The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, December 8, 1901, Page 17

THE SUNDAY CALL. One of the few houses in this locality which has improved with age is the resi- dence of Mrs. Peter Donahue on Bryant street. The grounds are now laid out nnd kept with some degree of care, ihereas in earlier days they were the verlest waste. The house was built by Peter Donahue early in the fifties, and from it his wife's sister, Miss Susie Maguire, was married to Martin Murphy Jr. After the death of Mr. Donahue's first wife, in 155 he rented his house ‘to F. D. Atherton, whose family had just arrived from Chtle, and there they resided until they went to make their- permanent home at Menlo Park. Folsom street between Second and Third was for many years a fashionable resi- dence locality. The two earliest homes thereabouts were the Mandsome Gothic cottage of Captain Folsom, which stood on the west side of Second street near Folsom, but which years ago was turned into a beer hall, and the massive square stone residence of John Parrott, the banker, on the north side of Folsom street, which from early in the fifties till far on into the sixties was recognized as the AC RITCHE S most pretentious private dwe:nmng house fn the city. In it was given the fir ball of any magnitud t private and in later years t was the scene of the debut and wedding of several of Mr Parrott’s daughters Mrs. Parrott sold the propert or so ago to the Wicland family terward made it thelr h Adjoining the Parrott residence on the west is a house which in its time has seen as many vicissitudes as any in the city and has come to be regarded as a most unlucky plece of property to its owners. It was originally the modest litt}e cottage of Captain G. W. P. Bissel, standing in the midst of a pretty flower ga N, At his death it became the property of the man known as “Ophir’ Woodworth, having made a large fortune in the stock of that mine. Moving the cottage to the rear of the grounds, he built in front of it a very pretentious mansion as a home for himself and fami! nd while living rdy he there the marriage of his daugh took place. She was then quite an heiress. She married Dr. W. H. Bruner, Time in its fiight brought failure and ruin to Mr. Woodworth, who sold the property to Mil- ton §. Latham, then in the zenith of his wealth and fame, who still further im- proved it, adding the large library, which was the great feature of the house. Here Mr. Latham entertained in lavish style; here occurred the death of his first wife, Sophie, daughter of Dr. Louis A. Birdsall, and a remarkably brilliant wo- man, and here also was held the marriage reception after his second bridal to Miss Mollie McMullin, one of San Francisco's belles in the sixties. Evil. days also be- fell Mr, Latham, and upon his failure the house was bought by Senator Willlam Sharon as a wedding present to his daugh- ter, Mrs, Frank Newlands. But when she died two years later the place ceased to be looked upon as a desirable residence, especlally as fashion had commenced to seek other localltles, so, after passing through various hands, it is now a lodg- ing house. Bome of the smaller streets, such as Te- hama, Minna and Natoma, were in early days considered among the fashionable lo- calities and had as residents the families of Eugene Casserly, Morton Cheeseman, T. J. Poulterer and others. The cottage wherein William F. Babcock and his fam- fly for so many years made their home on Essex street once stood in the midst of a beautiful’ fiower garden, but, alas, weeds are now rampant, the fence has fall- en into decay and the house itself has a dilapidated appearance. Another house in this' locality which retains but few traces of its pristine glory is the old-time resi- dence of L. A. Garnett on Essex street. Quite in contrast is the handsome dwell- ing opvosite belonging to the Miller es- tate. It was originally built by J. W. Tucker, the ploneer jeweler, and was al- ways regarded as a beautiful house, even in early times, but of late vears it has been greatly enlarged and improved. The large house on First street above Harri- son, which was bullt by Hall McAllister, next door to his brother Cutler, afforded plenty of space for him and his wife to follow their hospitable bent to.the utmost and while ltving there they entertained on a lavish scale. The house passed into the hands of Judge H. A, Lyons in 1871 and is now used as a lodging house. The first-pretentious home of W. C. Ral- ston. built during the middle sixties, was on Fremont street near First, and herein he began the series of lavish entertain- men which afterward made his name in connection with Belmont isome residence of Mrs. A. M. Parrott on Sutter street one of the cs of stately oak produced by the tiny acorn. Sutter street during the mid- dle fties was beyond Powell street an almost impassable sand waste, ungraded, and consequently nearly devoid of build- irgs. Almost the last dwelling-house on the south side near Mason street was a litle four-room cottage, standing in the mi of a sand lot. This was the home of Lawyer W. H. Sharp, his wife and young childreny In the course of a few vegrs, about 1360, the street, being ' then grdded, he bullt an addition of several rooms in front of the little cottage] mak- ing it quite a presentable house. This was the one he =9ld to Senator Sharon, who, about 1§73, occupied it with his family, and here was soon after given the grand ball which celebrated the entree of the Sharon family into San Franclsco soclety, The house was not larg® enough, however, to suit the Sharon ambition, so after pur- chasing the adjoining property on tho east Mr. Sharon bullt the large addition to his dwelling which made the house one of the most commodious in the city. The first use made of the elegant, spacious pa lors was upon the occaslon of the marriage of his eldest daughter, Clara, to Frank Newlands. This was the first soclal func~ tion In which enormous wealth was lav- ishly displayed and marked a new era in entertainment among us. The parlors were next thrown open to friends when the body of Mrs. Sharon lay In state be- fore the funeral, when the floral dccora- tions were. almost as great a feature of elaborate display as at the bridal. Not very long afterward the fallure of the Bank of California caused Mr. Sharon to trapsfer the property to W. S, O'Brlen, who placed it at the disposal of his sister, Mrs. Maria Coleman, whose pretty twin daughters speedily