San Luis Obispo County CA Archives Photo Place.....Jack Mansion 
************************************************
Copyright.  All rights reserved.
http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm
http://www.usgwarchives.net/ca/cafiles.htm
************************************************

File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com November 27, 2006, 7:15 pm

Source:             Unavailable
Photo can be seen at:
http://www.usgwarchives.net/ca/sanluisobispo/photos/jackmans110gph.jpg
Image file size: 94.2 Kb

THE JACK MANSION 
536 Marsh Street, San Luis Obispo

History and Description:

The Jack mansion is located at 536 Marsh Street, San Luis Obispo, California. 
It is one of the most elegant of the original wood frame homes of this area. 
The Jack mansion was constructed in the early 1870's by one of the founding
fathers of San Luis Obispo.  The family bible shows that in 1870 Robert Edgar
Jack married Nellie Hollister and with Nellie as the architect and Robert as the
builder they produced this magnificient structure.  One of the five children
that was born to the Jacks is the present owner, Howard V. Jack.

The structure of the house is basically a wood frame of the balloon type, but
the structural member of the two story was selected so that a third story could
later be added.  The first thing that catches one's eye as he approaches the
mansion is the marvelous condition that this hundred-year-old structure is in.
The house is not a museum, but as it was designed to be, is still a home. As one
walks around the outside of the mansion, he notices the plumbing is outside of
the walls, noting that the home was constructed before indoor plumbing.  The
backyard still has the original hand pump used by servants to draw water for
cooking.  The original gas lamp still is found in the master bedroom.  When one
enters the front door, he immediately has the feeling of being back in the
1800's.  The front door is eight feet tall and made of hardwood.  As we walked
through the inside of the mansion, the scale of the interior is reminiscent of
by-gone days of American arhcitecture. The ceilings are all twelve feet from the
hardwood floor to the elegant all-glass chandeliers, and all interior doors are
eight feet tall.  One unfortunate thing is that the house was built in a period
when labor was inexpensive and material was expensive. This simply and sadly
means that the repair of all plaster cracks, wallpaper, updating of utilities,
etc., would be so expensive that the cost of the repairs would far exceed the
value of the home.

For her help and courtesy, I must gratefully thank Mrs. Murphy, who is presently
managing the household affairs of the Jack mansion.

Sources:
Louisiana Dart, Curator, San Luis Obispo County Historical Museum 
Darline E. Murphy, 536 Marsh, San Luis Obispo


Additional Comments:
Extracted from

Discovering San Luis Obispo County
by
Carleton M. Winslow


File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ca/sanluisobispo/photos/jackmans110gph.txt

This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/cafiles/

File size: 3.1 Kb