J. Mora Moss House
Encyclopedia
J. Mora Moss House is a boldly romantic Carpenter Gothic
style Victorian
home located within Mosswood Park
in Oakland, California
. It was built in 1864, bought by Oakland in 1912 and documented by the Historic American Buildings Survey
in 1960 at which point it was pronounced "One of the finest, if not the finest, existing examples of Gothic architecture of French and English influence as adapted to wood frame domestic architecture to be found in the East Bay Area, and possibly in Northern California." The building was named Oakland Heritage Landmark #6 on January 7, 1975. It is one of five historic homes owned by the City of Oakland and currently serves as an office and storage space of the Oakland Parks and Recreation department.
The building is also known as J. Mora Moss Home, J. Mora Moss Cottage, Mosswood Cottage and simply Mosswood.
in 1850 or 1854 to work as a clerk in a bank. From there he built a fortune in banking, ice and fur importing, canal and railroad building and telegraph and gas utilities. It was his wish to retire away from the city's hustle and bustle. Moss acquired a large parcel of land outside of Oakland's downtown, and he commissioned S. H. Williams on February 29, 1864 to design a two-story home on the property for US$14,500 plus building materials supplied by Moss. Williams, who referred to the design as a 'Gothic Cottage', contracted Joseph F. Heston to construct the building, but Heston defaulted on December 8, 1864. Moss finished the construction with his own builders guided by S. H. Williams. No records exist tallying the total cost of building the home.
Moss, a longtime bachelor, married his housekeeper, Julia Theresa Wood, in 1867. They named the estate "Mosswood", a concatenation of their two surnames.
Moss served as president of the Board of Trustees of the California State Asylum for the Deaf, Dumb and Blind
. In 1868, Moss was elected Honorary Regent to the first Board of Regents of the University of California
and was appointed regent in 1874 at which post he served until his death at Mosswood on November 21, 1880.
Julia Wood Moss retained title to Mosswood after her husband's death. In the early 1890s, she supervised additions to the home. A single story study was constructed and modifications to the library were carried out. A large east-by-southeast-facing bay window dormer was added to the master bedroom over the drawing room. Mrs. Moss died childless in 1904 while vacationing in Europe.
Julia Wood Moss increased the size of her estate by purchasing a parcel of land from C. W. Hathaway after the death of her husband. The new strip of land extended the property past Glen Echo Creek to Broadway.
After the death of Julia Wood Moss, the estate was subdivided: the northwestern section of the property was sold to developers who built single-family residential homes. The remaining 11 acres (44,515.5 m²) Mosswood plot (which contained the main house) went to probate court for public auction
. Oakland mayor Frank Kanning Mott, an advocate of the City Beautiful movement
, pushed to save as much of the parcel as possible for public greenspace. City attorney John McElroy bid against a developer's syndicate with a winning bid of $65,100 borrowed by Mott from a group of bankers; the city's coffers were devoid of funds for such a purchase. In 1907, Oakland voters approved a bond measure to buy the estate from Mott's bankers and turn it into a municipal park, thus preserving the main house. The bankers erected a wrought-iron fence around the parcel to keep vandals out while park improvements were being implemented. Final transfer of the property came in 1912 at a cost of over US$100,000. In the following decades, the park's grounds were augmented with the addition of an amphitheater and a decorative pergola adjoining Broadway. Tennis and basketball courts were laid and children's playgrounds were established. Many city-sponsored activities took place at the park.
The wrought-iron fence surrounding Mosswood was taken down and donated to a scrap iron collection drive during World War II
. For a brief few months in 1942, Oakland City Council renamed the park "MacArthur Park" in honor of General Douglas MacArthur
, but the citizens of Oakland responded with roaring disapproval and the original name was reinstated. In 1945, Glen Echo Creek was undergrounded and landscaped over.
