Mortimer Fleishhacker House | |
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![]() Mortimer Fleishhacker House (1933) | |
Location | 329 Albion Avenue, Woodside, California |
Coordinates | 37°25′58″N 122°16′07″W / 37.432792°N 122.268711°W |
Built for | Mortimer Fleishhacker Sr. Bella Gerstle Fleishhacker |
Architect | Greene and Greene |
Governing body | National Trust for Historic Preservation |
Official name | Green Gables – Fleischhacker |
Designated | September 26, 1986 |
Reference no. | 86002396 [1] |
The Mortimer Fleishhacker House, also known as the Green Gables Estate, is a historic estate with an English manor house, built between 1911 and 1935, and located at 329 Albion Avenue in Woodside, California. [2] The house has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since September 26, 1986. [3] [4] The property has been used to host family weddings, corporate retreats, and historic summits including a United Nations 20th-anniversary gala in 1965. [5] The estate is now 74-acres in size. [6] [7] [8]
The main house is two stories tall, and was created in an English manor-style with an imitation thatch roof, a gunite exterior, and consisting of ten bedrooms. [9] [10] The garden is Italian style and features four levels of terracing and a lily pond, a Roman reflecting pool, and a piano-shaped swimming pool. [9] [11] The estate was used and remained in the Fleishhacker family for five generations. [12] [5] Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes rented a house on the property with her partner from March 2021 until November 2022. [13] [14]
Mortimer Fleishhacker Sr. (1866–1953) was an entrepreneur who co-founded (with his brother Herbert Fleishhacker) Great Western Power, which later became part of Pacific Gas and Electric and the City Electric Company. [15] [16] [9] He served as a director of the San Francisco Opera, San Francisco Symphony, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Temple Emanu-El. [17] Fleishhacker also had a home at 2418 Pacific Avenue in San Francisco, California. [17]
In 1911, Fleishhacker Sr. and his wife Bella Gerstle Fleishhacker (1875–1963), commissioned Charles Sumner Greene of the architectural firm Greene and Greene to design a country home for them on a 45-acre property. [2] [12] This was the largest of all Greene and Greene designs. [9] The interior of the house was designed by Elsie de Wolfe and the San Francisco design house of Vickery, Atkins and Torrey. [18] When designing the home, Greene also took in to account the design of the landscaping and the driveway. [11] [19]
The property's rolling green lawns were inspired by the Fountains Abbey of Studley Royal Park in 18th-century England, which Greene had visited in 1909. [19] The garden has natural materials used and design elements that complement the landscape such as terraces, walls, arcades, balustrades, and planting urns. [20] Over the years, the Fleishhacker family built out the estate, adding new structures and land. [6] [21]
In 1965, the United Nations selected Green Gables as the site for its 20th anniversary commemoration gala.
Mortimer Fleishhacker House | |
---|---|
![]() Mortimer Fleishhacker House (1933) | |
Location | 329 Albion Avenue, Woodside, California |
Coordinates | 37°25′58″N 122°16′07″W / 37.432792°N 122.268711°W |
Built for | Mortimer Fleishhacker Sr. Bella Gerstle Fleishhacker |
Architect | Greene and Greene |
Governing body | National Trust for Historic Preservation |
Official name | Green Gables – Fleischhacker |
Designated | September 26, 1986 |
Reference no. | 86002396 [1] |
The Mortimer Fleishhacker House, also known as the Green Gables Estate, is a historic estate with an English manor house, built between 1911 and 1935, and located at 329 Albion Avenue in Woodside, California. [2] The house has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since September 26, 1986. [3] [4] The property has been used to host family weddings, corporate retreats, and historic summits including a United Nations 20th-anniversary gala in 1965. [5] The estate is now 74-acres in size. [6] [7] [8]
The main house is two stories tall, and was created in an English manor-style with an imitation thatch roof, a gunite exterior, and consisting of ten bedrooms. [9] [10] The garden is Italian style and features four levels of terracing and a lily pond, a Roman reflecting pool, and a piano-shaped swimming pool. [9] [11] The estate was used and remained in the Fleishhacker family for five generations. [12] [5] Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes rented a house on the property with her partner from March 2021 until November 2022. [13] [14]
Mortimer Fleishhacker Sr. (1866–1953) was an entrepreneur who co-founded (with his brother Herbert Fleishhacker) Great Western Power, which later became part of Pacific Gas and Electric and the City Electric Company. [15] [16] [9] He served as a director of the San Francisco Opera, San Francisco Symphony, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Temple Emanu-El. [17] Fleishhacker also had a home at 2418 Pacific Avenue in San Francisco, California. [17]
In 1911, Fleishhacker Sr. and his wife Bella Gerstle Fleishhacker (1875–1963), commissioned Charles Sumner Greene of the architectural firm Greene and Greene to design a country home for them on a 45-acre property. [2] [12] This was the largest of all Greene and Greene designs. [9] The interior of the house was designed by Elsie de Wolfe and the San Francisco design house of Vickery, Atkins and Torrey. [18] When designing the home, Greene also took in to account the design of the landscaping and the driveway. [11] [19]
The property's rolling green lawns were inspired by the Fountains Abbey of Studley Royal Park in 18th-century England, which Greene had visited in 1909. [19] The garden has natural materials used and design elements that complement the landscape such as terraces, walls, arcades, balustrades, and planting urns. [20] Over the years, the Fleishhacker family built out the estate, adding new structures and land. [6] [21]
In 1965, the United Nations selected Green Gables as the site for its 20th anniversary commemoration gala.