Inside San Francisco’s Lost Leland Stanford Mansion on Nob Hill

Dive into the heart of San Francisco's past with us as Ken the Lost Leland Stanford Mansion, a masterpiece of luxury lost to the 1906 earthquake. Explore the opulence of Nob Hill's lost mansion, from the lavish interiors to the tragic tales of those who lived there. Don't miss this journey back in time to witness the splendor and sorrow of San Francisco's golden era. Hit the like button and subscribe for more deep dives into history's most extravagant homes.
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Public Domain Photos from: Library of Congress,
CC NY 2.5: Aude
CC BY-SA 4.0 Photos from: Wikipedia User: Scsf
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Music from Epidemic Sound

[@jrucker1356]

To me this is one of the most elegant homes you’ve covered on this channel. It’s opulent and EXTREMELY large, however it manages to still seem livable and warm.

[@SMtWalkerS]

What an incredible, opulent house! Those rooms are huge! I love the rotunda, the library, and the art room. The earthquake and fire must have destroyed so much beauty and craftmanship. Thanks for this peek into the past!

[@fredsalter1915]

That kind of craftsmanship is god-level!

[@nancyparker9986]

Yea nothing like today’s ugly buildings !

[@Conflictinator]

It's a good thing they emptied that mansion prior to the 1906 earthquake, so all of those priceless artworks were not lost to the fire.

[@michaellloyd8594]

A very fortuitous & intuitive move indeed.

[@kevintonks3034]

Wow what a house. Think if I was a guest in the guest bedroom I would never leave, lol. It would be cool to be able to go back in time and visit these wonderful places. Thanks for these so so interesting videos.

[@lemapp]

Many of the masterpieces shown are on display at the Leland Stanford University Museum, Palo Alto, CA. Young Leland was a collector of natural specimens. This collection was the inspiration for the museum at the school created in his honor.

[@lindakay9552]

I don't think I've ever found this channel before. For the last several days, I have been so attention deficit I can listen to one video on repeat for 8 hours straight and not process a word. I got 2 minutes into this, and felt all my anxiety evaporate. The inner dialogue ceased, all I heard was a perfectly melodic and eloquent voice speaking out a story, with impeccable diction and infliction. I listened a few more seconds, and then, like a ton of bricks, it hit me that this narrator has me hook, line, and sinker just two minutes in. And now I'm going to go finish enjoying watching something for the first time in days.❤

[@sherirunnels545]

Breathtaking. I would also be interested in learning about the house next door to it. Looks intriguing. Thanks for another wonderful journey into the past.

[@mileshigh1321]

What an incredible and beautiful house! The drawing room was magnificent! And also the grand entrance! I love all the big gas light fixtures ! I was waiting to hear, all the art work and that amazing statue had been lost! Thankfully it wasn't, but alas, this and so many other grand homes perished!

[@lisaharrod8386]

Mama's bedroom is just perfect! Fit for a queen. My favorite room. Thank you!

[@MACTackleBox]

It's almost identical to his home in Sacramento. If you have a chance to tour it, do! So beautiful! Great video!

[@ticker1ch]

Those bedrooms truly ruled! 🎩

[@badbiker666]

Weirdly, I was relieved that the structure was destroyed by a natural disaster, and not by urban renewal or because the house was left to rot when the family could no longer afford to keep up the maintenance. So many wonderful homes that you feature are torn down, even when they are habitable, to make way for something less elegant. As much as I actually dislike the over-decorated mansions of the millionaires of the 19th Century, I must admit that I love it as Ken describes their design elements.

[@divinedaytripper6916]

Thanks for another fabulous "This House." I feel like I've been given a personal tour of a lost San Francisco architectural treasure. So real. You made my day.