The building is constructed of Douglas Fir framing on twelve-inch (305 mm) centers holding smooth redwood plank tongue and groove
siding with redwood sleepers, ground sills and redwood exterior ornamental features. It is founded on plastered brick which surrounds the dirt floor basement and forms a pedestal to support the rest of the framing. Metal trim around the chimneys augments the wood shingle roof ("best-quality of heart redwood" shingles with clipped corners were originally specified.) Gable-ended dormers extend through the steep roofline; decorated barge-boards and heavily-molded finials, corbels and string corners adorn the dormers and roof eaves. A strong sense of verticality is enhance by tall, narrow windows and the steeply-angled 52.5° roof. The original main chimney vented flues from four fireplaces and rose in a slender pillar twelve feet above the roof at the symmetrical center of the building. Two other chimneys were of similar design. (By 1928, the tall, slender, cylindrical chimneys had been replaced by unremarkable short, rectangular brick ones.)
Honduras mahogany
was used for built-in interior cabinetry, Port Orford Cedar
trimmed the lower floor walls with the balance of wall woodwork being clear redwood. The doors have Gothic trefoil
and quatrefoil
panels and are made of thick soft wood incised to simulate black walnut.
The exterior redwood siding was painted in three coats of white lead
and linseed oil
; two of those coats were covered in "clean white sand" to provide texture and durability.
Mirrored glass as well as plated, gilded and cast metal ornamental features were shipped around the Horn
from France and England. Cast plaster rosettes, bosses and medallions detail the ceiling which otherwise is composed of geometric traceries of wood on smooth plaster. The main interior staircase is composed of three flights in a square 'U' shape and is finished in oak handrails supported by gothic arch balusters. Upper and lower flooring is 1 inches (25.4 mm) blind-nailed hard pine tongue and groove. Hard pine steps make up the stairs.
The building holds approximately 5500 square feet (511 m²) of floor space. The upper story contains three major bedrooms with a shared bath; there are also three minor bedrooms. The ground story rooms include a parlor drawing room, a study, a library, an entry room leading into a spacious stair hall, a dining room, a kitchen and a pantry. It was originally piped for gas lighting
; the gas manufactured on the premises. Gas chandeliers hung from cast plaster medallions. An elaborate fernery
with water cascade was visible from the drawing room windows.
Stained glass
decorative elements add color to selected windows. A pair of stained glass window insets hold both the Moss and the Wood family coats of arms
.
Carpenter Gothic
Carpenter Gothic, also sometimes called Carpenter's Gothic, and Rural Gothic, is a North American architectural style-designation for an application of Gothic Revival architectural detailing and picturesque massing applied to wooden structures built by house-carpenters...
style Victorian
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
home located within Mosswood Park
Mosswood Park
Mosswood Park is an public park in Oakland, California, located on W MacArthur Boulevard between Webster Street and Broadway. The address is 3612 Webster St. It is managed by the city's Department of Parks and Recreation...
in Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
. It was built in 1864, bought by Oakland in 1912 and documented by the Historic American Buildings Survey
Historic American Buildings Survey
The Historic American Buildings Survey , Historic American Engineering Record , and Historic American Landscapes Survey are programs of the National Park Service established for the purpose of documenting historic places. Records consists of measured drawings, archival photographs, and written...
in 1960 at which point it was pronounced "One of the finest, if not the finest, existing examples of Gothic architecture of French and English influence as adapted to wood frame domestic architecture to be found in the East Bay Area, and possibly in Northern California." The building was named Oakland Heritage Landmark #6 on January 7, 1975. It is one of five historic homes owned by the City of Oakland and currently serves as an office and storage space of the Oakland Parks and Recreation department.
The building is also known as J. Mora Moss Home, J. Mora Moss Cottage, Mosswood Cottage and simply Mosswood.
