Guam Historic Properties Inventory (GHPI) Data Form: Sablan House

Craft, Cacilie

A Guam Historic Properties Inventory Data Form for the Sablan House. Description: "According to Johnny Sablan, notable Chamorro entertainer, the Sablan House was built around 1955 by his grandfather, Diego Salas Sablan, a civil servant carpenter for the U.S. Navy after World War II. Diego Sablan self-constructed the buidling along with his cousins. Sablan's extended family lived in the house while Johnny Sablan's parents owned and operated a village store, the Sablan Store, directly across the street. Sablan and his immediate family lived in a house attached to the store. Sablan's parents, sisters, and brothers, moved across the street to the Sablan House in the early 1960s while Sablan was living in California attending school and beginning his singing career. He describes the house at the time as 'a 2-story multi-unit building. On the bottom was reinforced concrete with 2 apt. units & on the top was a 4 bedroom wooden house w/ tin roofing and a big concrete bathroom.'" Statement of Significance: "The Sablan residence was built in the 1950s and, as typical with many houses in Guam, it represents self-construction and long-term occupation by the same extended family. Despite reconstruction of the second floor after Typhoon Karen, the new second floor mirrors the original construction. The building appears to be eligible fo the National Register under Criterion C because it represents a rare and exception example of a post-World War II duplex house type of southern Guam. The property also appears to be eligible under Criterion B for its association with noted Chamorro entertainer Johnny Sablan. Sablan, who recorded the first all-Chamorro language album, is a pioneer in the Chamorro recording industry and has also served at the forefront of indigenous Chamarro language and cultural revival efforts during a recording career spanning five decades. The property's period of significance is its date of construction ca. 1955 to 1965, when Sablan's association with the house ended. Portions of the corrugated metal roof are collapsing and iron bars have been affixed to some of the windows. However, the building is in good condition with an acceptable level of preservation and period-appropriate maintenance over time. Compatible materials have been used for modifications and original design elements have been maintained. Despite reconstruction of the second flood after Typhoon Karen, the Sablan House retains integrity of location, setting, design, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association. Residential buildings from this period in southern Guam's history rarely exhibit this level of integrity." Project funding was provided in part by a Historic Preservation Fund grant to the Guam Historic Preservation Office, Guam Department of Parks and Recreation, administered by the Pacific West Regional Office, National Park Service, U.S. Department of Interior (grant number 66-13-51960).

Guam Historic Properties Inventory (GHPI) Data Form: Sablan House

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