{"nrhp_refnum":"79000527","name":"Atherton House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1990 California St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"San Francisco","county":"San Francisco","state":"CA","lat":37.78987986100003,"lon":-122.42708849899998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1979-01-31","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A Victorian residence at 1990 California Street, San Francisco, built in 1881 for Mrs. Dominga de Goni Atherton at the corner of California and Octavia Streets.","why_significant":"The house is considered architecturally significant as an unusual example of Queen Anne and Stick/Eastlake style, notable for its massing of diverse spaces, balanced asymmetrical facade and eclectic roof forms. It is historically significant as the home of the widow of early California pioneer Faxon Dean Atherton, where she raised the children of her daughter-in-law, author Gertrude Atherton. It is also San Francisco Landmark Number 70.","narrative":"Built in 1881 at 1990 California Street in San Francisco, this Victorian house combines Queen Anne and Stick-Eastlake styles in an eclectic, asymmetrical but balanced design. A round corner tower with a conical roof sits opposite a projecting two-story gable, and carved foliate moldings, consoles, a columned porch with Corinthian capitals and a carved wooden urn add ornament. It was built for Mrs. Dominga de Goni Atherton, widow of Faxon Dean Atherton, a Massachusetts-born trader who played a notable role in early California commerce. She lived here until 1890 and cared for the children of her daughter-in-law, the author Gertrude Atherton. Later owners included banker Edgar Mills and insurance man George Chauncey Boardman, whose household hosted early Junior League meetings. Architect Charles J. Rousseau bought it in 1923 and divided it into thirteen units. It is a designated San Francisco landmark and was rated Five in the 1976 city architectural survey.","period_of_significance":"1881","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Queen Anne and Stick-Eastlake","criteria":[],"status_note":"Divided into thirteen dwelling units in 1923 and still used as a rooming house/apartments at the time of nomination; condition is marked unaltered.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:31.221057-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/79000527.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79000527/3d19bcaf34-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79000527/3d19bcaf34-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Sanfranman59","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Atherton_House_(San_Francisco).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:Atherton_House_(San_Francisco).JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123861035","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atherton_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q38251970"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/san-francisco/atherton-house-79000527/"}