The Millionaire's Palace: Leland Stanford's Commission for Pottier & Stymus in San Francisco

Abstract

During 1875 and 1876, Leland Stanford, president of the Central Pacific Railroad, built in San Francisco one of the country's largest mansions. It was the first West Coast commission, and one of the most ambitious projects, for New York decorating firm Pottier & Stymus. The extent of the firm's contribution, however, has largely gone unrecognized. In Pottier & Stymus's hands, the mansion became a pioneering achievement in the artistic decoration of houses. Configured to recall a seventeenth-century palace, the rooms of the house presented a comprehensive iconographic scheme in which furnishings and decorations combined with the architecture itself, presenting visitors with a message about Stanford's business accomplishments and reinforcing the practical fact that the mansion served more as a public space than a private home.