Nob Hill in San Francisco City and County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)
Crocker Mansions
Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, November 20, 2021
1. Crocker Mansions Marker
At this location, "1150" California Street, now the site of the Choir, stood William H. Crocker's Queen Anne style mansion (1888). The Deuxieme Empire-Italian Villa style mansion (1877) of his father, Charles Crocker, was at the N.W. corner of California & Taylor. Both buildings were destroyed in the earthquake and fire of 1906. Subsequently, the Crocker family, in consultation with the Rt. Rev. William Ford Nichols, second Bishop of California, donated this entire block as the site for Grace Cathedral. The cornerstone was laid on January 24, 1910.
In commemoration of their generosity of spirit and in the presence of their descendants, Charles Crocker III and Charles de Limur, we dedicate this memorial.
The Rt. Rev. William E. Swing, Seventh Bishop of California
The Hon. Cyril Magnin, Chairman, Crocker Memorial Plaque Committee
The Very Rev. David M. Gillespie, Sixth Dean of Grace Cathedral
Caspar W. Weinberger, Jr., Chairman, Memorials Committee
Kip Clifford Lee-Bevier, Descendant, The Rt. Rev. William Ingraham Kip, First Bishop of California
Michael L. Ainslie, President, National Trust for Historic Preservation
Elizabeth Leona Downing-Olson, Honorary Chairman, Nob Hill Historical Society
Robert Downing-Olson, President, Nob Hill Historical Society
this page online
Erected 1983.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Notable Buildings. A significant historical month for this entry is January 1902.
Location. 37° 47.496′ N, 122° 24.816′ W. Marker is in San Francisco, California, in San Francisco City and County. It is in Nob Hill. Marker is on California Street east of Jones Street, on the left when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1150 California Street, San Francisco CA 94108, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Huntington Park/Fountain of the Tortoises (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Unsung Heros (approx. 0.2 miles away); I Left My Heart in San Francisco (approx. 0.2 miles away); Mark Hopkins Hotel (approx. 0.2 miles away); Site of the Mark Hopkins Institute of Art (approx. 0.2 miles away); Metropolitan Club (approx. ¼ mile away); Marines Memorial Club (approx. ¼ mile away); Isadora Duncan (approx. 0.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in San Francisco.
Also see . . .
1. Crocker Spite Fence. San Francisco History/SF Genealogy website entry:
Two contemporaneous newspaper articles on the spite fence. (Submitted on March 1, 2013.)
2. Grace Cathedral, Crocker Fence, Along Taylor & Sacramento Streets, San Francisco
Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, February 23, 2013
2. Grace Cathedral with Crocker Mansions Marker - Wide View
The marker is barely visible mounted on the exterior wall of the cathedral just to the right of the entrance.
The Crocker Fence (which surrounded the property, not to be confused with the "spite fence" referenced above). (Submitted on March 1, 2013.)
Photographed By William Henry Jackson
3. Looking West Along California Street - Charles and William Crocker Mansions
This undated photo, courtesy of the Bancroft Library, shows both Crocker Mansions, with the more (in)famous mansion owned by Charles Crocker in the foreground, and the mansion owned by his son, William, set further back. The famed "spite fence", put up by Charles Crocker, is visible in the background on the right. Crocker had the fence erected in 1877 to enclose on 3 sides the property of Nicholas Yung, who had refused to sell his property to Crocker, and the fence stood until 1904. The spite fence and the mansion itself, were seen by many as the manifestations of excessive wealth and ego.
Unknown (image courtesy Huntington Library), 1906
4. William Crocker Mansion - Ruins After the Earthquake and Fire of April 1906.
Both Crocker Mansions were destroyed in the earthquake and fire of April 18-19th, 1906.
Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, February 23, 2013
5. Crocker Mansions Fence
Significance: Constructed in 1877, the Crocker Fence is the only remnant left of Charles Crocker's Nob Hill mansion, considered one of the grandest in San Francisco during the 19th century. The fence is a rare, surviving example of a stone and cast-iron fence that typically surrounded the great 19th-century mansion in San Francisco, and is an excellent example of Victorian design with its intricate cast-iron and polished, sculpted granite.... - Historic American Building Survey
Credits. This page was last revised on February 7, 2023. It was originally submitted on March 1, 2013, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. This page has been viewed 1,457 times since then and 100 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on November 22, 2021, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. 2. submitted on March 4, 2013, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. 3. submitted on March 5, 2013, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. 4, 5. submitted on March 4, 2013, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. • Syd Whittle was the editor who published this page.
