Wednesday, June 08, 2011

Crocker Mansion or Huntington Mansion? - Spite Fence

From: "Digi Numetro"

I've been wondering about this for a long time so I thought I would see if anyone can answer this question.

Please see the photo below.

In many historical photos of San Francisco, including the famous 1878 Eadweard Muybridge 360 degree panorama photo of SF taken from the Mark Hopkins mansion tower, the Crocker Mansion is located next to the Huntington Mansion on California Street (now where Grace Cathedral and Huntington Park are located).

In all of these historic SF photos, there is something called the "Crocker Spite Fence" that can be seen that was built to surround and "spite" the only property owner who would not sell to Charles Crocker when he built his mansion atop Nob Hill.

But the Crocker Spite Fence (as it is written about in historical accounts and pictured in the Muybridge panorama photo is shown as being part of the Huntington Mansion, next door to the Crocker Mansion.

So why is the "Crocker" Spite Fence located on the Huntington Mansion, next door to the Crocker Mansion, and not vice-verse? Does everyone everywhere that has the mansions identified the way they show in the photo below just have it wrong, with the mansion names reversed? All articles written say that the "Crocker Spite Fence" was part of the Crocker Mansion, or course, but everywhere that I can find photos of the two mansions, they are identified the same way.

In the detail of the Muybridge photo below, and in many other photos that I have found in books and online, the Crocker Mansion is identified as being the dark colored home to the left of the light colored Huntington Mansion with the "Crocker Spite Fence" built in to it. This can be seen in the Muybridge panoramic photo. ...

—Digi Numetro


Crocker Mansion or Huntington Mansion? - Spite Fence

Crocker Mansion or Huntington Mansion? - Spite Fence

Crocker Spite Fence Map

Crocker Spite Fence Colton-Huntington mansion shape

San Francisco Call, May 6, 1904, page 11
San Francisco Call, May 6, 1904, page 11.