| Norris House | |
| Location: | 1247 Cowper St., Palo Alto, California |
| Coordinates: | 37.4425°N -122.1492°W |
| Architect: | Clark, Birge |
| Builder: | Goodenough, Wells |
| Architecture: | Spanish Colonial Revival |
| Added: | July 24, 1980 |
| Area: | less than one acre |
| Refnum: | 80000859 |
The Norris House is a historic house located at 1247 Cowper St. in Palo Alto, California. The house was built in 1927 for Kathleen Norris, a novelist and columnist who was once the highest-paid female author in the United States, and her husband Charles Gilman Norris, also a noted novelist. Kathleen Norris' novels featured female characters who represented her ideals of motherhood and moral virtue; her columns appeared in major magazines and included both short stories and advice columns. Charles Gilman Norris wrote novels which touched on contemporary social issues and served as Kathleen's agent.[1]
In 1949, the Diocese of San Francisco purchased the house to serve as the Newman Center for Stanford University. Around 2000 the house was sold into private hands again.[2]
Architect Birge Clark designed the Spanish Colonial Revival house. At the time, the house was Clark's largest and most expensive design. The house's layout features several one- and two-story sections surrounding a patio. The house is built from white stucco with a tile roof; handcrafted ironwork and woodwork is used in the beams and decorations.[1]
The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 24, 1980.