The Tragic Story of Dunsmuir House - a photo on Flickriver

            The Dunsmuir House, designed by San Francisco architect, Joshua Eugene Freeman (1865-1956), is an example of Neo-Classical Revival Style Edwardian architecture popular in the late 1800s. The 37-room mansion, constructed by contractor H.E. Wharton, features a Tiffany-style dome, woodpaneled public rooms, 10 fireplaces and inlaid parquet floors within its 16,224 square feet.  An adaptation of Georgian and Federal styles, the mansion is characterized by symmetrical facades, hipped or gabled roofs, dormers, columns, Palladian windows, dentilled cornices, roof balustrades and doorway with fan lights and side lights. These classical elements are used throughout the house.

Dunsmuir House was built by Alexander White Dunsmuir (1854-1900), who came to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1878 to manage the affairs of his father's business interests. The father, Robert Dunsmuir, was a wealthy coal baron from Victoria, British Columbia.  Dunsmuir had the house built in 1899 as a wedding gift for his bride-to-be, Josephine; but days after their wedding, on the couple's honeymoon in New York, Alexander became ill from alcohol withdrawal and died. Josephine lived in the house for fewer than two years before her own death from lung cancer (she had suffered from it for many years). The estate was purchased by banker I.W. Hellman Jr. ("Marco") in 1906 from Josephine's daughter Edna Wallace who had inherited it but at the time could not afford its upkeep.  The Hellman family held the property until the early 1960s, when it was purchased by the City of Oakland.

Taken in: United States / California / San Leandro / Hollywood (show map)

Taken on: May 4, 2011

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Camera: Nikon D300, f/10.0, 1/250 sec, 17mm (=25mm), ISO 250 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Nikon D300
Lens:	17.0-35.0 mm f/2.8-4.0
Aperture:	f/10.0
Exposure Time:	0.004 sec (1/250)
Focal Length:	17mm (35mm equivalent: 25mm)
ISO:	250
Exposure Bias:	+10 EV
Flash:	No Flash
Exposure Program:	Manual
Exposure Mode:	Manual
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Manual
Light Source:	Fine Weather
Sharpness:	Hard
Color Space:	Uncalibrated
Software:	Ver.1.10
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