Whaley House, Greek Revival house museum in Old Town San Diego, United States.
The Whaley House is a brick building in the Greek Revival style in Old Town San Diego that displays 19th-century furniture and fixtures. The two floors contain living quarters, a shop, a theater hall, and a courtroom.
Thomas Whaley began construction in 1857 and opened Southern California's first brick house. The city of San Diego later used the hall as a courtroom and theater space until the end of the 19th century.
The Whaley name recalls the family who ran a shop here and rented the space as a theater and courtroom. Visitors today still see the original rooms where merchants and officials worked.
The house opens daily from 10 in the morning, and the entrance is on San Diego Avenue in Old Town. The tour leads through the ground floor and upstairs rooms, with wheelchair access limited to the ground floor.
A San Diego court held an actual session in the old courtroom in May 2022, linking modern law to the 19th-century rooms. Visitors can see the judge's seat and benches that served then and now for hearings.
Location: California
Inception: 1857
Architectural style: Greek Revival architecture
Accessibility: Wheelchair limited access
Opening Hours: Monday-Sunday 10:00-16:30
Website: http://whaleyhouse.org
GPS coordinates: 32.75280,-117.19400
Latest update: December 4, 2025 23:44
These North American houses tell the story of big wealth built during the industrial age. Around the late 1800s and early 1900s, families like the Vanderbilts and the Hearsts built homes that mix European styles with new ideas in building. The Breakers in Newport draws from Italian Renaissance ideas with its 70 rooms. The Hearst Castle in California has art and old objects from Europe. Fallingwater, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1935, is built over a waterfall in Pennsylvania, showing modern style. Other places like Pittock Manor in Portland or Vizcaya in Miami have decorated rooms and gardens. In Canada, Château Ramezay in Montreal dates back to the 1700s and keeps many items from New France. Château Craigdarroch in Victoria shows the love for woodwork and stained glass from Victorian times. These sites give a look into a world where buildings, gardens, and art collections were part of one whole. They reflect a time when people built to impress and last long.
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