{"nrhp_refnum":"09000806","name":"Tobin House","other_names":["1969 California Street"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1969 California St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"San Francisco","county":"San Francisco","state":"CA","lat":37.78951380900003,"lon":-122.42595560599995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2009-10-05","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story plus basement single-family residence at 1969 California Street in San Francisco, at the southern edge of Pacific Heights, built in 1915 in the Tudor Gothic Revival style and designed by architect Willis Polk.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is significant under Criterion C as the work of master architect Willis Polk, reflecting his taste for medieval English historicism and restrained ornament. It is unique in Polk's work for a two-story Gothic half arch left from an unbuilt twin design. The house also influenced the architecture of the surrounding block in the 1940s.","narrative":"Built in 1915 at 1969 California Street, this three-story plus basement house sits at the southern edge of Pacific Heights in San Francisco. Architect Willis Polk designed it in the Tudor Gothic Revival style for Constance de Young and Joseph O. Tobin, on a lot given by her father, newspaper co-founder Michael H. de Young. The wood-frame, stucco-clad building has a steep slate roof, copper coping, clustered chimney pots, a full-height bay and arched casement windows. Its most unusual feature is a 20-foot pointed half arch at the western end of the façade. Polk first conceived a twin house with a full arch, but the neighboring lot was later sold, so the plan was never completed. The house is recognized as the work of a master architect who favored historic forms and restrained decoration. It also shaped the design of later buildings on the block, which borrowed its gabled roofs, arched entries and slanted bays. Alterations have mostly been in-kind replacements.","period_of_significance":"1915","architect_builder":"Polk, Willis","architectural_style":"Late 19th and Early 20th Century Revivals: Tudor Revival (Tudor Gothic Revival)","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Retains a high level of integrity despite some alterations; originally used and currently listed as a single dwelling.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:29.597475-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/09000806.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/09000806/156685dd0b-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/09000806/156685dd0b-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Sanfranman59","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tobin_House_1969_California_St._San_Francisco_2-15-2010_3-35-11_PM.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Sanfranman59</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tobin_House_1969_California_St._San_Francisco_2-15-2010_3-35-11_PM.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123861331","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tobin_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q130199565"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/san-francisco/tobin-house-09000806/"}