{"nrhp_refnum":"72000242","name":"Rhine House","other_names":["Beringer Bros.,Inc."],"category":"building","location":{"address":"2000 Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"St. Helena","county":"Napa County","state":"CA","lat":38.510095136000075,"lon":-122.49127404099994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1972-02-23","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Rhine House is a 2½-story stone and half-timber building at 2000 Main Street in St. Helena, Napa County, California, completed in 1883 as part of the Beringer Brothers winery.","why_significant":"The nomination presents it as an exact replica of Frederick Beringer's home on the Rhine in Mainz, Germany, built with imported German materials and local quarry stone. It is also noted for its eclectic architecture and its role as the heart of the Beringer family winery enterprise, which continued a European tradition of winemaking in the Napa Valley.","narrative":"Rhine House is a 2½-story building on Main Street in St. Helena, built in 1883 for the Beringer Brothers winery. Frederick Beringer had it constructed as an exact replica of the family home on the Rhine in Mainz, Germany, which he and his brother Jacob left when they emigrated. Nearly all materials were brought from Germany, including white oak, leaded windows, marble and hand-carved moldings, while the stone was cut at a Napa County quarry. The roof is Pennsylvania slate. The lower story is rusticated ashlar masonry and the upper story is half-timbered, a combination described as late German Gothic with Italian and French Renaissance touches. The house was the center of the Beringer family enterprise, part of the German migration into the Napa Valley and its winemaking tradition. Hand-dug tunnels behind it, begun in 1876, serve as aging cellars. Today the house works as a visitor center and tasting room, and it remains a popular stop for tourists in the valley.","period_of_significance":"19th Century (completed 1883)","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Late German Gothic with Italian Renaissance and French Renaissance influences; an eclectic mid-19th century style","criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition is marked good and the building is described as altered. It serves as a visitor center and wine tasting room, and tours of the winery begin and end there.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:31.308233-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/72000242.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72000242/c7c8f13e1c-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72000242/c7c8f13e1c-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Frank Schulenburg","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rhine_House,_Beringer_Vineyards_(cropped).jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Frank Schulenburg</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rhine_House,_Beringer_Vineyards_(cropped).jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123860082","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q133319483"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/napa-county/rhine-house-72000242/"}