Chambers Mansion
The Chambers Mansion is a historic house that was built in 1887, and is located at 2220 Sacramento Street in the Pacific Heights neighborhood of San Francisco, California.[1] In 2010, CBS News declared the Chambers Mansion one of the "scariest haunted houses" in the United States, based on stories of its dark history.[2]
| Chambers Mansion | |
|---|---|
 Chambers Mansion in 2017 | |
| Location | 2220 Sacramento Street, San Francisco, California, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 37.791290°N 122.430237°W |
| Built | 1887 |
| Built for | R. C. Chambers |
| Architect | Julius Case Mathews, J. C. Mathews & Son |
| Architectural style(s) | Queen Anne Victorian, Gothic Revival architecture, |
| Designated | October 5, 1980[1] |
| Reference no. | 119 |
  Location of Chambers Mansion in San Francisco County  Chambers Mansion (California)  Chambers Mansion (the United States) | |
The house is listed as one of the San Francisco Designated Landmark, since October 5, 1980.[1]
History
The architect for the house was Julius Case Mathews and the firm J. C. Mathews & Son.[3] The architectural style is Queen Anne Victorian with Gothic and Tuscan details.[4]
The Chambers Mansion was built in 1877 for R. C. Chambers (Robert Craig, sometimes incorrectly identified as Richard Craig; 1832–1901); and for his wife Eudora T. (née Tolles; 1848–1897).[5][6][7] Chambers was an Utah mining tycoon, banker, and politician.[8] Eudora Tolles Chambers died in 1897 at the age 48/49, following suicide attempts.[9][5] After Chamber's death in 1901 and with no direct heirs, his house in San Francisco was inherited.[6] There are conflicting stories about who inherited the house; some stories say his younger sister Ada Chambers; and other stories say it was either his two nieces (or Eudora's two nieces Lillian and Harriet).[6]
In 1917, an addition was added to the house by architect Houghton Sawyer.[4][3][10]
In 1977, Bob Pritikin opened the "Mansion Hotel", a bed and breakfast at the Chambers Mansion.[11] The decor as a hotel was eclectic and featured nightly magic shows.[5] In 2000, he sold the hotel, by then it was designated a city landmark, and was converted into two private townhouses.[5]
Haunting and folklore
The Chambers Mansion has been the subject of many stories.[6] The most popular (but untrue) story is Chamber's niece Claudia Chambers lived with her sister in the inherited house, and the sisters did not get along. In 1917, they built a second house on the property so they could live separately.[6] Claudia was murdered, she was sawed in half in what the family claimed as a farming accident.[6] The ghost of Claudia has been seen haunting the house. However nobody named "Claudia Chambers" ever lived in the house, per city records.[6]
References
- "San Francisco Landmark #119: Chambers Mansion". noehill.com. Retrieved 2022-11-06.
- "Scariest Haunted Houses in U.S." CBS News. October 28, 2010. Retrieved 2022-11-07.
- Accardi, Catherine (2012). San Francisco Landmarks. Arcadia Publishing. p. 33. ISBN 978-0-7385-9580-1.
- "Ordinance Designating Landmark" (PDF). San Francisco Planning. September 5, 1980.
- Vickers, Marques (2019-08-25). Twisted Tour Guide to the San Francisco Bay Area: Shocking Deaths, Scandals and Vice. Marquis Publishing.
- Dowd, Katie (2018-10-23). "The ridiculous San Francisco 'murder' that somehow got accepted as fact". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2022-11-07.
- "R. C. Chambers Dead". The Ogden Standard. 1901-04-12. p. 1. Retrieved 2022-11-07.
- Gibson, Richard I. (April 25, 2022). "Mining City History: R.C. Chambers founder of one of Butte's first banks". Montana Standard. Retrieved 2022-11-07.
- "Under An Engine, Mrs. R. C. Chambers Tries To Commit Suicide". The Morning Call. January 3, 1894. p. 7.
- McGrew, Patrick (1991). Landmarks of San Francisco. H.N. Abrams. p. 176. ISBN 978-0-8109-3557-0.
- Niekerken, Bill Van (2020-12-15). "A colorful, possibly haunted hotel drew celebrity guests — and angry neighbors". San Francisco Chronicle. ISSN 1932-8672. Retrieved 2022-11-06.