Leland Stanford Mansion State Historic Park
Encyclopedia
Leland Stanford Mansion State Historic Park is a state and federally protected area in Sacramento, California
. It features the Leland Stanford House, a mansion
once owned by Leland Stanford
, Governor of California
from 1862 to 1863, U.S. Senator from 1885 to 1893, railroad tycoon, member of the Big Four and founder of Stanford University
. The house was designated a National Historic Landmark
in 1987.
Leland Stanford
, a rising member of the Republican Party and president of the Central Pacific Railroad
, purchased the home for $8,000 in June 1861, shortly before his election to the governorship in the general elections that year. During his two-year governorship, the Stanford Mansion served as the state's executive office and living quarters. Succeeding governors Frederick Low
and Henry Huntly Haight would also make the mansion their office.
Between 1871 to 1872, the Stanford family embarked on an ambitious remodeling of the residence. As Stanford had had to attend his gubernatorial inauguration by rowboat in 1862, the home was raised twelve feet in response to frequent flooding from the Sacramento River
. In addition, one story was added to both the bottom and top of the mansion. The home was also expanded from 4000 square feet (371.6 m²) to 19,000, and redesigned to reflect the French
Second Empire architecture popular of the period, particularly in the 4th floor Mansard roof
that caps the home. The result was a four-story remodeled architectural sandwich in which the original 2-story house sat between the added floors.
Following Stanford's death in 1893, his widow Jane Stanford
continued to oversee the home. In 1900, Stanford donated the home to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sacramento
to be used for the children of California. It was given to the Sisters of Mercy
who ran it as an orphanage
named the Stanford and Lathrop Memorial Home for Friendless Children.
In 1932, the home was handed over the Sisters of Social Service
who eventually transformed the mansion from an orphanage to a residence for dependent high school girls. A fire in the mansion in 1940 brought considerable damage to the fourth floor. The mansion was designated a State Historical Landmark in 1957.
In 1978, the government of California
acquired the property for use as a state park. The Sisters of Social Services would remain on the grounds until 1987, when California State Parks designated the mansion and the immediate surrounding land as a state historic park. Following the state's decision, the National Park Service
declared the mansion as a National Historic Landmark
on May 28, 1987. It was not until September 2005 that the mansion would finally be open to public tours, after 20 million dollars worth of renovation and rehabilitation.
professor Peter McCuen, the Stanford Mansion underwent a 14-year renovation at the cost $22 million dollars. Accurate restoration of the home and its rooms was aided by both an extensive study of the home in 1986 through the Historic American Buildings Survey
, and through a large collection of photographs of the home taken in 1868 by Alfred A. Hart
, and again in 1872 by Eadweard Muybridge
.
The repairs and restoration were completed in 2005, when the mansion opened to the public. California State Parks offers guided tours through the fully refurbished home. Rooms of the house have been restored to their 1872 appearance. The Leland Stanford Mansion is physically accessible, including the gardens, Visitor Center and restrooms. Elevators provide access to the upper floors of the Mansion’s tour route. Interior openings to the 2nd and 3rd floors from elevators are approximately 29.5 inches wide. A travel wheelchair and assistive listening systems are available. Visitor Center videos offer Spanish or English captions. A tactile model of the Mansion is also available in the Visitor Center. For information call (916) 324-0575.
The park is on the corner of 8th Street and N Street in downtown Sacramento, California
, just two blocks away from the Capitol
building. Prior to the reopening of the Stanford Mansion, California did not have a location for the hosting of official functions for nearly 40 years. Today the mansion is frequently used by the government of California
to host foreign dignitaries. The Governor of California
also retains an office in the mansion. Tours of the mansion are offered daily, but can be impacted by official functions on behalf of the Governor's Office or the California State Legislature
leadership.
