{"nrhp_refnum":"78000662","name":"Einstein House","other_names":["Y.W.C.A. Activity Unit"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1600 M St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Fresno","county":"Fresno County","state":"CA","lat":36.74260752300006,"lon":-119.79375989599998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1978-01-31","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 1912 brick residence at 1600 M Street in Fresno, California, designed by architect Edward T. Foulkes for pioneer merchant and banker Louis Einstein. It has served as the YWCA Activity Unit since 1950.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is an unusual example of English Arts and Crafts influence on American architecture, reading as an English Cottage in American Craftsman terms. It is also historically significant as the home of Louis Einstein, a pioneer merchant, banker and civic leader in Fresno County. The form states the house retains its original setting and appearance.","narrative":"Built in 1912 at 1600 M Street in Fresno, this brick residence was designed by architect Edward T. Foulkes for Louis Einstein, a German-born merchant who became one of Fresno County's leading bankers. The walls are plastered brick, and the roof is shingled to resemble thatch. Doric columns support a veranda and an upper porch, a bay window anchors the front, and a balcony sits beneath a curved projecting roofline. Inside, stained and varnished wood paneling, classical mantels and beamed ceilings give the rooms a manor-house character, while the basement held a cool summer living room and game room suited to the San Joaquin Valley climate. The house is valued as an unusual English Arts and Crafts-influenced design translated into American Craftsman terms, and as the home of Einstein, who founded the Bank of Central California and supported early irrigation, library and civic projects. The Einstein family and then the YWCA, which bought it in 1950, have been its only owners.","period_of_significance":"1912","architect_builder":"Edward T. Foulkes","architectural_style":"English Cottage in American Craftsman terms, with Prairie School influence; the supplementary report describes a fusion of Mission Colonial, Greek Revival Doric columns and a thatch-simulating roof","criteria":[],"status_note":"In continuous use as YWCA headquarters and activity building since 1950; described as in good condition, unaltered, and retaining its original setting and appearance.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:31.909435-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/78000662.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78000662/89a31221fe-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78000662/89a31221fe-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Meeshbaxter","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Einstein_House.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Meeshbaxter</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:Einstein_House.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123858642","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Einstein_House_(Fresno,_California)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q85758749"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/fresno-county/einstein-house-78000662/"}