Elm Street - Victorian Hopes for a Paper Town
A stop on San Carlos History Walk, a free self-guided tour.
These leafy blocks were drawn on maps long before most of their houses arrived. In 1888, the year the depot opened, the San Carlos Land Company, promoted by Captain N. T. Smith, bought land from Timothy Guy Phelps, graded streets and laid sewers, betting that commuters would follow the railroad. They did not come quickly. By 1895 fewer than 50 people lived in San Carlos, and a 1907 syndicate's plan to sell the area as Oak Park also stalled.
The Italianate Victorian at 408 Elm Street is one of the survivors of those hopeful years. It was built in 1912 for Adolf Paulson, a Danish immigrant, and a city historical marker tells his story. Real growth came after 1917, which is why these blocks mix a few older homes with the cottages and bungalows of the 1920s and later.
The house is private, so admire it from the sidewalk and notice its tall windows and decorative trim.
Getting here: Walk back downhill toward downtown, about 15 minutes, to 408 Elm Street, two blocks north of City Hall.
Did you know?: By 1895, seven years after the land company laid out its streets, San Carlos still had fewer than 50 residents.
Photo op: From across Elm Street, frame the whole Paulson house with its trim and tall windows, keeping the street trees at the edges.
More on Wikipedia: Italianate architecture · Timothy Guy Phelps
Stops on this tour
- San Carlos Depot - The Stone Station That Started a Town
- Arguello Site - Lamchin Land and the Rancho of Fleas
- Brittan Party House - A Bohemian Hunting Lodge
- Elm Street - Victorian Hopes for a Paper Town
- City Hall - From Schoolhouse to the City of Good Living
- Casa de Flores - A Church for a Growing Town
- Terminal Way - Where San Carlos Learned to Fly
- Brittan Avenue - Airstrip, Racetrack and Radio Tubes
- Museum of San Carlos History - The Firehouse, Rebuilt
- Laurel Street - Main Street of the City of Good Living