The building that houses the California Heritage Museum’s exhibits is as interesting and unique as the exhibits themselves.

In the late nineteenth century the renowned architect Sumner P. Hunt built the home for Roy Jones, son of the founder of Santa Monica, Senator John Percival Jones. City Trustees granted Jones a permit to dig a cesspool on April 16, 1894, marking the first step taken in the construction of the house. One of Sumner P. Hunt's earliest surviving buildings, the Roy Jones Home is designed in a style in transition from the elaborate Victorian Queen Anne Revival, to the simpler American Colonial or Georgian Revival style.

Its beauty and grace were recognized from the start, as documented by The Outlook on May 26, 1894: "Five new residences, ranging in cost from $3,000 to $5,000, are now in the course of construction in Santa Monica. Those of Messrs. Roy Jones and Kennelly, on Ocean Avenue…are about completed. They are all handsome structures, and show that there is to be no deterioration in architectural styles in our growing city by the sea."

The June 30 edition further reinforced this appreciation: "Sumner P. Hunt, architect, of Los Angeles, had made his 'imprint' upon this town in a pleasant way that is not excelled by anyone who has ever 'struck' it. He designed the…residence of Mr. Roy Jones…They are all neat, slightly edifices, and are a gratifying step in advancing the style of our architecture."

The home spent its first years on Ocean Avenue, lived in by the Jones family, followed by Gustavus S. Homes. In later times, it was converted from a single family home to a rooming house. In 1974, Dorothy Jones Boden, Roy Jones' daughter, loaned a photograph of the house in its original condition for a pictorial history of Santa Monica. Facing it was a second photograph, showing that the house was still standing. This knowledge was the impetus to save the building from the perpetual commercial development of Santa Monica, and move it to its current location: 2612 Main Street.

Named an Official City Landmark in January of 1979, the California Heritage Museum now commits itself to presenting displays of American decorative and fine arts, and promoting the passion that is collecting.