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Dunsmuir Historic Estate and Gardens
During your visit to Oakland,
California if you enjoy seeing beautiful, historic Estates you have
to visit Dunsmuir Historic Estate and Gardens. This stunning
Estate was designed by J. Eugene Freeman, a San Francisco architect
and is a great display of Neoclassical-Revival architecture which
was popular during the late 1800's. The Dunsmuir Estate
features 16,224 square feet, 37 rooms, Tiffany-style dome, ten
fireplaces, inlaid parquet floors, wood-paneled public rooms and
servant quarters in the house that were large enough to accommodate
12 live-in staff members. The Dunsmuir Mansion was built by
Alexander Dunsmuir who moved to the Bay area in 1878.
Alexander was the son of Robert Dunsmuir, a wealthy coral baron from
Victoria, British Columbia. Over time Alexander oversaw the
family business which was located in San Francisco. This
large, elegant mansion was built as a wedding gift for his beloved
Josephine in 1899. Alexander became very ill & died while they
were in New York on their honeymoon. Josephine returned home
to her new mansion where she lived until her death in 1901.
The estate was purchased in 1906, by I.W. Hellman Jr. who worked for
Well Fargo Bank in San Francisco. This became the summer house
for Mr. Hellman & his family which they re-named to Oakvale Park and
in 1913 the estate was re-modeled to accommodate the growing Hellman
family along with their acquisitions from traveling through Europe.
The Hellman family lived in the estate for fourteen years until Mr.
Hellman passed away in 1920. Mrs. Hellman kept the estate and
lived here, her children and grandchildren would visit during the
summer months until the late 1950's. While the Hellman's lived
in the estate they landscaped the northern end of the estate, added
a swimming pool and a Carriage House. The Dunsmuir
Estate House and Carriage House have been designated Historic
Landmarks by the City of Oakland and the Dunsmuir House has been
designated a National Historic Site by the United States Department
of the Interior. The stunning gardens the Hellman's
along with the famous landscape architect John McLaren (who designed
the Golden Gate Park) together designed the Dunsmuir Gardens.
The Gardens are full of a wide variety of trees, rolling meadows,
seasonal blooming flowers and more. In addition to the Gardens
the Hellman's estate also features a golf course, tennis court,
glass conservatory with grotto, a large formal garden maze, an
elaborate aviary, Japanese Gardens and a swimming pool with a
Mission-style bathhouse. Guided tours are available for
the Historic Dunsmuir Mansion and Gardens your knowledgeable guide
will lead you on an adventure of the beautiful Estate grounds and
the 37-room Dunsmuir mansion. High heeled shoes are NOT
permitted in the Mansion so be sure to wear comfortable walking
shoes.
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