The Charles W. Merrill House is a 6,000-square-foot residence built in 1938 and located in Orinda, California. Designed by regionally prominent architect Walter H. Ratcliff, of Berkeley, California for mining engineer and San Francisco businessman Charles Washington Merrill.
Built in 1938, the house's architecture reflects elements of Spanish Colonial Revival architecture.[2] However, with the house's two stories, low-pitched roofline, and second-story balcony on the front elevation, it also reflects Monterey style architecture, popular in large California homes built between 1925 and 1940.[3][2]
The house and grounds were designed as a small country estate. The house occupies a hillside location and is sited on two stonework terraces, pierced by three stone staircases placed among gardens designed by landscape architect Mabel Symmes in 1938–1939.[4]
The house is significant under Criterion B for its association with the final stage of Charles W. Merrill's long and distinguished career. Merrill lived in the house during the period in which he presided over a highly diversified engineering corporation, with worldwide influence, that had grown from Merrill's pioneering patents and discoveries of the 1890s and 1900s. The house also is significant under Criterion C as an example of the eclecticism that architect Walter H. Ratcliff brought to his architecture. Built in the mature phase of Ratcliff's career, the Merrill House with its elements of Spanish Colonial Revival and Monterey styles reflect Ratcliff's distinctive blend of academic eclecticism and keen awareness of regional topography, climate, and setting.
Robert W. Ratcliff. The Ratcliff Architects. An oral history conducted by the Regional Oral History Office of The Bancroft Library, University of California. Berkeley: University of California, 1990.
David W. Ryder. The Merrill Story. San Francisco: The Merrill Company, 1958.
charles, merrill, house, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, de. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Charles W Merrill House news newspapers books scholar JSTOR December 2018 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Charles W Merrill House is a 6 000 square foot residence built in 1938 and located in Orinda California Designed by regionally prominent architect Walter H Ratcliff of Berkeley California for mining engineer and San Francisco businessman Charles Washington Merrill Charles W Merrill HouseU S National Register of Historic PlacesShow map of CaliforniaShow map of the United StatesLocation407 Camino SobranteOrinda CaliforniaCoordinates37 53 51 N 122 11 17 W 37 89750 N 122 18806 W 37 89750 122 18806Area0 8 acres 0 32 ha Built1938ArchitectWalter H RatcliffLandscape architectMable SymmesArchitectural styleSpanish Colonial RevivalNRHP reference No 05000251 1 Added to NRHPApril 7 2005National Register 05000251 Charles W Merrill House Contents 1 History 2 See also 3 References 4 External linksHistory editBuilt in 1938 the house s architecture reflects elements of Spanish Colonial Revival architecture 2 However with the house s two stories low pitched roofline and second story balcony on the front elevation it also reflects Monterey style architecture popular in large California homes built between 1925 and 1940 3 2 The house and grounds were designed as a small country estate The house occupies a hillside location and is sited on two stonework terraces pierced by three stone staircases placed among gardens designed by landscape architect Mabel Symmes in 1938 1939 4 The house is significant under Criterion B for its association with the final stage of Charles W Merrill s long and distinguished career Merrill lived in the house during the period in which he presided over a highly diversified engineering corporation with worldwide influence that had grown from Merrill s pioneering patents and discoveries of the 1890s and 1900s The house also is significant under Criterion C as an example of the eclecticism that architect Walter H Ratcliff brought to his architecture Built in the mature phase of Ratcliff s career the Merrill House with its elements of Spanish Colonial Revival and Monterey styles reflect Ratcliff s distinctive blend of academic eclecticism and keen awareness of regional topography climate and setting See also editNational Register of Historic Places listings in Contra Costa County CaliforniaReferences edit National Register Information System National Register of Historic Places National Park Service July 9 2010 a b National Register 05000251 Charles W Merrill House in Orinda California noehill com Retrieved 2018 12 21 MERRILL CHARLES W HOUSE CA State Parks State of California Retrieved 2018 12 21 National Register of Historic Places Continuation Form United States Department of the Interior 2005 04 07 Charles W Merrill House Contra Costa County California Listed in the National Register of Historic Places 7 April 2005 Link to full text of nomination https npgallery nps gov NRHP GetAsset NRHP 05000251 text Robert W Ratcliff The Ratcliff Architects An oral history conducted by the Regional Oral History Office of The Bancroft Library University of California Berkeley University of California 1990 David W Ryder The Merrill Story San Francisco The Merrill Company 1958 External links edit nbsp 15 photographs from the NRHP nomination form nbsp This article about a property in Contra Costa County California on the National Register of Historic Places is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Charles W Merrill House amp oldid 1111230476, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
