Dunsmuir House was built by Alexander Dunsmuir, who came
to the Bay Area in 1878. The son of Robert Dunsmuir, a wealthy
coal baron from Victoria, British Columbia, Alexander oversaw
the family business in San Francisco.
When Alexander purchased the large estate in the rolling
East Bay foothills, the land featured fruit
orchards, farms and vestiges of the Spanish rancho days.
The elegant mansion was built as a wedding gift for his
beloved Josephine in December 1899. Tragically, Alexander
became ill and died while in New York on their honeymoon.
Josephine returned alone to her new home where she resided
until her death in 1901.
In 1906, the estate was purchased by I.W. Hellman Jr. who
worked for Wells Fargo Bank in San Francisco, as a summer
home for his family. They dubbed their estate Oakvale Park.
By 1913 the mansion was remodeled to accommodate the growing
Hellman family and their acquisitions from European travels.
The Hellmans enjoyed the estate together for fourteen years
until Mr. Hellman died in 1920. Mrs. Hellman kept the estate,
where her children and grandchildren came for long summer
days, until the late 1950's. During the Hellman era the
landscaping at the northern end of the estate was developed,
and the swimming pool and Dinkelspiel House were added to
the estate.
The
estate was purchased by the City of Oakland in the early
1960s with the intent of using the grounds and mansion as
a conference center. The latter did not prove feasible and
a non-profit organization was formed in 1971 to preserve
and restore the estate for the public benefit. For many
years, the non-profit group and the City jointly operated
the estate.
In June 1989 an Agreement was entered into between the
City of Oakland and the non-profit Dunsmuir House and Gardens,
Inc. whereby the City gave the non-profit full responsibility
for funding, operating, promoting, preserving, restoring,
developing and improving Dunsmuir House and Gardens Historic
Estate. The 50-acre estate is to be used as an educational,
historical, cultural, and horticultural resource.
The Dunsmuir House mansion has been designated a National
Historic Site by the United States Department of the Interior
and both the mansion and the Carriage House have been designated
Historic Landmarks by the City of Oakland.
ARCHITECTURE
The
Dunsmuir mansion, designed by San Francisco architect, J.
Eugene Freeman, is an example of Neoclassical-Revival architecture
popular in the late 1800s. The 37-room mansion features
a Tiffany-style dome, woodpaneled public rooms, 10 fireplaces
and inlaid parquet floors within its 16,224 square feet.
Servants quarters in the house are designed to accommodate
12 live-in staff.
GROUNDS
Golden
Gate Park's landscape architect, John McLaren, is said to
have assisted the Hellmans in designing the Dunsmuir gardens.
A wide variety of trees, including Camperdown Elms, Bunya-Bunya
and Hornbeam, still grace the estate's gardens and expansive
meadows. In addition, the Hellman estate contained a golf
course, formal croquet court, tennis court, swimming pool
with Mission-style bathhouse, glass conservatory with grotto,
an elaborate aviary, formal garden maze, and Japanese garden.
View an Interactive
Grounds Map.
Take a virtual tour of the estate
and the mansion...
fruit
orchards, farms and vestiges of the Spanish rancho days.
The elegant mansion was built as a wedding gift for his
beloved Josephine in December 1899. Tragically, Alexander
became ill and died while in New York on their honeymoon.
Josephine returned alone to her new home where she resided
until her death in 1901. 
The
estate was purchased by the City of Oakland in the early
1960s with the intent of using the grounds and mansion as
a conference center. The latter did not prove feasible and
a non-profit organization was formed in 1971 to preserve
and restore the estate for the public benefit. For many
years, the non-profit group and the City jointly operated
the estate. 
The
Dunsmuir mansion, designed by San Francisco architect, J.
Eugene Freeman, is an example of Neoclassical-Revival architecture
popular in the late 1800s. The 37-room mansion features
a Tiffany-style dome, woodpaneled public rooms, 10 fireplaces
and inlaid parquet floors within its 16,224 square feet.
Servants quarters in the house are designed to accommodate
12 live-in staff. 
Golden
Gate Park's landscape architect, John McLaren, is said to
have assisted the Hellmans in designing the Dunsmuir gardens.
A wide variety of trees, including Camperdown Elms, Bunya-Bunya
and Hornbeam, still grace the estate's gardens and expansive
meadows. In addition, the Hellman estate contained a golf
course, formal croquet court, tennis court, swimming pool
with Mission-style bathhouse, glass conservatory with grotto,
an elaborate aviary, formal garden maze, and Japanese garden.
View an