Lathrop House (Redwood City, California)
The Lathrop House, also known as the Lathrop-Connor-Mansfield House, is one of the San Francisco Peninsula's oldest mansions. Built in Redwood City by Mary C. Lathrop, the house has been moved at least three times during its long life -- a fate common to historic buildings in a region where the land beneath them is always worth more than the structures themselves.
Peninsula Aristocracy
The Lathrop House represents the Peninsula's pre-Silicon Valley aristocracy -- families whose wealth came from shipping, timber, real estate, and the businesses that served San Francisco during its growth from Gold Rush boomtown to major city. The house's architecture reflects the tastes of that era: formal, symmetrical, and built to impress.
Twice Moved, Still Standing
The house's survival is a tribute to the preservationists who fought to save it when development threatened. Moving a historic building is expensive and disruptive, but it beats demolition, and Redwood City's willingness to relocate the Lathrop House demonstrates a community commitment to its past that not every Peninsula city shares.
From the Air
Lathrop House is at 37.488°N, 122.230°W in Redwood City. The historic house is a small structure in the downtown area. Nearest airports: San Carlos (KSQL) 2 nm north, Palo Alto (KPAO) 4 nm south.