[@randyboglisch137]

What a fabulous house! . you had so many beautiful views of the interiors .incredible workmanship. Thank you so much for sharing..you always do a fantastic job..hope you're mended

[@gro2709]

Many thanks for covering the Stanford mansion on Nob Hill. The photos you've uncovered show just how rich the Big Four were. Will you also be able to cover the Mark Hopkins and Crocker mansions? Most mansions look like museums but somehow, Stanfords' house looks as though people could live there so long as they have lots of employees to keep it up!

[@chandlerchandelier]

I would love to see more Victorian homes featured on this channel. I would also love to see the floorplans of some of these homes.

[@kennybubash3278]

Expertly crafted !

[@terrygibbs1147]

Magnificent but more a museum than a house to live in

[@anteeker]

Thank you, Ken, for posting this. I`ve always wondered what the inside looked like- it was magnificent! Such a shame to think all that beautiful woodwork and interior went up in smoke. Fortunately, all the furnishings were saved.

[@judithmitchell4667]

Truly beautiful home. Have you done a video on the one you showed next to it? Thank you for this video. Blessings - Judith 🎤🎭

[@ThisHouse]

I haven’t covered that one yet, but I will!

[@judithmitchell4667]

@@ThisHouse It looks incredible.

[@The_Smith]

@@ThisHouse I'm guessing since the Stanford mansion was the first, it was also the plainest as every new build tryed to out do it?

[@judithmitchell4667]

@@The_Smith That makes a lot of sense.

[@WGBudd801]

Its the Mark Hopkins mansion_ lots of interior photos as Herter Bros. furnished it.

[@jonclassical2024]

Looks more like a museum or Gentlemen's City Club! Happy St. Partick's Day !

[@andrewbrendan1579]

Your comment reminded me of what was said about the Stewart mansion in New York. Someone said the house would be good as a gentlemen's club -- and it later was used for that purpose. I can see that happening to the Stanford house had it lasted longer. I was reading the book "The Earth Shook, the Sky Burned" about the '06 earthquake and it was mentioned that the houses on Nob Hill though intended to be family homes for many years were already in "semi-public use" by the time of the earthquake. The Hopkins mansion next door was already being used as an art school.

[@craiggillett5985]

What a magnificent home, the splendour! Such a shame these incredible homes were destroyed, they would have rivalled anything in Europe.

[@MatthewHall]

Wow - what a house and what a loss. Thank you for covering this Stanford property. That hand carved buffet was amazing. You stated they took their belongings with them to Menlo Park - did the more permanent fixtures go up in flames or was anything saved - like that buffet or Leland's favorite statue?

[@ahill4642]

I appreciated seeing the family dining room. Cozier than all the other grander rooms. ☺️

[@SpanishEclectic]

Wow, Ken! How fortunate we are to have so many great quality photos of this magnificent interior! The rotunda is amazing, but the story reminds us that wealth is no key to happiness. Stanford University is the best legacy he could leave to honor his son.

[@danielintheantipodes6741]

Opulent and beautiful. Sad story about the little boy, all too common a fate in those days, rich or poor. I like the house, sorry it is gone, but I personally could not live like that. The opulence would overwhelm me. Thank you for the video!

[@arminei6417]

Wow! What tragic loss! Architecture no longer seen. My mouth dropped when you spoke about the earthquake and the fire. 😮

[@user-re9ht6yj4i]

I didn’t think the Stanford home was that fancy. It was as good as any of the homes. Too bad we don’t have interior pictures of the Crocker or Flood homes.

[@mingmeow5642]

I wish this was maintained it’s so gorgeous piece of real estate and I live in San Francisco for 14 years now wish I saw this 🤩

[@quester09]

it may be gone, but fortunately it was well documented photographically.

[@oltedders]

I've seen these photos many times over the past decades. Their former home was of a modest size but richly decorated also. The Nob Hill mansions were some of the most lavish interiors in the country at the time. Only the Vanderbilt fortune outshone these lost treasures of the Pacific Coast.

[@dollyhorton2579]

The blue and gold bedroom was the most elegant, IMO. Great video, thanks for making it.

