McElroy Octagon House

Last updated
McElroy Octagon House
McElroy Octagon House 2022.jpg
The McElroy Octagon House in Gough St. San Francisco, California; structural concrete construction (built 1861)
Location map San Francisco County.png
Red pog.svg
McElroy Octagon House
Location in San Francisco
USA California location map.svg
Red pog.svg
McElroy Octagon House
McElroy Octagon House (California)
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
McElroy Octagon House
McElroy Octagon House (the United States)
Location San Francisco, California
Coordinates 37°47′52″N122°25′39″W / 37.79778°N 122.42750°W / 37.79778; -122.42750
Built1861
Architectural styleOctagon Mode
NRHP reference No. 72000250 [1]
CHISL No.N156
SFDL No.17
Significant dates
Added to NRHPFebruary 23, 1972
Designated CHISLFebruary 23, 1972
Designated SFDLFebruary 3, 1969

The McElroy Octagon House, also known as the Colonial Dames Octagon House, is a historic octagonal house now located at 2645 Gough Street at Union Street in the Cow Hollow neighborhood of San Francisco, California, United States.

Contents

It is listed as a San Francisco Designated Landmark since February 3, 1969; [2] listed as a California Historical Landmark since February 23, 1972; [3] and has been added to the National Register of Historic Places since February 23, 1972. [4]

The house is open to the public for tours, see signage. [5]

History

William C. McElroy (?–1869) and his spouse Harriet Shober (1816–1899) bought the lot across the street from the house's current location on Gough Street in 1859. [6] [7] McElroy was a wood miller by trade and he built the house between 1860 and 1861. [4] [6] Originally the house was designed with two floors (four rooms on each floor) with a winding staircase in the middle of the building. [8] The McElroy family lived in the house until around the 1880s when the house became a rental property. [6] Daniel O’Connell, a co-founder of the Bohemian Club, was one of the rental tenants. [6] In April 1906 the house was badly damaged during the 1906 Earthquake. [6] By 1909 the house was no longer owned by the McElroy family and it changed ownership many times. [6]

The house was vacant and neglected in 1951 when the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in California bought it, moved it across the street and began its restoration. [6] The house was restored by University of California, Berkeley's former Dean of Architecture, Warren C. Perry. [8] During the restoration, the original layout of the house was changed so it would be more functional as an event space. [8] By 1953 the building opened as a museum. [8]

The original location of the house (across the street) contains condominiums that were built on the property in 1955. [8]

McElroy Octagon House, Feusier Octagon House, and the Marine Exchange Lookout Station [9] [10] [11] at Land's End are the only three remaining octagon houses in the city. [2] [12] [13]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Japantown, San Francisco</span> Neighborhood in San Francisco, California, United States

Japantown is a neighborhood in the Western Addition district of San Francisco, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bernard Maybeck</span> American architect

Bernard Ralph Maybeck was an American architect in the Arts and Crafts Movement of the early 20th century. He was an instructor at University of California, Berkeley. Most of his major buildings were in the San Francisco Bay Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Russian Hill, San Francisco</span> Neighborhood in San Francisco

Russian Hill is a neighborhood of San Francisco, California. It is named after one of San Francisco's 44 hills, and one of its original "Seven Hills".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western Addition, San Francisco</span> Neighborhood of San Francisco in California, United States

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hallidie Building</span> United States historic place

The Hallidie Building is an office building in the Financial District of San Francisco, California, at 130 Sutter Street, between Montgomery Street and Kearny Street. Designed by architect Willis Polk and named in honor of San Francisco cable car pioneer Andrew Smith Hallidie, it opened in 1918. Though credited as the first American building to feature glass curtain walls, it was in fact predated by Louis Curtiss's Boley Clothing Company building in Kansas City, Missouri, completed in 1909.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ephraim Willard Burr</span> American businessman and mayor of San Francisco

Ephraim Willard Burr (1809–1894) was an American businessman, banker, and politician. He served as the 8th mayor of San Francisco, California, from 1856 to 1859.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bridgeport Covered Bridge</span> Oldest covered bridge in California

The Bridgeport Covered Bridge is located in Bridgeport, Nevada County, California, southwest of French Corral and north of Lake Wildwood. It is used as a pedestrian crossing over the South Yuba River. The bridge was built in 1862 by David John Wood. Its lumber came from Plum Valley in Sierra County, California. The bridge was closed to vehicular traffic in 1972 and pedestrian traffic in 2011 due to deferred maintenance and "structural problems".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Juan Bautista State Historic Park</span> United States historic place

