{"nrhp_refnum":"74000528","name":"Boyd House","other_names":["The Gate House"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1125 B St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"San Rafael","county":"Marin County","state":"CA","lat":37.97545971200003,"lon":-122.52948874399999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1974-12-17","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A Victorian Gothic wood-frame house at 1125 B Street in San Rafael, Marin County, California, built in 1879 for Ira Cook. It later became the Boyd family's property and is now a local history museum.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it one of the most elaborate and picturesque 19th century houses in Marin County. It is also tied to several generations of a family prominent in local history, including the Cooks and the Boyds, and to Louise Arner Boyd, a world-famous explorer.","narrative":"Set into a hillside at 1125 B Street in San Rafael, this Victorian Gothic house was built in 1879 for Ira Cook at a cost of $10,000. Adam Murray was the builder and probably the designer. The wood-frame building rises three stories on its south and west sides and has steep shingled roofs, carved brackets, jigsaw ornament and heavy window moldings. Its design follows A.J. Downing's cottage style, common in New York, where Cook had lived. Its size looks larger from outside than it proves to be inside. The house later passed to John Franklin Boyd and Louise Cook Arner Boyd as a wedding gift. After their two sons died young, the family offered the house and grounds to San Rafael as a memorial park, dedicated in 1905. Their daughter Louise Arner Boyd became a world-famous explorer. Since 1945 the Marin County Historical Society has operated the building as a local history museum. It was listed for its architecture and its association with a prominent local family.","period_of_significance":"19th Century (1879)","architect_builder":"Adam Murray, builder and probably the designer","architectural_style":"Victorian Gothic, basically A.J. Downing \"Cottage Style\"","criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition listed as fair and altered, on its original site. Occupied as a local history museum by the Marin County Historical Society under an agreement with the City of San Rafael since 1945; only the main floor is open 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 02:55:31.519355-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/74000528.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/74000528/27d2a9c922-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/74000528/27d2a9c922-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Sanfranman59","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Boyd_House_1125_B_St_San_Rafael_CA_3-21-2010_2-49-08_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:Boyd_House_1125_B_St_San_Rafael_CA_3-21-2010_2-49-08_PM.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123859658","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q133295544"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/marin-county/boyd-house-74000528/"}