Cameron-Stanford House
Also known as: Old Oakland Public Museum
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Approximate location: the National Park Service places this pin arbitrarily within the property, not at a surveyed point (stated accuracy ±12 m).
Why it's listed
Overlooking Lake Merritt near downtown Oakland, this Italianate Victorian mansion was built in 1871 by Will W. Cameron for his bride, Alice Marsh. The wood-frame house has two stories, a basement and attic, a bracketed cornice, an ornate wraparound porch, and octagonal bays. Interior trim in the principal rooms is mahogany. The Camerons sold it in 1880 to Josiah Stanford, brother of Leland Stanford, and the house hosted social events, including a visit by President Rutherford B. Hayes. The City of Oakland bought the property in 1907 and opened it as the public museum in 1910 under curator Charles P. Wilcomb, who gathered ethnological and colonial-era collections. Architects Frederick Soderberg and John J. Donovan altered the rear spaces in 1909 and 1913 and added a lecture hall. The museum collections outgrew the building, and it closed to the public in 1967 when a new museum complex opened. Its floors were described as in bad condition.
Significance in brief: The nomination cites the house's architecture as an elegant Italianate Victorian home and its associations with the Cameron and Stanford families. It also notes its use from 1910 to 1967 as the Oakland Public Museum, built around the collections of curator Charles P. Wilcomb. The nomination proposes a new use for the building.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 72000213, listed June 13, 1972. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 1426 Lakeside Dr., Oakland |
|---|---|
| County | Alameda County |
| Listed | June 13, 1972 |
| Reference number | 72000213 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 19th Century |
| Architect / builder | Built by Will W. Cameron (1871); later alterations by architects Frederick Soderberg (1909) and John J. Donovan (1913) |
| Architectural style | Italianate Victorian |
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Social History |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Listed as unoccupied and in fair to deteriorated condition, with altered fabric; the museum closed to the public in January 1967. The site is owned by the City of Oakland. |
| Coordinates | 37.80140, -122.26207 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary for a privately owned home: it does not by itself restrict what an owner may do with their own money, and it does not require public access. Restrictions come from local landmark or historic-district ordinances, which are separate (how they differ).
Owner-occupied houses are not eligible for the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit, which applies to income-producing buildings, but many states offer credits for homeowners. Listing also opens the door to preservation easements and to buying a plaque. Start with what listing means for homeowners, renovating a listed house and selling one.
Noted as vacant in the nomination. Nomination documents can be decades old; current status may differ. If you are considering buying an empty listed property, read the due-diligence checklist.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 72000213.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q60750538
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.