[@LaurieValdez-zk3dy]

Truly Supreme they don't build them like they used to❤

[@kathyflorcruz552]

The chandeliers alone were an incredible sight to see. I certainly hope they were moved out & are being used elsewhere.

[@wmeadjr]

Thanks for the video, I learned something new❤

[@clairwaucaush7225]

I hope out in space somewhere is a heaven for Old Victorian mansions!

[@exaudi33]

"In my father's house are many mansions..." (John.14 Verses 1 to 6 - Bible, KJV) I'm hoping for a French chateau!

[@karenroot450]

There just has to be : She said admittedly!!😢. Have a great Easter 🐣

[@claireburkus8497]

Love the guest bedroom !

[@karenroot450]

Oh Ken I love that word-Oculus! Thanks for adding a new word/description to my vocabulary. Have a wonderful Happy Easter in your still new home. Don’t eat too many eggs 🥚 🐣🐰🐰🐥🐥 🐇🐇 🍭

[@a.b.creator]

The artwork 😱 Did they save the paintings from the Old Masters after the earthquake ?? Oh my .

[@karenroot450]

Well Ken I’d have to say the Rotunda area is just spectacular! Thanks for the tour too bad this structure burned. I am very happy the Stanford Family had already moved their beautiful possessions out of the home Thanks again Ken. I hope you are feeling better!

[@stevieg6418]

Never have I wanted to live in a house more than this house - everything about it I love.

[@BusyBob6971]

Stunning! Your videos are always entertaining and above all informative. Unless the words demolished or wreaking ball are used. This one was a curve ball with burned to the ground. Thank you for the vids you supply.

[@FleshLessOne]

this is an excellent video of Mr.Stanford's Nob Hill Mansion. I'd like to see a video of Adolph Sutro's house out by the Cliff house or Sutro baths.. Sutro Heights. Also a great tour is the mansion of William Ralston out in Belmont on the campus of Notre Dom. I've toured that one and it isn't as grand as Leland's but had it's time and place in Bay Area History. Bank of California President. Linden towers was also another impressive palace in Menlo Park but has since been razed.. too bad people don't appreciate these palaces more and decide the land is worth more than the history of the past century.

[@Norfolk250]

Wish I were a time tripper - AND a social butterfly ... the architecture, the art, the excess --- all those craftsfolks' work to gaze upon. .... of COURSE, I'd travel with wayhayhayyyyy-excellent photo-graffy capacity and get even BETTER pix of what was! HA!

[@AellaAstra]

I live right by the Sacramento Stanford mansion.

[@scottbraun9615]

I lived down the street from that house and the nearby Crocker mansion in 1982. The Stanford House was then a girls' home. It's now a museum. The Crocker house was then and remains an art museum. These are as close as one now can get to experiencing the opulence shown here. If any here do visit these historic Sacramento homes, be sure to include a visit to the old Governor's Mansion, another beautiful and well-preserved example of 19th century domestic architecture.

[@johnbender1603]

So!

[@karenroot450]

@@scottbraun9615yes Sacramento has some great architecture and museums. I live here now and can’t wait to see the Crocker Museum. Then I’ll check out the others you mentioned. Thank you!

[@Michigander269]

And how does that make you feel?

[@HarveyDents_SpiritOfTruth]

Yeah? So do about 50 homeless people that Gavin Newsome didnt like seeing as he left the governors mansion right down the street. So the vatican bought its Jesuit son a lavish compound in the upscale part of sacramento

[@DeanStephen]

Isn’t it interesting, that in a city renowned for its beautiful views, where views can add significantly to the cost of a home, that every window in the Stanford home is covered over with shears and drapes?

[@andrewbrendan1579]

Gorgeous place. And so many outstanding photographs. I wonder that the story is just behind the photographs; who made the decision to document the house so thoroughly and so well. I noticed that circular opening in the floor in the rotunda area and that a higher metal railing had been placed around the original railing. Good idea; that first railing looked nice, but someone leaning over to admire the rotunda could have taken a terrible fall.