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. It features the Leland Stanford House, a mansion
Mansion
A mansion is a very large dwelling house. U.S. real estate brokers define a mansion as a dwelling of over . A traditional European mansion was defined as a house which contained a ballroom and tens of bedrooms...
once owned by Leland Stanford
Leland Stanford
Amasa Leland Stanford was an American tycoon, industrialist, robber baron, politician and founder of Stanford University.-Early years:...
, Governor of California
Governor of California
The Governor of California is the chief executive of the California state government, whose responsibilities include making annual State of the State addresses to the California State Legislature, submitting the budget, and ensuring that state laws are enforced...
from 1862 to 1863, U.S. Senator from 1885 to 1893, railroad tycoon, member of the Big Four and founder of Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
. The house was designated a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
in 1987.
History
The original owner and builder of the home was Sacramento merchant Shelton C. Fogus, a wealthy Sacramento building merchant. The Renaissance Revival architecture of the original home is attributed to Seth Babson.Leland Stanford
Leland Stanford
Amasa Leland Stanford was an American tycoon, industrialist, robber baron, politician and founder of Stanford University.-Early years:...
, a rising member of the Republican Party and president of the Central Pacific Railroad
Central Pacific Railroad
The Central Pacific Railroad is the former name of the railroad network built between California and Utah, USA that formed part of the "First Transcontinental Railroad" in North America. It is now part of the Union Pacific Railroad. Many 19th century national proposals to build a transcontinental...
, purchased the home for $8,000 in June 1861, shortly before his election to the governorship in the general elections that year. During his two-year governorship, the Stanford Mansion served as the state's executive office and living quarters. Succeeding governors Frederick Low
Frederick Low
Frederick Ferdinand Low was an American politician, US congressman and the ninth Governor of California.-Life:Born in Frankfort in 1828, Low attended the Hampden Academy in Hampden, Maine. Low moved to California, entering the shipping business in San Francisco in 1849...
and Henry Huntly Haight would also make the mansion their office.
Between 1871 to 1872, the Stanford family embarked on an ambitious remodeling of the residence. As Stanford had had to attend his gubernatorial inauguration by rowboat in 1862, the home was raised twelve feet in response to frequent flooding from the Sacramento River
Sacramento River
The Sacramento River is an important watercourse of Northern and Central California in the United States. The largest river in California, it rises on the eastern slopes of the Klamath Mountains, and after a journey south of over , empties into Suisun Bay, an arm of the San Francisco Bay, and...
. In addition, one story was added to both the bottom and top of the mansion. The home was also expanded from 4000 square feet (371.6 m²) to 19,000, and redesigned to reflect the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
Second Empire architecture popular of the period, particularly in the 4th floor Mansard roof
Mansard roof
A mansard or mansard roof is a four-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterized by two slopes on each of its sides with the lower slope at a steeper angle than the upper that is punctured by dormer windows. The roof creates an additional floor of habitable space, such as a garret...
that caps the home. The result was a four-story remodeled architectural sandwich in which the original 2-story house sat between the added floors.
Following Stanford's death in 1893, his widow Jane Stanford
Jane Stanford
Jane Stanford was the co-founder of Stanford University with her husband, Leland Stanford, whom she wed in 1850. She was the daughter of a shopkeeper and lived on Washington Avenue in Albany, New York, before her marriage...
continued to oversee the home. In 1900, Stanford donated the home to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sacramento
Roman Catholic Diocese of Sacramento
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Sacramento is an ecclesiastical territory or particular church of the Roman Catholic Church in the northern California region of the United States...
to be used for the children of California. It was given to the Sisters of Mercy
Sisters of Mercy
The Religious Order of the Sisters of Mercy is an order of Catholic women founded by Catherine McAuley in Dublin, Ireland, in 1831. , the order has about 10,000 members worldwide, organized into a number of independent congregations....
who ran it as an orphanage
Orphanage
An orphanage is a residential institution devoted to the care of orphans – children whose parents are deceased or otherwise unable or unwilling to care for them...
named the Stanford and Lathrop Memorial Home for Friendless Children.
