Theodore F. Payne House, Victorian residence in San Francisco, United States
The Theodore F. Payne House is a residential structure in Stick style located on Sutter Street, featuring vertical wooden elements and ornate details across its exterior and interior surfaces. The building displays characteristic wooden embellishments and structured facade elements typical of this architectural approach.
Built in 1881 for Theodore Fryatt Payne, whose father grew rich in the Gold Rush and who made his own fortune manufacturing nuts and bolts, and for his wife Mary Pauline O'Brien, heir to a share of her uncle William S. O'Brien's Comstock Lode silver fortune. The architects were William Curlett and his brother-in-law Theodore Eisen; a builders' magazine put the cost at $16,500, and both lot and building contract stood in Mrs. Payne's name. The family left for Menlo Park after the 1906 earthquake, and the house was sold around 1909.
The house takes its name from Theodore Fryatt Payne, whose father made a Gold Rush fortune and who himself manufactured nuts and bolts; his wife Mary Pauline O'Brien inherited the largest share of her uncle William S. O'Brien's Comstock Lode silver fortune. The lot and building contract were in her name. Inside are Tiffany stained-glass windows, and the octagonal turret was built as a candle-snuffer.
The house is located in a residential neighborhood and can be viewed from the street, allowing visitors to examine the architecture and facade details from outside. The location is accessible by public transit and within walking distance of other historic buildings in the area.
The house was built for Theodore Fryatt Payne, whose wife Mary Pauline O'Brien had inherited the largest share of her uncle William S. O'Brien's Comstock Lode silver fortune; both the lot and the building contract were in her name. A March 1882 builders' magazine put construction at $16,500.
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