McElroy Octagon House

Famously known as McElroy Octagon House, the Octagon House San Francisco is an architectural treasure situated on 2645 Gough Street (at Union Street). The house which was built as a private residence by a miller called William C. McElroy in 1861 is one of the rare two surviving octagonal structures in San Francisco. The house was a result of the experimental trend of octagonal architectural structures, which was inspired by the publication of an essay titled The Octagon House: A Home For All, or A New, Cheap, Convenient, and Superior Mode of Building (1848) by Orson Squire Fowler, who claimed that the octagon houses were cost-efficient and supported spacious room dimensions.

The McElroy Octagon House remained as the private residence of the McElroy family until William’s death in 1869. Soon after, the house started to entertain paying guests and was finally transformed into a rental house which became the creational cavernous hub of artists such as Daniel O’Connell.  The infamous 1906 earthquake devoured the house, which was soon renovated by the McElroy family. The house was in a state of negligence when in 1961 The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America in California bought it and renovated it with financial aids.

The Octagon House San Francisco subsequently became a museum famous for its sprouting green garden and displays which included a letter from William McElroy, signs on the Declaration of Independence of the USA, oriental antiques, furniture, silverware, and portraits.