Location: California / Mason, SE corner.
Mark Hopkins Jr. (1814-1878) was one of the four founders of the Central Pacific Railroad in 1861. He built an ornate Victorian mansion at the top of Nob Hill (SE corner California / Mason) starting in 1875. The tower of the mansion was then the highest point in San Francisco. Hopkins' widow died in 1891, leaving the mansion building to the San Francisco Art Institute as the Mark Hopkins Institute of Art. The mansion was destroyed by the 1906 fire and the Mark Hopkins Hotel was built on the site in 1926. The terrace just south of the mansion had a wonderful view of downtown, as seen on the Nob Hill Panorama page.
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