Samuel Newsom (1852 – 1908) was a Canadian-born American
architect.[1] Together with his brother Joseph Cather Newsom founded the architecture firm Newsom and Newsom (or the Newsom Brothers), practicing in
Northern and
Southern California.[2] Their most celebrated house is the
Carson Mansion in
Eureka,
California.[2]
Early life
Samuel Newsom was born April 05, 1852 in
Canada, in
Montreal.[3] His parents were Jessie Livingstone (1821–1882) and Levens Mathewson Newsom (or Newsome, 1815–1897). He had 11 siblings.[3] His father Levens worked at a plant nursery.[3] In 1860, Samuel Newsom immigrated to San Francisco. His two older brothers Thomas Newsom and John Newsom were also architects and taught Samuel and Joseph.[4] Neither brother had formal education in architecture.[5]
Career
In 1877, the Newsom brothers, Samuel and Joseph Cather Newsom maintained their architectural office (for Newsom and Newsom) at 321 California Street in
San Francisco in 1877, followed by an office at 504 Kearny Street in San Francisco in 1883, and then in Oakland by 1884.[3][6] By 1886, they had a Los Angeles office, which was run by Joseph.[4] The brothers specialized in designing
Queen Anne style architecture homes with extravagant details, designed for the common home buyer.[2][4] Many of their clients were
middle class.[5] Newsom and Newsom constructed of many of the
Eastlake style and Queen Anne style homes in San Francisco, California and the surrounding areas.[4] They built around 650 buildings which included single family homes, two family homes, flats, apartments and hotels.[4][7] The Newsom brothers published pattern books on the different decorative styles.[4] By 1893, the firm had made a change and was designing in a
Mission Revival style and in 1906 they were designing
Craftsmen style homes.[2] Joseph Cather Newsom ended his relationship to the firm in 1888 but continued to practice architecture alone in Los Angeles.[4][6][5]
His two sons joined the firm, Sidney Newsom in 1893, and Noble Newsom in 1906.[2]
Personal life
In 1875, Newsom married Canadian Matilda Gertrude “Tillie” (née Wilcox) in Alameda County.[3] Together they had 6 children; Sidney Newsom, Samuel Newsom Jr., Helen Newsom Tufts, Ruby Newsom Van Sickle, Noble Newsom, and Harold Newsom.[3]
c. 1885 – Vollmer House, 1737 Webster Street, San Francisco, California, not the original location of the home, this location has outstanding decorative details.[4]
1885 – Murphy House, San Francisco, California, demolished 1906 after the
earthquake,[6] the
Carter House Inn in Eureka is a reproduction of the Murphy House.
1886 – 975 Grove Street, San Francisco, California, this house has an unusual
turret design, decorative brick, and an image of a bear.[4]
c.1887 – Bradbury Mansion, 147 North Hill Street, Los Angeles, California, was located in the
Bunker Hill neighborhood and was demolished in 1929.[12] Built at the cost of $80,000 for
Lewis L. Bradbury. The house, a 35-room structure with five chimneys and five turrets, stood at the corner of Hill and Court streets.
prior to 1888 – Magnin House, 1478–1482 Page Street, San Francisco, California, this is a two family style house and a prior owner was
Isaac Magnin and his two daughters lived next door.[4]
^
abcdefMichelson, Alan.
"Newsom and Newsom, Architects". Pacific Coast Architecture Database (PCAD), Built Environments Library, University of Washington. Retrieved 2021-01-08.
Newsom, J. Cather (1893). Modern Homes of California, Drawing Plans. San Francisco, California.{{
cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link)