J. Mora Moss
Joseph Moravia Moss was born in Philadelphia in 1809 and came to San Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
in 1850 or 1854 to work as a clerk in a bank. From there he built a fortune in banking, ice and fur importing, canal and railroad building and telegraph and gas utilities. It was his wish to retire away from the city's hustle and bustle. Moss acquired a large parcel of land outside of Oakland's downtown, and he commissioned S. H. Williams on February 29, 1864 to design a two-story home on the property for US$14,500 plus building materials supplied by Moss. Williams, who referred to the design as a 'Gothic Cottage', contracted Joseph F. Heston to construct the building, but Heston defaulted on December 8, 1864. Moss finished the construction with his own builders guided by S. H. Williams. No records exist tallying the total cost of building the home.
Moss, a longtime bachelor, married his housekeeper, Julia Theresa Wood, in 1867. They named the estate "Mosswood", a concatenation of their two surnames.
Moss served as president of the Board of Trustees of the California State Asylum for the Deaf, Dumb and Blind
California School for the Blind
The California School for the Blind is a public educational institution for blind children, K-12, located in Fremont, California. Its campus is located next to the California School for the Deaf.- History :...
. In 1868, Moss was elected Honorary Regent to the first Board of Regents of the University of California
Regents of the University of California
The Regents of the University of California make up the governing board of the University of California. The Board has 26 full members:* The majority are appointed by the Governor of California for 12-year terms....
and was appointed regent in 1874 at which post he served until his death at Mosswood on November 21, 1880.
Julia Wood Moss retained title to Mosswood after her husband's death. In the early 1890s, she supervised additions to the home. A single story study was constructed and modifications to the library were carried out. A large east-by-southeast-facing bay window dormer was added to the master bedroom over the drawing room. Mrs. Moss died childless in 1904 while vacationing in Europe.
Mosswood Park
The tract of land that would become Mosswood Park was purchased by Moss from a Mr. Coffey in 1863. The home was built the following year. The Moss estate at that time was 27 acres (109,265.2 m²); more than twice as large as modern-day Mosswood Park. Moss's property stretched from Telegraph Avenue to Glen Echo Creek and from Moss Avenue (now West MacArthur Boulevard) to 36th Street.Julia Wood Moss increased the size of her estate by purchasing a parcel of land from C. W. Hathaway after the death of her husband. The new strip of land extended the property past Glen Echo Creek to Broadway.
After the death of Julia Wood Moss, the estate was subdivided: the northwestern section of the property was sold to developers who built single-family residential homes. The remaining 11 acres (44,515.5 m²) Mosswood plot (which contained the main house) went to probate court for public auction
Public auction
A public auction is an auction held on behalf of a government in which the property to be auctioned is either property owned by the government, or property which is sold under the authority of a court of law or a government agency with similar authority....
. Oakland mayor Frank Kanning Mott, an advocate of the City Beautiful movement
City Beautiful movement
The City Beautiful Movement was a reform philosophy concerning North American architecture and urban planning that flourished during the 1890s and 1900s with the intent of using beautification and monumental grandeur in cities. The movement, which was originally associated mainly with Chicago,...
, pushed to save as much of the parcel as possible for public greenspace. City attorney John McElroy bid against a developer's syndicate with a winning bid of $65,100 borrowed by Mott from a group of bankers; the city's coffers were devoid of funds for such a purchase. In 1907, Oakland voters approved a bond measure to buy the estate from Mott's bankers and turn it into a municipal park, thus preserving the main house. The bankers erected a wrought-iron fence around the parcel to keep vandals out while park improvements were being implemented. Final transfer of the property came in 1912 at a cost of over US$100,000. In the following decades, the park's grounds were augmented with the addition of an amphitheater and a decorative pergola adjoining Broadway. Tennis and basketball courts were laid and children's playgrounds were established. Many city-sponsored activities took place at the park.
The wrought-iron fence surrounding Mosswood was taken down and donated to a scrap iron collection drive during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. For a brief few months in 1942, Oakland City Council renamed the park "MacArthur Park" in honor of General Douglas MacArthur
Douglas MacArthur
General of the Army Douglas MacArthur was an American general and field marshal of the Philippine Army. He was a Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the 1930s and played a prominent role in the Pacific theater during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor for his service in the...
