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McDonald Mansion, "Mableton", Santa Rosa, California

The McDonald Mansion, originally named Mableton, was built in 1879 by Mark Lindsey McDonald, one of Santa Rosa’s  prominent early citizens. This Santa Rosa landmark (National Registry of Historical Homes #74000560) is being painstakingly restored by MastersTouch Construction, Inc. of Santa Rosa, California. The intricate rehabilitation construction process of the mansion is being lead by John Cake and Martin Nelson, of MastersTouch Construction, Inc. Colonel McDonald, a Kentucky native, came west as captain of a wagon train in the early 1850’s. Trained in engineering, he first built roadways servicing gold and silver mines. His early successes allowed him to buy a seat on the San Francisco Stock Exchange, during which time he joined the ranks of the rich and powerful, including Randolph Hearst, Leland Stanford and Charles Crocker. By the late 1860’s, McDonald had begun to apply his wealth, influence and entrepreneurial spirit to new business opportunities in Santa Rosa. These included purchase and subdivision of the 160 acres of land in what was known as the McDonald’s Addition. During the 1870’s, the new development flourished and McDonald Avenue became the premier residential street of Santa Rosa. The neighborhood’s popularity was enhanced by a range of amenities including gas and water service, a new streetcar line established by Colonel McDonald and an extensive tree planting program implemented with the assistance of famed local horticulturalist Luther Burbank. McDonald was active in civic affairs and was instrumental in the development of numerous local improvements, including Santa Rosa’s first library, the first steam railroad brought to Santa Rosa and operation of the Santa Rosa Water Works Company, an early private utility. He capitalized and built the nearby reservoir known as Lake Raphine, which was named for McDonald’s wife, Ralphine North McDonald. His other business interests included fruit packing plants and drying yards in the area. The McDonald family had their primary residence in San Francisco.

McDonald Mansion "Mableton", Santa Rosa, California

 The McDonald Mansion, originally named Mableton, was built in 1879 by Mark Lindsey McDonald, one of Santa Rosa’s  prominent early citizens. This Santa Rosa landmark (National Registry of Historical Homes #74000560) is being painstakingly restored by MastersTouch Construction, Inc. of Santa Rosa. The intricate rehabilitation construction process of the mansion is being lead by John Cake and Martin Nelson, of MastersTouch Construction, Inc. Colonel McDonald, a Kentucky native, came west as captain of a wagon train in the early 1850’s. Trained in engineering, he first built roadways servicing gold and silver mines. His early successes allowed him to buy a seat on the San Francisco Stock Exchange, during which time he joined the ranks of the rich and powerful, including Randolph Hearst, Leland Stanford and Charles Crocker. By the late 1860’s, McDonald had begun to apply his wealth, influence and entrepreneurial spirit to new business opportunities in Santa Rosa. These included purchase and subdivision of the 160 acres of land in what was known as the McDonald’s Addition. During the 1870’s, the new development flourished and McDonald Avenue became the premier residential street of Santa Rosa. The neighborhood’s popularity was enhanced by a range of amenities including gas and water service, a new streetcar line established by Colonel McDonald and an extensive tree planting program implemented with the assistance of famed local horticulturalist Luther Burbank. McDonald was active in civic affairs and was instrumental in the development of numerous local improvements, including Santa Rosa’s first library, the first steam railroad brought to Santa Rosa and operation of the Santa Rosa Water Works Company, an early private utility. He capitalized and built the nearby reservoir known as Lake Raphine, which was named for McDonald’s wife, Ralphine North McDonald. His other business interests included fruit packing plants and drying yards in the area. The McDonald family had their primary residence in San Fransico.

