Lathrop House, House museum in Redwood City, United States.
Lathrop House is a house museum in Redwood City showcasing Carpenter Gothic architecture built from wood. Its exterior features pointed arches, steep gables, and intricate decorative trim that define this distinctive style.
Built in 1863, the house belonged to Benjamin G. Lathrop, the first Clerk, Recorder, and Assessor of San Mateo County. The structure survived multiple relocations, reflecting its importance to early regional history.
The house is an example of Steamboat Gothic, a Carpenter Gothic variant whose seven gables, veranda, porch and four-part trim along the roofline and above the front porch were meant to recall the steamboats of the era. Benjamin G. Lathrop's wealth came partly from investing in the San Francisco to San Jose railroad.
The house now stands at 701 Hamilton Street, next to the San Mateo County History Museum, after its May 2019 move from 627 Hamilton Street. It closed as a museum in 2017 ahead of that relocation, so check with the Redwood City Heritage Association or the county history museum before planning a visit to the interior.
The house has moved three times within a few blocks of Redwood City: from the site of today's Fox Theatre at 2215 Broadway, to 627 Hamilton Street after Sheriff Joel Mansfield bought it in 1905, and in May 2019 to 701 Hamilton Street beside the San Mateo County History Museum.
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