ESCONDIDO —— Women with distinguished Colonial ancestors converged on the corner of Seventh Avenue and Juniper Street in Escondido on Thursday to celebrate the meticulous restoration of a historic Victorian house.

The National Society of Colonial Dames XVII Century dedicated a plaque honoring the home's owners, Harry and Letitia Parashis, for their work in restoring the house, originally built in 1896 by real estate agent Albert Beach.

The Parashis bought the home in 1997 and have spent several years bringing it to its original Victorian ornate grandeur. Most of the work was performed by Escondido craftsman Dennis Will and historical consultant Bruce Coons, executive director of San Diego's Save Our Heritage Organization.

On Thursday, visitors including Mayor Lori Pfeiler and Councilman Ron Newman gawked at the house's multicolored wallpaper, period furniture and cheery backyard gazebo.

"What a great way to preserve our heritage," said Mary Stagg Johnston, national president-general of the society, who had traveled from Alabama for the ceremony.

Coons said the intricate Victorian wallpaper incorporates bird, tree and fan themes in an Anglo-Japanese style, influenced by the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia.

"This was the first time that the Victorian Age middle-class could have colorful wallpaper because of mass production, and they just went nuts," he said.

Parashis, an art dealer and collector who divides his time between Carmel and Escondido, said that he was inspired to buy the Beach house while researching a painting he bought in 1997. The painting, by Charles Fries —— sometimes described as dean of San Diego painters —— is titled "The Town of Escondido, circa 1910."

Parashis was visiting the Escondido Historical Society in Grape Day Park and looking at old photographs showing Escondido at the same time when he saw the Beach house in one photo and learned that it was for sale.

In 1896, just eight years after Escondido's incorporation, the young agriculture-dominated city had somewhere between 750 and 1,300 residents, according to census records. A fancy hotel had just been built on the hill where Palomar Medical Center now stands. There was no home mail delivery and most homes had outhouses; the Beach home's several bathrooms are all later additions.

When Parashis bought the house, its interiors incorporated a mixture of Victorian, Craftsman and later styles —— including aluminum sliding doors and "popcorn" acoustical ceilings —— and he has been working toward harmonizing its decoration scheme, he said. He declined to say how much his restoration efforts have cost.

Virgil and Natalie Bergman were the previous owners before the Parashis, and they were responsible for placing the house on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994. Virgil Bergman was a former dean at Palomar College and president of the Escondido Public Library's board of trustees. Mrs. Bergman was the president of the local chapter of the Colonial Dames society.

Women are eligible for society membership if they are descendants of pre-1701 residents of one of the original 13 American Colonies. Society chapters encourage historical research, preservation of historic buildings and some provide scholarships.

In the 1910s and 1920s Appleton and Amelia Bridges owned the Beach house. Bridges reportedly received the house as a wedding gift from her wealthy father Henry Timken, a manufacturer of springs, roller bearings and axles. Bridges gave $410,000 to build what is now the San Diego Museum of Art in Balboa Park, according to the San Diego Historical Society.

Contact staff writer Quinn Eastman at (760) 740-5412 or qeastman@nctimes.com.