became leading belles in society. A couple of years later the rooms which were thronged for the mar- riage festivities of Miss Sharon once more were filled with wedding guests, the bride being Miss Cecilia Coleman and the sroom Harty May. After the death of M-, O'Brien Mrs. Coleman, to whom he wiiled the property, sold it to Mrs. Parrott, who during the winter season generally resides there surrounded by her large family, and since her occupancy it has been the scene of many brilliant hospitalities. There werg but two houses on the north side of Sutter street in the block between Powell and Mason in the middls fifties. One, at the corner of Powell street, was a two-story tottage belonging to W. 8, Clark; the other, a double two-storied house on the corner of Mason, was the home of Isaac Friedlander. Between the two was a deep gully, long flights of steps for pedestrians reaching down and up on either side. There was no attempt at a roadway, and vehicles were an unknown quantity, thereabouts. The Friedlander so famou ivsta house was afterward occupled by John Young of New Almaden fame and his 15 R J VAaNnDZwWATER WHERE AND HOW THE SMART ST OF THE FIFTIES LIVED mshaw, formed part of their family eim one of them afterward became the wife of Joseph Barron of the well-known firm of Bolton, Barron & Co. To the Youngs succeeded the Rev. Dr. Ver Mehr and his family, and it was during his oc- upancy that his only daughter, the beau- tiful bionde Gertrude, became the wife of J. M. Seawell, one of our present Superior Judges, and the beauty of the bridal party as they appeared at the reception, held in the long parlors of the old house, was the topic of the hour, The bride, a perfect blonde, looked as if she had stepped from the frame of one of the old family por- traits, which formed a background for til§ party, and her two bridesmaids, Miss Sa- rah Poett and M a. Maxwell, were perfect specimens of the brunette type of cle; loveliness. The old house is still extant, but it has been turned around and now faces on Mason street, a short distance ove § The furnis Q ng of our early day homes different character from h was of a v at of the present and seldom varied from black walnut upholstered in hair- cloth er red plush with mahogany frames. Of this latter 1 was that which the long drawi Friedlar m of the early day ter street to the pale biue re of their ele- mansion on opos of furniture, when nished and furnished his e in 1374 the cost of the alone exceeded the sum Gon- ned. pa Sryant street Ay parlor 1 of $30,000. On th tween Pow. 11 and Stock- welling houses ide of Sutter street. The on * corner of Sut- t three Stockton was built early in the Lu by en Herman and was one the city for many »wie purchased the property in 1556 and res til about 1370, when, after being partially destroyed by fire, it was remodeled and became a beer hall, known as the Vienna Gardens, where concerts were siven nightly to the accom- paniment of lager and tobacco. Adjoining it- on the west was one of the cottage houses which were brought here around the Horn and put together with screws, not ‘a nail being used In its construction. It was the property of B. Davidson, Roth- childs’ agent, and to the original house Mr. Davidson added a couple of wings. one of which he used as a billlard room. Being a lover of floriculture, he lald out the extensive grounds which surrounded his house in flowers and foliage, which were brought to such a state of perfection that it was a noted place in the young city. The property passed into the hands of the Congregation Emanu-El in 1%3, and upon it was erected the present syna- gogue, the price paid for the land being about $12,000. The house was then re- moved to Ellis street just above Mason, where it now stands, the main house by itself and the two wings forming another house, used as a blacksmith's shop be- low, with lodgings in the rooms abeve. The third house on the block next west of the Davidson domain was built and lived In first by Abel Guy, then by F. Cav- allier, both well-known old pioneers, as well as the third resident, Julius May, joint manager of Rothschilds’ banking house of B. Davidson & Co. A house which retains much of Its ald- time appearance still occupleg its original location on the southwest corner of Stock- ton and California. It was built by Colonel J. D. Stevenson in the early fifties and was the scene for many-years of a great deal of hospitality, the large draw- ing room to the right of entrance being a marvel for size and “just the thing” for dancing. It is now and has for a decade or more been used as a lodging house. Across Stockton strest and ad- Joining Grace Church on the south is the large double house of Antoine Borel, which looks precisely as it did when built thirty years ago by Willlam Barrom and occupled by him until his death, the joint occupants with him being his brother Jo« seph, and Thomas Bell. Mr, Barron's bach elor parties were renowned, and the ball given by him in celebration of the mar- riage of the eldest Miss Walkinshaw and Sam Price, an early day notable, was the most brilliant private affair ever given then in San Francisco and would com- pare favorably with the most elaborate function of the present day. Our early day residents had two out- of-town resorts, to which of a pleasant afternoon many teams found their way, They were on the route to the beach, which, even before the building of the Cliff House Road, was the popular drive of the day. One was the Ocean House, the other the Lake House, which was prettily situated on the banks of the La- goon near the Ocean Beach. The Lake House was purchased some time near the end of the fiftles by John Middleton, tha ploneer auctioneer, and he moved It Into town to ‘occupy his lot on Second street near South Park, and {t became his fam- ily home. Indeed it was owing to the po- sition of this home that Mr. Middleton was induced to engineer the . cutting through of the Second-street hill which he so successfully accomplished. A house in the Western Additien which looks to-day exactly as it did forty years ago is that where Samuel Holladay and his family reside; the only difference is that when first bullt there was not a vestige of foll« age around or near it and not a house within a dozen blocks. What a contrast between then and now in glancing at the palatial homes in the neighborhood of Millionaire W. B. Irwin, Henry Crocker, Dr. Barkan, the Goads, Dunphy aand Henry Scott. years