{"nrhp_refnum":"80000859","name":"Norris House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1247 Cowper St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Palo Alto","county":"Santa Clara County","state":"CA","lat":37.44272465200004,"lon":-122.14939575899996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1980-07-24","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Literature","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A Spanish Colonial Revival residence at 1247 Cowper Street in Palo Alto, Santa Clara County, California, designed by architect Birge Clark for Kathleen and Charles Norris. The contract was signed in December 1927 and the house was built in 1928, on a roughly U-shaped plan around an enclosed courtyard.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is significant for its association with the nationally known authors Kathleen and Charles Norris. It is also significant as an excellent design by local architect Birge Clark, with fine handcrafted ironwork, tile and timberwork. It is described as one of Palo Alto's best examples of the Spanish Colonial Revival style.","narrative":"Built in 1928 at 1247 Cowper Street in Palo Alto, this stucco residence was designed by local architect Birge Clark for the novelists Kathleen and Charles Norris. The house is roughly U-shaped, with two-story north and east wings, a one-story west wing and a wall that encloses an entry courtyard with a tiled fountain. Tile roofs, wrought iron gates and light fixtures, and hand-adzed beams give it a crafted character; the ironwork was by Herman Bleibler and the tile was designed by A.L. Solon of San Jose. At the time it was Clark's largest and most expensive work in Palo Alto and is cited as a leading local example of Spanish Colonial Revival design. Kathleen Norris wrote about ninety novels and was among the best-paid female authors of her day, while Charles Norris was a novelist and magazine editor. The property was sold to the Archdiocese in 1949 and now serves as a student religious center. The modern chapel behind it is excluded from the listed boundary.","period_of_significance":"1927","architect_builder":"Birge Clark (architect); Wells Goodenough (contractor); Herman Bleibler (ironwork); A.L. Solon (tile)","architectural_style":"Spanish Colonial Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Now used as a religious and educational facility (Newman Center for Stanford) after the Archdiocese bought it in 1949; condition checked as good and occupied, with some alteration at the northeast corner where it connects to a later chapel.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:32.120215-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/80000859.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80000859/2c6e537c7b-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80000859/2c6e537c7b-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Eugene Zelenko","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:USA-Palo_Alto-Norris_House.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Eugene Zelenko</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:USA-Palo_Alto-Norris_House.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"80000861","name":"Professorville Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/california/professorville-historic-district-80000861/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123861750","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norris_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q18155103"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/santa-clara-county/norris-house-80000859/"}