Camron-Stanford House

The Camron-Stanford House is a residence from the 1870s with Italianate architecture and a large veranda, located beside Lake Merritt in Oakland's historic district. It preserves original furnishings and gardens from that era, showing how the interior rooms and grounds looked when the family lived there.

The building was constructed in 1876 and served as home to five different wealthy families, including William Camron and Josiah Stanford. In 1907 it became Oakland's first museum and remains one of the oldest surviving lakeside estates from that building period.

The house displays how wealthy families lived in the 1800s, with rooms showing their daily routines and social customs of the time. The furnished spaces tell the story of what mattered to upper-class households during the Victorian era.

The property is open to visitors several days a week, and the rooms can be explored at your own pace. Visitor groups and special events need to be arranged in advance and can use both the indoor and outdoor spaces.

This is the only surviving lakeside residence from over 150 years ago, when grand homes once circled the entire lake. It stands alone because all other waterfront mansions from that era have been demolished or disappeared.