5/5 NoeHill W. 4 years ago on Google
The
Abner
Phelps
House
is
San
Francisco
Landmark
32.
It
was
also
loasted
on
the
National
Register
of
Historic
Places
in
1971.
Although
accounts
vary
as
to
its
date
and
builder,
this
Gothic
Revival
house
is
generally
considered
to
be
the
oldest
unaltered
residence
in
San
Francisco
and
dates
from
1850-1851.
The
earliest
published
account
(August
8,
1934)
states
that
the
house
was
"built
in
1850
by
John
Middleton
&
Sons,
one
of
the
first
real
estate
concerns
in
the
city...(and)
constructed
of
lumber
into
sections
brought
round
the
Horn
from
Maine,
there
being
no
sawmills
here
at
the
time."
However,
Mrs.
Victor
E.
Rosenstein,
Abner
Phelps'
great-grandaughter
declared
in
1961
that
the
house
had
been
purchased
in
New
Orleans
in
1850
and
shipped
in
sections
around
the
Horn
to
ease
the
homesickness
of
Phelps'
bride,
born
Augusta
Roussell.
It
was
then
re-erected
here
about
1850.
The
San
Francisco
Junior
League
book
Here
Today
favors
the
latter
explanation:
the
house
is
raised
on
a
high
foundation,
reminiscent
of
southern
riverfront
cottages
of
the
18th
and
19th
centuries;
furthermore,
the
upper
story
balcony
and
the
veranda
are
also
reminiscent
of
Louisiana
homes
of
the
day.
This
book
further
states
with
certainty
that
Phelps,
who
had
been
a
colonel
in
the
Mexican
War,
lived
in
the
house
in
1851;
and
suggests
the
possibility
that
John
Middleton's
firm
assembled
the
house
for
Phelps
when
it
arrived.
At
the
time
the
dwelling
was
erected,
it
stood
in
the
midst
of
Phelps'
160-acre
homestead
at
the
foot
of
Buena
Vista
Hill,
well
beyond
the
city
limits
which
did
not
reach
Divisadero
until
1854.
A
portion
of
Golden
Gate
Park
Panhandle
was
then
part
of
the
Phelps
property.
Phelps
was
a
lawyer
who
had
his
office
in
the
Montgomery
Block,
and
made
what
was
then
a
long
dusty
journey
to
town
daily
by
horseback.
At
that
time,
Divisadero
was
no
more
than
a
path
which
served
as
the
western
boundary
of
the
new
city
from
1854
to
1856
when
the
city
and
county
were
consolidated.
The
house
has
been
moved
twice.
With
the
grading
and
building
of
Divisadero
in
the
1890's,
the
house
was
repositioned
on
the
land.
In
1904,
it
was
moved
backward
to
its
present
location
in
the
middle
of
the
block
to
enable
Phelps
to
build
stores
on
Divisadero
Street.
(When
this
case
study
was
written,
the
address
of
the
Phelps
house
was
329
Divisadero
Street.
It
now
has
an
Oak
Street
address.)
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