[@ravichristian6364]

very good

[@kendranewton9071]

Love the rotunda when upstairs. Most of the house was a little over the top for me.

[@winkieblink7625]

One of the BIG FOUR. He had a beautiful home.

[@jhash9554]

Beautiful home. Mrs. Stanfords death was horrific!

[@dennisjones7996]

beauty

[@garryferrington811]

Amazing man, Leland Stanford. From the photos and the painting, you can see that he was not a man to be crossed. Sad story about his child, though.

[@hortenseplaceg9740]

Just as an intricate mandala which was an extreme painstakingly created, just to be destroyed in the end. This is a fact of all things, nothing lasts forever. To wish of no death is not to be born in the first place.

[@laurielaurie8280]

Beautiful mansion. I have a china cabinet that survived the 1906 San Fran earthquake..

[@kolbpilot]

Man, what became of all the furnishings in the end ? The thousands & thousands of items. Where'd they all go ?

[@mr.x8259]

Lavish, ornate, decadent…there aren’t enough words to describe this house.

[@bscottb8]

In art criticism, "horror vacui" is the impulse to crowd every available space with detail or decoration.

[@IAM-gp4wx]

10/10 S.F Native here! Where did you get the photos?

[@chrisbgifford7387]

the conservatory is my favorite.

[@crystalpoole1560]

I love these walkthroughs. And, I love the history. You do a great job Ken.

[@tomloncaric6189]

Thanks so much for collecting these images and showing us how lavish this house was!

[@janerainsford8996]

The breakfast Room is the only one with any family comforts.

[@Caroldarr]

Tell me about the Jonathan Club that was built ? Location remains downtown in los Angles ca. we are now 2024 an the JC is the smallest building down town. Tell me more!

[@0therun1t21]

I miss living in Nob Hill and it's such a shame they didn't know how to guard against earthquakes but one of that magnitude is hard to guard against even now. The art looks kind of boring but I like the library depending on the books, and the table in the fancy french sitting room, and the billiard room but the rotunda is the place to be with a good book unless there are secret rooms and hidden passageways. I always look at how fun a house would be for the spooky kids. I like the house next door a lot better, got any pics of the inside of that one?

[@Wkkbooks]

Interesting. Can you say something about the extraordinary house next door to the Stanford mansion?

[@lee95757]

Were they able to save any of the artwork or furnishings before the mansion burned down?

[@mrxman581]

Since the house was empty when it was destroyed, are the contents or art on display somewhere? Did he help establish Stanford University? Thanks.

[@jamescoe4765]

Are those pics of Michigan Bluff in Placer County where Leland started his mercantile business selling to gold miners? This place is still there although burned to the ground in a forest fire in 1960.

[@rmkpilates]

Sad...

[@crisf69]

Did I see a Vermeer in the art gallery?!

[@robertbertagna1672]

Thanks!

[@ThisHouse]

Thank you for your generosity! Cheers!

[@StamperWendy]

I'm a sucker for ceiling treatments

[@Cali_Girl1]

❤

[@califdad4]

His Sacrramento Mansion is still in Sacramento, they belonged to St Paul's Episcopal,on j St and the Leland Jr memorial window is in that church. In 1905 someone tried to poison Mrs Stanford in the Nob Hill mansion and so she planned a trip to Asia and stopped for a time in Honolulu with her assistant, there someone close to her did poison her and she died, the Honolulu Grand jury called it a murder but the then head of Stanford University got over there as fast as he could and quieted everything down. She was getting ready to fire him.

