The History of Westerfeld Mansion

The Westerfeld Mansion
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The Westerfeld Mansion
William Westerfeld, a German confectioner, hired Henry Geilfuss to come up with the design of a house for his family of six people. In the 1870s, Westerfeld settled in San Francisco. About ten years later, the confectioner had already established a bakery chain. Geilfuss was a builder, and upon being contracted by Westerfeld, he designed the William Westerfeld Mansion, which was built at 1198 Fulton Street, San Francisco. The construction began in 1889, and it cost Westerfeld about $9,985. The house had 28 rooms and an adjoining carriage room and a rose garden. At that particular time, the Westerfeld Mansion was designed to meet the needs of its owner’s family. Even after spending more money to build a house for his family, Westerfeld died six years later in 1895. As such, his family did not have enough time to enjoy living in the mansion since John Mahoney bought it. After Westerfeld died, his mansion was occupied by different individuals who redesigned and modified it to suit their needs. Jim Siegel bought the Westerfeld Mansion in 1986. The individual renovated the dropping ceilings, re-plumbed, re-roofed, re-wired, and restored the exterior and interior woodwork. In particular, Siegel decorated the twenty-five-foot ceiling with wallpaper that Bradbury & Bradbury crafted (Alchetron, 2018). The paper focuses on how the Westerfeld Mansion changed its design to accommodate a different set of occupants, how social classes contributed to the change of the house design, and how technology impacted its design.
Witold Rybczynski portrays that people from different generations, periods, and social classes have a distinct definition of comfort. That explains why they use different decorations, architectural styles, and house setups. For example, the Westerfeld Mansion was designed and built in a stick style (National Park Service, 1989). Rybczynski asserts that neo-gothic architectural styles were mostly used for parliament or church buildings (Rybczynski, 1987). When it comes to the design of the rooms, it significantly depends on the social class of the house owner. That is the reason why a house like that of Mrs. Lauder’s Louis XVI had authentic and antique furniture since the individual could afford it. Besides, the Westerfeld Mansion had wood furniture and decorations. Although many of the furniture in this house remained intact, occupants of this building changed the setup to suit their social classes or any upcoming need influenced by technology. Rybczynski claims that occupants of a house significantly influence its design depending on the usage. For example, Georgian English families used lower rooms for activities such as music, dancing, and dining (Rybczynski, 1987). However, upper rooms were used for private activities such as offices. Individuals’ social classes also significantly affect the design of the furniture. For instance, the French bourgeois class uses light and movable furniture to show informality and intimacy.
Since the death of Westerfeld, the Westerfeld Mansion has been modified several times to suit the different needs of its new occupants. Notably, the exterior architectural style has remained unchanged for many years apart from minor alterations during repairs and maintenance. For example, in 1901, Mahoney, a wealthy person, added a window in the second-story to match with the interior, despite it being different from others. Moreover, the second owner installed a garage for his Stanley Steamer. During the 1800 and early 1900, the rooms for children and adults did not have significant differences (“The 1900 House – Episode 2 – A Rude Awakening,” 2015). Specifically, the primary furniture in the sleeping room was a bed and a built-in cabinet for putting clothes. For women and girls, they had a big mirror where they would fix themselves, particularly when dressing for special occasions (“The 1900 House – Episode 3 – A Woman’s Place,” 2015). Beds were made of either steel or mahogany wood. The living room was the most decorated part of the Westerfeld Mansion. Indeed, since the time of its original owner, this section of the house has wooden chairs and tables. Other decorations were antiques, where many of them were put on reserved places, among them, being above the fireplace. Although the bathroom was in the upper part of the house, the toilet was located outside. In the 1900s, many middle-income families employed servants to do house chores since all parents were working and did not have enough time for such activities. However, servants and children were restricted from entering adult bedrooms unless permitted and under supervision. Today, Siegel, the current owner of the Westerfeld Mansion, has been restoring one room after the other so that it can be the way it used to be originally. As such, the rooms that were reserved for children and servants are still t...