{"nrhp_refnum":"73000393","name":"Meek Mansion and Carriage House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"240 Hampton Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Hayward","county":"Alameda County","state":"CA","lat":37.68491555700007,"lon":-122.11351850499994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1973-06-04","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Landscape Architecture","Agriculture","Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A wood-frame Victorian mansion built in 1869 by William Meek, with a two-story carriage house about 100 yards west, at 240 Hampton Road in Hayward, Alameda County, California. The roughly 10-acre remnant of the Meek Estate is now a park.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the estate is significant for agriculture, architecture and landscape. William Meek was a pioneer orchardist and model farmer who helped establish the commercial fruit industry in California and the area known as Cherryland. The house is presented as an outstanding late 19th-century example characteristic of the affluent agricultural society of Victorian California.","narrative":"Built in 1869 on the south bank of San Lorenzo Creek in Hayward, this 19-room wood-frame mansion was the centerpiece of William Meek's estate, which grew to about 3,000 acres of orchard land. The house is mainly Italian Villa in style, with Second Empire touches such as a mansard roof, a bull's-eye window in the central tower and paired arched windows. Inside are oak floors with mahogany inlay, plaster medallions, a winding staircase and six marble fireplaces. A two-story carriage house nearby once held horses, tack and quarters for grooms, and now serves as a small theater. Meek is described as a pioneer orchardist and model farmer who brought grafted trees and Bing and Royal Anne cherries to California, giving the area the name Cherryland. After the estate was sold off in parcels, the park district bought the last ten acres in 1964 and restored the house and grounds for public use.","period_of_significance":"19th Century","architect_builder":"William Meek (planned and built the mansion; the form says no source states whether an architect was hired)","architectural_style":"Italian Villa with Second Empire features (Victorian)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition rated good; altered, on original site. Owned by the Hayward Area Recreation and Park District and used as a public park, historic house museum and, in the carriage house, a little theatre. The third floor is closed to the public.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:32.266453-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/73000393.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73000393/582ca3940c-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73000393/582ca3940c-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Sanfranman59","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Meek_Mansion,_240_Hampton_Rd.,_Hayward,_CA_8-17-2008_5-26-37_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:Meek_Mansion,_240_Hampton_Rd.,_Hayward,_CA_8-17-2008_5-26-37_PM.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123858278","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meek_Mansion","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6807513"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/alameda-county/meek-mansion-and-carriage-house-73000393/"}