Mar 30, 1978
Stimson House - National Register of Historic Places
Statement of Significance Thomas Douglas Stimson, a wealthy industrialist, lumberman, and financier, settled in Los Angeles in 1890 and built his home the following year. The original cost of the structure was $130,000 which made it by far the most expensive residence constructed in Los Angeles to that time.. Stimson was the epitome of the self-made man of the nineteenth century. Leaving his New York home at the age of fourteen, he later founded a general merchandise store in a small Michigan town and developed this into an extensive lumber empire. After many years as a leading Chicago businessman, Stimson moved to Southern California to retire in a healthier environment. He immediately established himself as one of the leading citizens of Los Angeles, being responsible for the erection of several business blocks, becoming vice president of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, and was a philanthropist involved in many social welfare and educational charities. He died in 1898. The residence that Stimson built on Figueroa Street is recognized by Southerner California architectural historians as a significant structure representative of a style of architecture that developed in the United States during the thirty-year period following the end of the Civil War. The Stimson House is an excellent example of Richardson Romanesque, with block stone and arched structural openings, and has strong Victorian Gothic details which include its turret tower, stepped gables, and interesting ornamental details. It is the best remaining work of the Los Angeles architect Carroll H. Brown, who was only twenty-seven when the structure was built. Today the Stimson House is architecturally unique in Los Angeles. Nearly every commercial and residential structure representative of the "Brown Decades" style of architecture in Southern California has been destroyed or grossly altered. The Stimson House was and still is the best example of this period of American architecture in Los Angeles. Its architectural singularity and association with an important Los Angeles family serve to make it one of the most significant structures in the Los Angeles area.
Stimson House - National Register of Historic Places
Statement of Significance Thomas Douglas Stimson, a wealthy industrialist, lumberman, and financier, settled in Los Angeles in 1890 and built his home the following year. The original cost of the structure was $130,000 which made it by far the most expensive residence constructed in Los Angeles to that time.. Stimson was the epitome of the self-made man of the nineteenth century. Leaving his New York home at the age of fourteen, he later founded a general merchandise store in a small Michigan town and developed this into an extensive lumber empire. After many years as a leading Chicago businessman, Stimson moved to Southern California to retire in a healthier environment. He immediately established himself as one of the leading citizens of Los Angeles, being responsible for the erection of several business blocks, becoming vice president of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, and was a philanthropist involved in many social welfare and educational charities. He died in 1898. The residence that Stimson built on Figueroa Street is recognized by Southerner California architectural historians as a significant structure representative of a style of architecture that developed in the United States during the thirty-year period following the end of the Civil War. The Stimson House is an excellent example of Richardson Romanesque, with block stone and arched structural openings, and has strong Victorian Gothic details which include its turret tower, stepped gables, and interesting ornamental details. It is the best remaining work of the Los Angeles architect Carroll H. Brown, who was only twenty-seven when the structure was built. Today the Stimson House is architecturally unique in Los Angeles. Nearly every commercial and residential structure representative of the "Brown Decades" style of architecture in Southern California has been destroyed or grossly altered. The Stimson House was and still is the best example of this period of American architecture in Los Angeles. Its architectural singularity and association with an important Los Angeles family serve to make it one of the most significant structures in the Los Angeles area.
Mar 30, 1978
Posted Date
Mar 22, 2022
Historical Record Date
Mar 30, 1978
Source Name
United States Department of Interior - National Park Service