[@scottbraun9615]

Her brother, Charles Lathrop, took over management of the university after the death of her husband (also poisoned for his advocating for worker- owned industries as a US senator). Lathrop built a sprawling Queen Anne mansion on a hill overlooking the Campus. The main house burned in the 1940's but the gatehouse, Carriage house and some outbuildings remained. The carriage house was huge, probably 50 feet square and had 3 levels, with grooms quarters on the top, facing east, a cavernous main room and hayloft/saddle room. The stables could be cleaned by lifting a trapdoor and shoveling waste into wagons waiting below. When I discovered this place in the mid 80's it was full of old geology department stuff and the groom's quarters graffitied. It's since been razed. I suspect Lathrop was dipping into the endowment some...Jane had plenty of reasons to worry.

[@califdad4]

@@scottbraun9615 it was David Star Jordan who she was thinking about removing and who got to Honolulu on the fastest ship to shut down the investigation of her murder at the Moana hotel in a first floor suite that's now part of the lobby

[@meditationrewiresyourbrain007]

Thanks!! ❤

[@jrgnc1]

All those gas chandeliers were incredible! I don't think I would have moved out due to the passing of my child though. What a shame it was lost in the fire.

[@exaudi33]

And it was the earthquake-ruptured gas lines that sparked the fires.

[@dcole9589]

19th century architecture and design not my favorite ( ie Victorian ), speaking as a high end interior architect and designer, but the hanging chandeliers are spectacular.

[@skycloud4802]

Looks like something striaght out of a 90s Casper movie.

[@vickilindberg6336]

The main staircase sctually seems a bit understated.

[@philabuster6107]

I couldn't take my eyes off the chandeliers.

[@silverstem2964]

What mansion is next door?

[@markwriter2698]

My question is who were the craftsman who built these incredible palaces.

[@exaudi33]

In New York, they were Italian immigrants but don't know about California. They certainly would have been European.

[@kleinbogen]

It is a palace!!

[@suzz1776]

Its beautiful but just imagine having to be the person to dust that place. Yikes...

[@MarlinWilliams-ts5ul]

Imagine if Stanford could see what San Francisco looks like now?

[@DanO530.8]

Yea they don’t make them like this anymore beautiful mansion

[@mixrousefamily687]

I wonder how much the art collection would be worth today had it not gone up in smoke. Super sad.

[@sharksport01]

It didn't go up in smoke, they had moved it.

[@waterwitch8902]

Its definitely overwhelming. But who needs 50 rooms? To me less can be juzst if not more beautiful.

[@NewRon2003us]

hard to decide

[@pameladulany1457]

Mrs Stanfords room.

[@priscillaa.8548]

I can only imagine what this mansion must have looked like in color.

[@helenstravis3834]

I like the ladies sitting room and the breakfast room.

[@luckynumber2305]

Love these old beautiful homes. People had money back then because no income taxes and high inflation. Such a shame that we work for big daddy now.

[@williamtyre523]

Quite the home and the epitome of luxury. Too bad it was enjoyed for such a short period of time.

[@Ap_twsh]

Wow cant believe a hotel was put there instead of restoring it.

[@jamescoe4765]

Stanford University is named Leland Stanford Jr University in honor of their son so you can give credit to the death of their son for this school located in the middle of their horse farm in Palo Alto. A good book to read is "Who Killed Jane Stanford?".

[@RichardBarnett-hs1qy]

This episode is so well done. Like a private tour into the past. Just one suggestion: Would you consider using photoshop to process some of the more faded photos? (My office colleague and I used to salvage old photos, so I know it can be done.) Thanks!

[@ThisHouse]

I do that from time-to-time. I always disclaim it by putting “enhanced” in the corner of the screen.

[@RichardBarnett-hs1qy]

@@ThisHouse Thanks for mentioning that. I'll look for it. Your research is outstanding!

[@mitchellbarnow1709]

I am sorry that their son passed away, but because they emptied the home of its treasures, they were not lost in 1906.

[@nasabear]

I want to know who owned the magnificent house next to the Stanford Mansion.

[@andrewbrendan1579]

It's the Hopkins mansion that was also lost in the fire. There's at least one video about it that I can think of here on You Tube. It had quite a history though didn't stand for all that many years.

[@nasabear]

@@andrewbrendan1579 Thanks!