{"nrhp_refnum":"76000524","name":"Whittier Mansion","other_names":["California Historical Society Building"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"2090 Jackson St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"San Francisco","county":"San Francisco","state":"CA","lat":37.792955230000075,"lon":-122.42933628099996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1976-04-26","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A stone mansion at 2090 Jackson Street, San Francisco, built in 1894-1896 as a private residence for W. F. Whittier and designed by architect Edward R. Swain. It is now a museum and headquarters of the California Historical Society.","why_significant":"The nomination presents the house as a well-preserved example of late Nineteenth Century architectural grandeur, mixing Richardsonian, Queen Anne, Renaissance and Classical details with fine materials and craftsmanship. It also has historical associations: it served briefly as the German consulate in 1941 and later housed the Institute of Philosophical Research. The form evaluates its significance at the state level.","narrative":"Perched on a site with views of the Bay and Golden Gate, this red sandstone mansion at 2090 Jackson Street in San Francisco was built in 1894-1896 as the home of widower William Franklin Whittier and his children. Architect Edward R. Swain designed it with three stories plus an attic, steel framing, round corner towers and an Ionic portico. The design blends Richardsonian and Queen Anne massing with a more formal, symmetrical Classical facade and details drawn from Roman, Renaissance and Baroque sources. Inside, fine woods and marbles were used. Later chapters add interest: in 1941 the German government bought the house for a consulate, which closed after about two months when consulates were ordered shut. From 1952 to 1956 it was leased to the Institute of Philosophical Research, and the California Historical Society bought it in 1956. It has seen few radical renovations and remains a museum.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Edward R. Swain, architect","architectural_style":"Richardsonian Romanesque and Second Renaissance Revival elements; also described as Renaissance in feeling with Queen Anne and Classical details","criteria":[],"status_note":"Owned by the California Historical Society and used as a museum and headquarters; condition listed as good, with the exterior unaltered and the interior altered. The sandstone exterior shows weathering.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:32.271494-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/76000524.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76000524/d5a3734a06-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76000524/d5a3734a06-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Sanfranman59","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Whittier_Mansion_(San_Francisco)_2.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:Whittier_Mansion_(San_Francisco)_2.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123861359","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whittier_Mansion","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q21016342"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/san-francisco/whittier-mansion-76000524/"}