San Juan Bautista State Historic Park is a California state park encompassing the historic center of San Juan Bautista, California, United States. It preserves a significant concentration of buildings dating to California's period of Spanish and Mexican control. It includes the Mission San Juan Bautista, the Jose Castro House, and several other buildings facing the historic plaza. It became a state park in 1933 and was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1970. It is also a site on the Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Feusier Octagon House</span> Historic house in California, United States

The Feusier Octagon House is an historic octagonal house built in c. 1857, and located in the Russian Hill neighborhood of San Francisco, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albert Pissis</span> Mexican-American architect

Albert Pissis (1852–1914) was a prolific Mexican-born American architect, of French and Mexican descent. He was active in San Francisco and had studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, France. He is credited with introducing the Beaux-Arts architectural style to San Francisco, California, designing a number of important buildings in the city in the years before and after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mills Building and Tower</span> Commercial offices in San Francisco, California

The Mills Building and Tower is a two-building complex following the Chicago school with Romanesque design elements in the Financial District of San Francisco, California. The structures were declared San Francisco Designated Landmark #76, and were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Joseph's Church and Complex</span> Historic church in California, United States

St. Joseph's Church and Complex is a historic church built in 1906, and located at 1401–1415 Howard Street in the South of Market neighborhood of San Francisco, California, United States.

Frederick Herman Meyer was an American architect. He was active in the San Francisco Bay Area, and is known for designing the YMCA Hotel in San Francisco. From c.1898 until 1901, Samuel Newsom worked with Meyer, to form the firm Newsom and Meyer in Oakland. Starting in 1902 and until 1908, Meyer entered into a partnership with architect Smith O'Brien to form the form Meyer and O'Brien.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nathanial Brittan Party House</span> United States historic place

The Nathanial Brittan Party House, also known as Nathaniel Brittan Party House,Brittan Party House, Brittan Lodge, is located at 125 Dale Avenue in San Carlos, California, and was built in 1872. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank G. Edwards House</span> Historic house in California, United States

The Frank G. Edwards House is a historic residential building built in 1883, and located at 1366 Guerrero Street in the Noe Valley section of San Francisco, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Russian Hill-Paris Block Architectural District</span> United States historic place

The Russian Hill-Paris Block Architectural District is a 1.5-acre (0.61 ha) historic district located in the Russian Hill area of San Francisco, California, that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 7, 1988, for architecture. The area is a residential enclave.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vollmer House</span> 1876 historic house in San Francisco

The Vollmer House is a historic house built between 1876 and 1885, and located in the Japantown area in San Francisco, California. The house is known for its outstanding decorative details on the exterior.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liberty Hill Historic District (San Francisco, California)</span> Historic district in San Francisco County, California, U.S.

The Liberty Hill Historic District is a historic district located in the Dolores Heights neighborhood of San Francisco, California, U.S.. It is a residential neighborhood bound by 20th, Mission, Dolores, and 22nd Streets. It is listed as a San Francisco Designated Landmark since October 25, 1985.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uptown Tenderloin Historic District</span> Historic district in San Francisco County, California, U.S.

The Uptown Tenderloin Historic District is a historic district located in the Tederloin neighborhood of San Francisco, California, U.S.. It has 408 contributing buildings and covers roughly a 33-city block radius in downtown San Francisco. The Uptown Tenderloin Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on February 5, 2009, for architecture and social history.

References

  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
  2. 1 2 "San Francisco Landmark #17: McElroy Octagon House". Noehill.com. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  3. "McElroy Octagon House". CA State Parks. Retrieved 2022-12-01.
  4. 1 2 "Asset Detail: McElroy Octagon House". National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. 1972. Retrieved 2020-03-02.
  5. Bravo, Tony (January 15, 2020). "Colonial Dames' Octagon House hopes to reach wider audience". Datebook, The San Francisco Chronicle . Retrieved 2022-12-01.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Dowd, Katie (2020-03-01). "The tin box that solved the mystery of San Francisco's Octagon House". SF Gate. Retrieved 2020-03-02.
  7. "In Memoriam, Mrs. Harriet Shober McElroy". The San Francisco Call. National Endowment for the Humanities, Chronicling America. 1899-01-20. p. 9. ISSN   1941-0719 . Retrieved 2020-03-02.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 Bevk, Alex (2012-06-01). "Then & Now: The Octagon House". Curbed SF. Retrieved 2020-03-02.
  9. "Land's End Octagon House". Atlas Obscura. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  10. "Octagon house at Land's End - Richmond District Blog". Richmondsfblog.com. 27 September 2009. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  11. Project, Western Neighborhods. "Octagon House at Land's End". Outsidelands.org. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  12. "National Register #72000250: McElroy Octagon House in San Francisco, California". Noehill.com. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  13. "Union Street Shopping, Dining & Travel Guide for San Francisco". Unionstreetshop.com. Retrieved 5 October 2018.