{"nrhp_refnum":"76000528","name":"Hostess House","other_names":["Community House","Veterans' Building"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"W of University Ave. underpass of El Camino Real","address_restricted":false,"city":"Palo Alto","county":"Santa Clara County","state":"CA","lat":37.44293246400008,"lon":-122.16589806599995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1976-07-30","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Military","Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-story, H-shaped, board-and-batten frame building in Palo Alto, California, designed by Julia Morgan and built in 1918 as a Hostess House at Camp Fremont, then moved to Palo Alto in 1919.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is the only intact building left from the two Army training camps set up in California during World War I. It is also presented as a distinguished, simple and functional design by Julia Morgan, an early California woman architect-engineer. After its move it became the first municipally established and supported community center in the United States.","narrative":"Built in 1918 at Camp Fremont, this one-story, H-shaped frame building with board-and-batten walls was designed by Julia Morgan for the YWCA as a Hostess House, a dignified meeting place where women and children could visit soldiers. A large reception hall formed the bar of the H, with brick fireplaces, exposed trusses, dormer windows and verandas, while wings held rooms for men and for women and children. In 1919 it was given to the City of Palo Alto, cut into sections, and hauled by horse teams to a site near the railroad station, where it became the Community House. It is described as the only intact building surviving from California's two World War I Army training camps, and as the first community center established and supported by a municipality in the United States. Later changes include removed balconies, painted windows and a 1922 rear extension, though the structure remains largely original.","period_of_significance":"May 1918","architect_builder":"Julia Morgan","architectural_style":"Bay Region Traditional","criteria":[],"status_note":"Altered: balconies removed from the main hall, windows painted over, and a 1922 rear extension. The form describes the building as basically the same and easily restorable, and notes a 1974 City Manager announcement of intent to raze it when the lease expired in October 1976.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:31.362439-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/76000528.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76000528/78de3219e9-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76000528/78de3219e9-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Sanfranman59","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hostess_House,_University_Ave._at_El_Camino_Real,_Palo_Alto,_CA_5-27-2012_3-30-12_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:Hostess_House,_University_Ave._at_El_Camino_Real,_Palo_Alto,_CA_5-27-2012_3-30-12_PM.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123861707","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hostess_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q55757596"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/santa-clara-county/hostess-house-76000528/"}