Nathanial Brittan Party House Explained

Nathaniel Brittan Party House
Location:125 Dale Ave., San Carlos, California
Coordinates:37.5004°N -122.2722°W
Map Label:Brittan Party House
Built:1872
Architecture:Octagon Mode
Added:December 29, 1994
Area:less than one acre
Refnum:94001500

The Nathanial Brittan Party House, also known as Nathaniel Brittan Party House, Brittan Party House, Brittan Lodge, is located at 125 Dale Avenue in San Carlos, California, and was built in 1872. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.

History

John Wesley Brittan (1812–1872), owner of Brittan & Holbrook, was a successful hardware store merchant during the gold rush in San Francisco.[1] John Brittan bought 3,000 acres of the Rancho de las Pulgas, in what is now San Carlos, and it was named "Brittan Ranch".[2] His son Nathaniel Jones Brittan (1848–1912) inherited approximately one third of his father's estate, an early settler in San Carlos where he kept his "country house".[3] [4]

Nathaniel Brittan co-founded the Bohemian Club of San Francisco in 1872, and by 1892 Brittan was the president of the club. He built the Nathaniel Brittan Party House in order to entertain his friends from the club and to use as a hunting lodge.[5] The Brittan Manor House (1888), Brittan's former residence, is located about a half-block away at 40 Pine Avenue.[6]

The Nathaniel Brittan Party House was built in 1872, as a Victorian-style, two-and-a-half story redwood framed structure with an octagonal folly.[7] There is a shiplap exterior siding that appears to go in multiple directions. The building has steep gables and an octagonal windowed cupola. It is one of the few remaining examples of nineteenth century Octagon Mode buildings in the San Francisco Bay Area.

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Col. 'Nat' Brittan Found Dead in Bed, Pioneer Politician and Clubman Apparently Was in Good Health Up to the End. 28 May 1912. California Digital Newspaper Collection. San Francisco Call. 2020-01-24.
  2. Web site: San Carlos History. City of San Carlos. 2020-01-24.
  3. Web site: Nathaniel J Brittan dies suddenly at his county home in San Carlos. 28 May 1912. Newspapers.com. San Francisco Chronicle. 2020-01-23.
  4. Web site: National Register #94001500: Brittan Party House in San Carlos, California. Buchanan. Paul D.. 2002-09-02. noehill.com. The Daily Journal. 2020-01-24.
  5. Web site: Party House was synonym for fun and frolic. Buchanan. Paul D.. 2002-09-02. San Mateo Daily Journal. en. 2020-01-24.
  6. Book: Dinkelspiel Cerny, Susan. An Architectural Guidebook to San Francisco and the Bay Area. Gibbs Smith. 2007. 9781586854324. 9.
  7. Web site: [{{NRHP url|id=94001500}} National Register of Historic Places Registration: Nathanial Brittan Party House]. Kent L. Seavey. August 1, 1994. National Park Service. November 8, 2019. With