{"nrhp_refnum":"78000653","name":"Wetmore House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"342 Bonita Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Piedmont","county":"Alameda County","state":"CA","lat":37.824196304000054,"lon":-122.23331946499997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1978-04-14","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Exploration/Settlement","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-story clapboard Southern Victorian house at 342 Bonita Avenue in Piedmont, Alameda County, California, completed around 1878 and built by contractor Jesse L. Wetmore.","why_significant":"The nomination presents it as the oldest remaining structure and dwelling in Piedmont and one of the earliest houses built there. It is also described as a particularly fine example of Southern Victorian architecture in the Piedmont-Oakland area. Its builder and his sons were notable in construction, education and California winemaking.","narrative":"Built around 1878 on a hillside corner lot on Bonita Avenue in Piedmont, this one-story clapboard house is considered the oldest surviving dwelling in the city. Contractor and builder Jesse Lameneaux Wetmore constructed it himself, with help from his brother, a plasterer. The house follows a Southern Victorian plan, with a central living room, bedrooms on either side and a ten-foot veranda on three sides. Decorative details include turned posts, jigsawn fleur-de-lis roof cresting, classic plaster mouldings and glazed front-door panels showing farm scenes by a German painter. Part of the south veranda was enclosed in 1900 and the rooms were rearranged in 1943. Wetmore had built wharves and a music hall in San Francisco and railroads in South America. His sons Charles and Clarence were early University of California graduates and leaders of the Cresta Blanca winery. The house is valued as an early Piedmont landmark and a fine Victorian example.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":"Jesse L. Wetmore","architectural_style":"Southern Victorian","criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as in good condition, occupied and used as a private residence; the south veranda was partly enclosed in 1900 and the original fleur-de-lis roof cresting has been restored.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:31.416416-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/78000653.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78000653/e3ae313ff4-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78000653/e3ae313ff4-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Sanfranman59","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wetmore_House_(Piedmont,_CA).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:Wetmore_House_(Piedmont,_CA).JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123858375","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q124473768"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/alameda-county/wetmore-house-78000653/"}