Lathrop House - Steamboat Gothic for the First Clerk

Photo: Eugene Zelenko, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)

A stop on Redwood City History Walk, a free self-guided tour.

With its steep gables, pointed arches and cut-out quatrefoil trim, this house looks a little like a riverboat on dry land. That is the Steamboat Gothic style, and this is one of the best examples in the county.

Mary Lathrop bought the land in 1858, and the house was finished in 1863 for her and her husband, Benjamin Lathrop, the first clerk, recorder and assessor of San Mateo County. Later owners included Patrick Edward Connor, a Union general. In 1905 Sheriff Joel Mansfield bought the house and moved it from Broadway to Hamilton Street.

The county bought it in 1968, and it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. In 2019 it rolled once more, to this spot beside the History Museum. The house opens for tours only on certain days, so check before you go; from the sidewalk you can still admire the gables and the lacy wooden trim.

Getting here: Walk along the west side of the old courthouse up Hamilton Street to 701 Hamilton, about two minutes.

Did you know?: The Lathrop House has moved at least twice: from its first lot on Broadway in 1905, and to its present spot next to the History Museum in 2019.

Photo op: From across Hamilton Street, frame the whole front with its pointed gables and quatrefoil trim.

More on Wikipedia: Lathrop House · Patrick Edward Connor

Lathrop House - Steamboat Gothic for the First Clerk

Stops on this tour