, but the citizens of Oakland responded with roaring disapproval and the original name was reinstated. In 1945, Glen Echo Creek was undergrounded and landscaped over.
Community center
The J. Mora Moss House itself has been host to many activities including serving as an art studio and a preschool. In the 1950s, an extensive community center addition was built adjoining the home in order to satisfy the demand for a greater number of students participating in art classes through the City of Oakland department of Parks and Recreation. The historic building was relegated to serve as staff offices and storage space. A federal survey of the historic building in 1960 noted that the interior woodwork showed signs of hard wear from years of public service.Architecture
Tongue and groove
A strong joint, the tongue and groove joint is widely used for re-entrant angles. The effect of wood shrinkage is concealed when the joint is beaded or otherwise moulded...
siding with redwood sleepers, ground sills and redwood exterior ornamental features. It is founded on plastered brick which surrounds the dirt floor basement and forms a pedestal to support the rest of the framing. Metal trim around the chimneys augments the wood shingle roof ("best-quality of heart redwood" shingles with clipped corners were originally specified.) Gable-ended dormers extend through the steep roofline; decorated barge-boards and heavily-molded finials, corbels and string corners adorn the dormers and roof eaves. A strong sense of verticality is enhance by tall, narrow windows and the steeply-angled 52.5° roof. The original main chimney vented flues from four fireplaces and rose in a slender pillar twelve feet above the roof at the symmetrical center of the building. Two other chimneys were of similar design. (By 1928, the tall, slender, cylindrical chimneys had been replaced by unremarkable short, rectangular brick ones.)
Honduras mahogany
Swietenia macrophylla
Swietenia macrophylla, commonly known as big leaf mahogany, is a species of plant in the Meliaceae family. It is one of two species that yields genuine mahogany timber, the other being Swietenia mahagoni....
was used for built-in interior cabinetry, Port Orford Cedar
Chamaecyparis lawsoniana
Chamaecyparis lawsoniana is a cypress in the genus Chamaecyparis, family Cupressaceae, known by the name Lawson's Cypress in the horticultural trade, or Port Orford-cedar in its native range . C...
trimmed the lower floor walls with the balance of wall woodwork being clear redwood. The doors have Gothic trefoil
Trefoil
Trefoil is a graphic form composed of the outline of three overlapping rings used in architecture and Christian symbolism...
and quatrefoil
Quatrefoil
The word quatrefoil etymologically means "four leaves", and applies to general four-lobed shapes in various contexts.-In heraldry:In heraldic terminology, a quatrefoil is a representation of a flower with four petals, or a leaf with four leaflets . It is sometimes shown "slipped", i.e. with an...
panels and are made of thick soft wood incised to simulate black walnut.
The exterior redwood siding was painted in three coats of white lead
Lead paint
Lead paint or lead-based paint is paint containing lead, a heavy metal, that is used as pigment, with lead chromate and lead carbonate being the most common. Lead is also added to paint to speed drying, increase durability, retain a fresh appearance, and resist moisture that causes corrosion...
and linseed oil
Linseed oil
Linseed oil, also known as flaxseed oil, is a clear to yellowish oil obtained from the dried ripe seeds of the flax plant . The oil is obtained by cold pressing, sometimes followed by solvent extraction...
; two of those coats were covered in "clean white sand" to provide texture and durability.
Mirrored glass as well as plated, gilded and cast metal ornamental features were shipped around the Horn
Cape Horn
Cape Horn is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island...
from France and England. Cast plaster rosettes, bosses and medallions detail the ceiling which otherwise is composed of geometric traceries of wood on smooth plaster. The main interior staircase is composed of three flights in a square 'U' shape and is finished in oak handrails supported by gothic arch balusters. Upper and lower flooring is 1 inches (25.4 mm) blind-nailed hard pine tongue and groove. Hard pine steps make up the stairs.
