San Gregorio House, San Gregorio Road, San Gregorio, San Mateo County, CA

Significance: A second floor was added to the existing house here in about 1865 when G.W.T. Carter opened a hotel. When John Evans acquired the building in 1875 he added seven bays to the three-bay house. Jesse Palmer and Frank Bell ran the hotel from 1888 until the 1930s. The house is still in the Bell family. The original three bay dwelling was expanded to form the San Gregorio House when the area began to receive tourist activity in the 1850's. For over sixty years it was a popular lodging place for fishermen, hunters and numerous prominent persons from California and Europe. With exception of the cookhouse and livery stable, all of the original outbuildings remain. Thes include: saloon, dance hall, liveryman's cottage, laundry, smoke house, grainery, carriage sheds, power house, water tower, and numerous barns. These buildings, constructed of local redwood, display a restrained use of Greek Revival detailing typical of coastside ranch architecture of a century ago. The most dominant decorative feature is the columned veranda which runs the full length of the hotel and supports a balcony with its original balustrade. The simply framed windows are largely unchanged, as are the many four-paneled doors. Viewed in its impressive natural surroundings, this unique hotel complex presents a convincing nineteenth century landscape.
Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: FN-188
Survey number: HABS CA-1993
Building/structure dates: 1812 Initial Construction
Building/structure dates: 1865 Subsequent Work
Building/structure dates: 1875 Subsequent Work
Building/structure dates: 1933 Subsequent Work
Building/structure dates: ca. 1955 Subsequent Work