In 1932, the home was handed over the Sisters of Social Service
Sisters of Social Service
The Sisters of Social Service are a Roman Catholic order of women founded in Hungary in 1923 by Margaret Slachta. The sisters adopted the social mission of the Catholic Church and Benedictine spirituality with a special devotion to the Holy Spirit.- Founder :...
who eventually transformed the mansion from an orphanage to a residence for dependent high school girls. A fire in the mansion in 1940 brought considerable damage to the fourth floor. The mansion was designated a State Historical Landmark in 1957.
In 1978, the government of California
Government of California
The government of California operates in the context of a democratic republic with three branches of government: the executive branch consisting of the Governor of California and the other elected constitutional officers; the legislative branch consisting of the California State Legislature which...
acquired the property for use as a state park. The Sisters of Social Services would remain on the grounds until 1987, when California State Parks designated the mansion and the immediate surrounding land as a state historic park. Following the state's decision, the National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
declared the mansion as a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
on May 28, 1987. It was not until September 2005 that the mansion would finally be open to public tours, after 20 million dollars worth of renovation and rehabilitation.
Restoration
Beginning in 1991, with the help of Sacramento businessman and former Stanford UniversityStanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
professor Peter McCuen, the Stanford Mansion underwent a 14-year renovation at the cost $22 million dollars. Accurate restoration of the home and its rooms was aided by both an extensive study of the home in 1986 through the Historic American Buildings Survey
Historic American Buildings Survey
The Historic American Buildings Survey , Historic American Engineering Record , and Historic American Landscapes Survey are programs of the National Park Service established for the purpose of documenting historic places. Records consists of measured drawings, archival photographs, and written...
, and through a large collection of photographs of the home taken in 1868 by Alfred A. Hart
Alfred A. Hart
Alfred A. Hart was a 19th-century American photographer for the Central Pacific Railroad. Hart was the official photographer of the western half of the first transcontinental railroad, for which he took 364 historic stereoviews of the railroad construction in the 1860s...
, and again in 1872 by Eadweard Muybridge
Eadweard Muybridge
Eadweard J. Muybridge was an English photographer who spent much of his life in the United States. He is known for his pioneering work on animal locomotion which used multiple cameras to capture motion, and his zoopraxiscope, a device for projecting motion pictures that pre-dated the flexible...
.
The repairs and restoration were completed in 2005, when the mansion opened to the public. California State Parks offers guided tours through the fully refurbished home. Rooms of the house have been restored to their 1872 appearance. The Leland Stanford Mansion is physically accessible, including the gardens, Visitor Center and restrooms. Elevators provide access to the upper floors of the Mansion’s tour route. Interior openings to the 2nd and 3rd floors from elevators are approximately 29.5 inches wide. A travel wheelchair and assistive listening systems are available. Visitor Center videos offer Spanish or English captions. A tactile model of the Mansion is also available in the Visitor Center. For information call (916) 324-0575.
The park is on the corner of 8th Street and N Street in downtown Sacramento, California
Sacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
, just two blocks away from the Capitol
California State Capitol
The California State Capitol is home to the government of California. The building houses the bicameral state legislature and the office of the governor....
building. Prior to the reopening of the Stanford Mansion, California did not have a location for the hosting of official functions for nearly 40 years. Today the mansion is frequently used by the government of California
Government of California
The government of California operates in the context of a democratic republic with three branches of government: the executive branch consisting of the Governor of California and the other elected constitutional officers; the legislative branch consisting of the California State Legislature which...
to host foreign dignitaries. The Governor of California
Governor of California
The Governor of California is the chief executive of the California state government, whose responsibilities include making annual State of the State addresses to the California State Legislature, submitting the budget, and ensuring that state laws are enforced...
also retains an office in the mansion. Tours of the mansion are offered daily, but can be impacted by official functions on behalf of the Governor's Office or the California State Legislature
California State Legislature
The California State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of California. It is a bicameral body consisting of the lower house, the California State Assembly, with 80 members, and the upper house, the California State Senate, with 40 members...
leadership.