The building holds approximately 5500 square feet (511 m²) of floor space. The upper story contains three major bedrooms with a shared bath; there are also three minor bedrooms. The ground story rooms include a parlor drawing room, a study, a library, an entry room leading into a spacious stair hall, a dining room, a kitchen and a pantry. It was originally piped for gas lighting
Gas lighting
Gas lighting is production of artificial light from combustion of a gaseous fuel, including hydrogen, methane, carbon monoxide, propane, butane, acetylene, ethylene, or natural gas. Before electricity became sufficiently widespread and economical to allow for general public use, gas was the most...
; the gas manufactured on the premises. Gas chandeliers hung from cast plaster medallions. An elaborate fernery
Fernery
A fernery is a specialized garden for the cultivation and display of ferns.In many countries, ferneries are indoors or at least sheltered or kept in a shadehouse to provide a moist environment, filtered light and protection from frost and other extremes, some ferns native to arid regions require...
with water cascade was visible from the drawing room windows.
Stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
decorative elements add color to selected windows. A pair of stained glass window insets hold both the Moss and the Wood family coats of arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
.
See also
- Oakland Museum of CaliforniaOakland Museum of CaliforniaOakland Museum of California or Oakland Museum is a museum dedicated to the art, history, and natural science of California located in Oakland, California....
- Oakland Heritage AllianceOakland Heritage AllianceOakland Heritage Alliance is a non-profit organization based in Oakland, California. OHA advocates the protection, preservation, and revitalization of Oakland's architectural, historic, cultural and natural resources through publications, education, and direct action.OHA began in 1980 with a...
- Oakland Public LibraryOakland Public LibraryThe Oakland Public Library is the public library in Oakland, California. Opened in 1878, the Oakland Public Library currently serves the city of Oakland, along with some neighboring smaller cities including Emeryville and Piedmont. The Oakland Public Library has the largest collection of any...
- National Park ServiceNational Park ServiceThe National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
- Library of CongressLibrary of CongressThe Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
- American MemoryAmerican MemoryAmerican Memory is an Internet-based archive for public domain image resources, as well as audio, video, and archived Web content. It is published by the Library of Congress...
- Junior LeagueJunior LeagueThe Association of Junior Leagues International, Inc. is a non-profit organization of 292 Junior Leagues in Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom and the United States. Junior Leagues are educational and charitable women's organizations aimed at improving their communities through volunteerism and...
- Eadweard MuybridgeEadweard MuybridgeEadweard J. Muybridge was an English photographer who spent much of his life in the United States. He is known for his pioneering work on animal locomotion which used multiple cameras to capture motion, and his zoopraxiscope, a device for projecting motion pictures that pre-dated the flexible...
- StereoscopyStereoscopyStereoscopy refers to a technique for creating or enhancing the illusion of depth in an image by presenting two offset images separately to the left and right eye of the viewer. Both of these 2-D offset images are then combined in the brain to give the perception of 3-D depth...
External links
- Oakland Museum of California 1893 map of the property of Julia T. Moss
- The Bancroft Library. University of California, Berkeley. 1928 photograph of "the old home of J. Mara Moss in Oakland"
- The Bancroft Library. University of California, Berkeley. Eadweard Muybridge's stereographic photo of the central staircase
- The Bancroft Library. University of California, Berkeley. Eadweard Muybridge's stereographic photo of the home's exterior, including original tall, slender chimney
- The Bancroft Library. University of California, Berkeley. Eadweard Muybridge's stereographic photo of the exterior fernery
- Oakland Museum of California. 1971 Dave Bohn photo of J. Mora Moss House
- Oakland Heritage Association. Postcard image of the Lodge at Mosswood Park (demolished)
- Oakland Heritage Association. Postcard image of the footbridge over Glen Echo Creek (demolished)
- Oakland Heritage Association. Postcard image of Mosswood Park