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Overview

This two-story hotel likely existed for a very short time, but gained rapid fame as a gambling spot in early Anglo-American San Francisco, CA. It burned in the first great San Francisco fire of 12/24-25/1849. This fire began in the neighboring Dennison's Exchange, burning buildings on the east side of Portsmouth Square and spreading to destroy structures on the south side of Washington Street between Montgomery and Kearny Streets.

Building History

This early hotel, owned by Jeremiah Clark, served a mostly-male Gold Rush clientele. According to architectural historian, Harold Kirker, during the real estate frenzy of 1849, the second floor of the Parker House was rented exclusively to gamblers for $60,000 per year. Kirker described the hotel: "The Parker House, erected on the old Spanish plaza in 1849, was either constructed of sections shipped from the East Coast or pieced together from imported materials. If the latter is true, the hotel was probably designed by Levi Goodrich, who is credited with the first work wrought in San Francisco by a professional architect." (See Harold Kirker, California's Architectural Frontier, [Salt Lake City: Gibbs M. Smith Publishing, Incorporated, 1986], p, 32, 41-42.)

Another Parker House Hotel was built on the same site in early 1850. Theatre owner Thomas Maguire owned the Parker House #2, which also housed the Jenny Lind Theatre #1, in 1850.

Building Notes

As depicted in Bayard Taylor's book, Eldorado; or, Adventures in the Path of Empire: Comprising a Voyage to California, via Panama, Life in San Francisco and Monterey, Pictures of the Gold Region, and Experiences of Mexican Travel, (London: Richard Bentley, 1850, p. 346), the Parker House was a two-story, wood-framed building with eight dormers on its gable roof. The first and second floors on the front facade had nine windows, those on the lower level being shaded by a covered porch that ran the length of the Portsmouth Square facade. This wooden covered porch provided a balcony for rooms on the second floor. Entry was in the center of the front facade.

Demolition

The Parker House Hotel #1 was likely demolished in the San Francisco fire of 12/24/1849. It was likely rebuilt sometime during 1850. It was then purchased by theatre owner Thomas Maguire in 1850 and either demolished or remodeled to become the Jenny Lind Theatre #1.

Maguire's Jenny Lind Theatre #1 and Jenny Lind Theatre #2 burned twice in 1851, and a Jenny Lind Theatre #3 was built on its site. This third, more substantial theatre opened on 10/04/1851 and was purchased controversially by the City and County of San Francisco for use at the City Hall.

PCAD id: 17406