Keep out!

I was looking at some of the old documents associated with the house Mike and I are buying, and came across something really interesting– a provision in the original covenant that restricted who could live in the house. In fact, the document reads that the owners, “will not permit any real property… to be used and/or occupied by any person, or persons, not of the white or Caucasian race.” Signed in 1940, the agreement lists a man named Frank Zinnel as the owner of the lots we’re buying. A Google search for Frank shows that a house he owned (which is actually localed not far from the one we’re buying )was designated a historic landmark in 1988.

The ironic part of the whole thing (besides the fact that I, a half-black person is buying the property) is that now the neighborhood is mostly Hispanic, with little tiendas and taquerias scattered on every corner. So much for keeping the colored folks out.