation,” Lemlein said.

The Conservancy will be responsible for raising funds to rehabilitate and maintain the house, which is the last remaining example of a style of dwelling that once dotted the beachside city.

The structure will eventually be moved from storage to a permanent site at Second Street and Norman Place, not far from its original spot at 2712 Second Street. There, it will become part of a cluster of other historic buildings that reflect different eras of the city’s history, Conservation officials said.

The house is a typical "shotgun" house, a narrow, one-story dwelling without any hallways and with each room placed in a single-file order. If somebody was to fire a shotgun from the front door, the bullet would fly through the house and out the back door without hitting anything else in the house, hence its name.

"They looked for a structure that could be erected easily, quickly and inexpensively. The shotgun house filled the bill."

The homes cost $100 and were sold in kits or pre-fabricated, pre-assembled and then dragged into place by horses, according to Conservancy officials.

"The shotgun house may be the seed from which the entire real estate and tourism industry sprouted in Santa Monica," officials said.

But the houses -- which were the size of a two-car garage -- were cramped and provided little privacy. They also had no foundation.

"The very qualities that made the shotgun houses attractive as instant housing doomed them in the long run," Conservancy officials said. "In time they became unlivable as permanent homes, though they were fine as temporary, vacation quarters."

Efforts to preserve the small, worn wooden structure began in 1998 when the property owner applied for a demolition permit and the Landmarks Commission designated the house a City landmark.

After an appeal, the City Council allowed its demolition in 2000. But historic preservationists, led by the Ocean Park Community Organization (OPCO), purchased the house and received City approval in 2002 to temporarily relocate it to Santa Monica Airport.

By 2005, OPCO had disbanded amidst charges of financial wrongdoing by its leader, and the City relocated the house to city-owned property at 1401 Olympic Boulevard to pave the way for construction of Airport Park.

In 2006, the City obtained ownership and the following summer, the council approved the Norman Place and Second Street site as a permanent location, directing staff to receive bids from nonprofit organizations to lease the house for public purposes.