{"nrhp_refnum":"83001207","name":"Cook, Maj. George Beecher, House","other_names":["The Greenbrier"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"356 W. 21st St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Merced","county":"Merced County","state":"CA","lat":37.304620457000055,"lon":-120.47940609099999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1983-09-15","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A large 2½-story wood frame Queen Anne house at 356 West 21st Street (corner of 21st and K Streets) in Merced, California, built about 1887 by P.A. Buell & Co. of Stockton, and later known as The Greenbrier.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it one of the finest and largest examples of Queen Anne architecture in Merced, with few exterior changes since construction. It was also the home of Major George Beecher Cook, a prominent merchant and early mayor, and it anchors the city's major historic neighborhood.","narrative":"Built around 1887, this large wood frame house at the corner of West 21st and K Streets in Merced is a Queen Anne design of irregular massing, complex rooflines and varied textures. A round three-story corner tower with a conical roof dominates it, and an open porch wraps the base. The first story has horizontal siding, now covered with textured paint, and the upper story has patterned shingles. Inside are two living rooms, a dining room, kitchen and pantry, an oak staircase, three fireplaces and twelve bedrooms. P.A. Buell & Co. of Stockton built it. It was the residence of Major George Beecher Cook, a Civil War veteran who founded a grocery firm in Merced and later served as mayor. After his death in 1898 it served as a sanitarium, boarding house and guest house, and was named The Greenbrier in 1943. It is listed as the largest and most impressive local example of its style and period, and it remains a landmark of Merced's historic neighborhood.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":"P.A. Buell & Co., Stockton, CA (Builder)","architectural_style":"Queen Anne","criteria":[],"status_note":"Marked unoccupied on the form; it was formerly used as a sanitarium, boarding house and guest house. Alterations include porch enclosure, remodelings in 1923 and 1943, and loss of the stables to fire in 1982.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:27.805395-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/83001207.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83001207/06cda2c9bf-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83001207/06cda2c9bf-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Saeidb","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Maj._George_Beecher_Cook_House2.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Saeidb</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:Maj._George_Beecher_Cook_House2.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123859843","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maj._George_Beecher_Cook_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14683242"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/merced-county/cook-maj-george-beecher-house-83001207/"}