Omaha daily bee., 1883-06-13
MOB HILL.
The Palaces of California Mlnionaires
Overlooking San Francisco
The Rough Road OF Gable
Lines.

correspondence Clevellno LoAder.
The great advantage OF the hill tops
for residences Ia the commanding
view they have Of the country for teus
Of miles distant, and of the beautiful
bay OF San Francisco. California
street ar d Sacramento street both com.
mence ct the harbor and run through
che business portion Of the city tor
half = mile Til they rssca Mob
bill, close to Kssrney ssrset.
Ii should be. bourne In mind that
the city Is Laid ont In "a aaue.,
and the streets run In straight lines,
at right angles, over hills and valleyr.
Here the cable road commences on
California bsreet, The cara move up
the hill w block, till they come to q
cross.streot, where 1t IL level to the ex-
tent Ct its width, and then ascends
again I'LL they con 10 another cross.
~atrect, with the same level space.
After Crossing half a dozen streets,
half q dozsn level places, and psssing
half a dozsn squares, the oable cars
rnoh the top. After proceeding IN
eighth OF q mile the oArs 60 down hill
and encounter a like number OF cross.
streets, aud sf>sr rescaing the valley
and crossing It, they will climb another
Ioog hill with tic series OK crossings
and terraces, which add mech to its
appearance, Owing 30 The eaey iacil-
ity OF reaching the business portion
of the osty, BY means Of theis cable
rosds, California and other streets
climbing these hills ore occupied by
the arlss ooraoy Of San Francisco. The
residences OF thin city ars all built of
wood IL crder to guard .gnlnst being
sosken down by earthquakes, which
Visit tho city semi-occ .slonniiy. Thin
reminco mo that In addition to the
many c5~ur;c.ies and ncts Of hospitali-
ty extended to me by the people
whom l have met In tsis city, they
have kindly gotten no q small sbock
of III earthquake for ny especial hen
eft. AT least We had o slight shock
one morning since my arrival, without
doing any harm, and IL gave me an
.nkliug Of The peculiar sensation q
''quaks" gives. / hereby tender my
thsnks for this peculiar entertainment.
IL looks odd to SEQ tho palaces on Mob
hill, costing hundreds IF thousands of
dollars, construoted of wood, but they
are splendid specimens Of elaborate
aroh.te oLural designs, and vie with
p%retcnttous mansions Ia the east In
magnifosuce. II will naturally be cup.
posed that fses would ocsur frequently
In a city built almost entirely Of
wood, and 20 they would If the houses
we're oons:Iuctsl of pine Us Chicago
mostly was OF the time OF her great
fire. But the dwellings here are bnllt
Of redwood, which Is The principal
lumber of California, and does not ig.
mite and burn easily, cons quently q
fire does not get much under hesdway
before the arrival Of the steam
ers OF tho fro depart.
mept. Redwood Is similar In color tc
the heart cf birch wood and Ia equally
as hard, and is susceptible of q fnt
polish, resembling that of fresh ma
hogany. l have Eeen mantle
pieces made OF this lumber which
! are really artistic and beautiful
The mansions of Gov. Stanford, o!
Mrs. Mark Hopkins, aud Mr.. Charlie.
| CHECKER, Gro pslstial and present the
most gorgeous architectural effect, al
though built OF wood. Mrs. Hopkins
3 house occupies the highest point OIL
t Mob Lii, and can be seen from al
T points OF San Franchise. From 1t
l observatory, which Is stated to be IA
feet high, o grand view Is obtained Il
every direction. The cost If thea
!, three mansions, with their grounds
furniture, and works OF art, is abou
Sc Go, 600. This, 1 think, is great
Q exaggerated. Still they are d mGgni
= icent trio Of palaces, and ere tn
g largest wooden dwelling houses in tn
l world. There are numerous othe
foe residences on California, Sacra
mento, Bush and Cay streets, on tn
hill tops. I noticed that the railws,
+, msgnateo, the Runtingtons, Crockers
i Hopkins, and Sanford, have thsi
9 homes on top of these hills, Will
Food, O'Brien (xho Is deceased
Sharon, and other bonanza kings
0 have their homes In the lowe
part Of the city. 1t looks az thong
the railway %aristoclacy decline to asuo
9 oiste with the plebeian bonanza fel
lows who made their Immense wealt
l In mining stock jobbing, althoug
, they have the reputation Of havin
made 1t In legitimate mining, whicI
. Is not true. The houses of thes
bonarzs a%ristoorats ore very costly
but d. not comoare with those on No