McElroy Octagon House
McElroy Octagon House | |
 The McElroy Octagon House in Gough St. San Francisco, California; structural concrete construction (built 1861) | |
  McElroy Octagon House Location in San Francisco  McElroy Octagon House McElroy Octagon House (California) | |
| Location | San Francisco, California |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 37°47′52″N 122°25′39″W / 37.79778°N 122.42750°W |
| Built | 1861 |
| Architectural style | Octagon Mode |
| NRHP reference No. | 72000250[1] |
| SFDL No. | 17 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | February 23, 1972 |
| Designated SFDL | February 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.
It was listed as a San Francisco Designated Landmark on February 3, 1969,[2] and was added to the National Register of Historic Places on February 23, 1972.[3]
The house is open to the public for tours.[4]
History
[edit]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.[5][6] McElroy was a wood miller by trade and he built the house between 1860 and 1861.[3][5] Originally the house was designed with two floors (four rooms on each floor) with a winding staircase in the middle of the building.[7] The McElroy family lived in the house until around the 1880s when the house became a rental property.[5] Daniel O’Connell, a co-founder of the Bohemian Club, was one of the rental tenants.[5] In April 1906 the house was badly damaged during the 1906 Earthquake.[5] By 1909 the house was no longer owned by the McElroy family and it changed ownership many times.[5]
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.[5] The house was restored by the University of California, Berkeley's former Dean of Architecture, Warren C. Perry.[7] During the restoration, the original layout of the house was changed so it would be more functional as an event space.[7] By 1953 the building opened as a museum.[7]
The original location of the house (across the street) contains condominiums that were built on the property in 1955.[7]
McElroy Octagon House, Feusier Octagon House, and the Marine Exchange Lookout Station[8][9][10] at Land's End are the only three remaining octagon houses in the city.[2][11][12]
See also
[edit]- List of San Francisco Designated Landmarks
- National Register of Historic Places listings in San Francisco
- Nathanial Brittan Party House
References
[edit]- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
- ^ a b "San Francisco Landmark #17: McElroy Octagon House". Noehill.com. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
- ^ a b "Asset Detail: McElroy Octagon House". National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. 1972. Retrieved 2020-03-02.
- ^ Bravo, Tony (January 15, 2020). "Colonial Dames' Octagon House hopes to reach wider audience". Datebook, The San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2022-12-01.
- ^ a b c d e f g Dowd, Katie (2020-03-01). "The tin box that solved the mystery of San Francisco's Octagon House". SF Gate. Retrieved 2020-03-02.
- ^ "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.
- ^ a b c d e Bevk, Alex (2012-06-01). "Then & Now: The Octagon House". Curbed SF. Retrieved 2020-03-02.
- ^ "Land's End Octagon House". Atlas Obscura. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
- ^ "Octagon house at Land's End - Richmond District Blog". Richmondsfblog.com. 27 September 2009. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
- ^ Project, Western Neighborhods. "Octagon House at Land's End". Outsidelands.org. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
- ^ "National Register #72000250: McElroy Octagon House in San Francisco, California". Noehill.com. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
- ^ "Union Street Shopping, Dining & Travel Guide for San Francisco". Unionstreetshop.com. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
External links
[edit]
- The National Society of the Colonial Dames of America.org: Octagon House, 1861
- LOC.gov: HABS−Historic American Buildings Survey of the McElroy Octagon House, homepage
- LOC.gov: HABS vintage McElroy Octagon House photographs, online gallery
- Houses in San Francisco
- Octagon houses in California
- Historic house museums in California
- Museums in San Francisco
- National Register of Historic Places in San Francisco
- San Francisco Designated Landmarks
- National Society of the Colonial Dames of America
- Historic American Buildings Survey in California
- 1861 establishments in California
- 1860s architecture in the United States
- Victorian architecture in California
- California Historical Landmarks
- Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in San Francisco