The architectural form of the McDonald Mansion is unusual for a substantial California home of it’s era. It can be described as a large scale adaption of a “raised Southern Cottage” designed with a single main living level over an above ground basement intended as a flood precaution. In this case, the second story is an attic level with sloping ceilings and dormer windows in the bedrooms. The McDonalds called their home Mableton in homage to the childhood plantation of Ralphine North McDonald on the Mississippi River. A signature design feature is it extravagant use of flat swan and cut-out wood oranamet characteristic of the Stick and Eastlake styles in vogue during that time.The passion for ornament and individualism combined with the thriving lumber industry was to lead to the creation of a less common, but highly decorated style of wooden architecture. Not named until Vincent Scully called attention to it in the 1950s, the Stick Style flourished from about 1860 to 1890, and featured angular and rectilinear patterns of boards used as ornamentation on the exterior of the house. The Stick Style grew from the "Picturesque Gothic" style first popularized by A. J. Davis and A. J. Downing in such publications as Davis' "Rural Residences of 1837 and Downing's 1850 publication "The Architecture of Country Houses, and was further developed in the pattern books of the 1860s and 1870s. The invention of the ballooned frame and the steam-powered scrool saw made wood the preferred material of construction, especially as lumber was plentiful supply in many areas and was both cheaper and less difficult to work with than stone. As a style it is generally considered to be a linking development between the Gothic Revival and Queen Anne, while all three styles ultimately have their roots in the Medieval English domestic architecture with its emphasis on the vernacular. The Eastlake style was named after Charles Lock Eastlake (1836-1906. Charles Eastlake studied under the prominent painter Sir Charles Lock Eastlake, his name sake and uncle. He continued his art studies at the Royal Academy in London. HE wrote "Hints on Household Tastes in Furniture, Upholstery and other Details (published 1868), using aesthetic reasoning to decry the excesses of nineteeth century taste in favor of a more robust, straightforward style. The book was particularly welcomed in the United States where his aesthetic direction was popularly labeled the Eastlake Style. Eastlake followed his first success with another notable book "A History of the Gothic Revival" published in 1872. He served as assistant secretary on the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1866 and as a keeper at the National Gallery in London from 1878 until 1898. (The Houses We Live In, Jeffery Howe, PRC Publishing Ltd.,2002)

The architectural design work is being done by Steve Rynerson of Rynerson O'Brien Architecture of Oakland, California and Paul Duchscherer of Historical Design Consultant of San Francisco, California.

The application of California redwood ornament to a Southern building form makes it a unique domestic hybrid. Another defining feature of the McDonald Mansion is the context of the house in its landscape. Specimen trees,spacious lawns and a balance of formal and informal organization on ideal summer home setting fr lavish entertaining. The grounds have been cared for over the years by Chris Pederson the owner of Tending Garden.

The McDonald Mansion has survived the 1906 earthquake (that killed 75 people before dawn on April 18, 1906 in the Great Earthquake) in Santa Rosa, decades of neglect, an ingoing threat of demolition and redevelopment, and a serious fire (which the mother of John Cake, MastersTouch Construction, Inc. was the insurance agent of the home at the time of the fire). The property survived because of the dedication, persistence and hard work of numerous community members who recognized its historical and cultural significance to the City of Santa Rosa.

The 1960 Disney movie Pollyanna, staring Hayley Miles, with Jane Wyman, Karl Malden, Anne Seymour and Agnes Moorehead was filmed at the McDonald Mansion ( www.imdb.com ).Pollyanna is the orphaned daughter of missionaries who arrives in the small town of Harrington to live with her rich aunt, Polly Harrington (Pollyanna is a cheerful youngster who focuses on the goodness of life and, in doing so, makes a wide variety of friends in the community including the hypochondriac Mrs. Snow and the acidic recluse Mr. Pendergast ( www.wikipedia.com ).

The major renovation of the McDonald Mansion currently underway will encompass multiple phases involving restoration and rehabilitation. The undertaking of the restoration of the most famous home in Santa Rosa drew people to stop and gaze through the break in the hedge at the myriad of workers, supplies, noise and excitement emanating from the grand residence. The first phase consisted of the demolition of portions of the existing structure (including the two non-original structures on the rear of the mansion) and concrete slabs, excavation, shoring and bracing for deeper and enlarged basement and removal of the inadequate brick foundation, rough under-slab plumbing, new foundation, retaining walls and concrete slabs, waterproofing, structural wood framing and new structural steel. Associated with this was site work which included drain lines, sump pumps and driveway leading to a new garage in the basement. The basement now includes a Garden Room, Theater Room and Caretaker's quarters. The most visible exterior improvements will be the restoration of the missing two-tiered cresting and the reconstruction of the original Gazebo in its new location. Because of the scope and highly specialized nature of the of the work in progress, the project is expected to take at least three years. Consistent with its historic use, Mableton will remain a single family private residence.

The extensive exterior restoration and rehabilitation of the approximately 15,000 square foot home involves the replacement of the two tiered cresting, new roofing, restoration of the wrap around porch. removal of two latter additions to the rear of the home and in their place construction of historically correct Garden Room, Caretaker's living quarters, Master bedroom suite,and kitchen.

The construction restoration is scheduled to be completed late 2010 to early 2011.

The McDonalds have a family plot in the Santa Rosa Rural Cemetery. A part of Santa Rosa's history is found in a 17 acre plot of land which borders Franklin Avenue, which has a view of McDonald Avenue.

References

The Houses We Live In, PRC Publishing Ltd., Editor Jeffery Howe. Santa Rosa Rural Cemetery Preservation Committee, December, 2006. Sonoma County Library History Annex Rynerson O'Brien Architecture

External links

• [1]

www.pressdemocrat.com www.hookedonhouses.com [2] [http://www.nps.gov