National Historic Landmark
Which site was the heritage designation of Ralston Hall from Nov 1966 to Jun 1972?
Ralston Hall Ralston Hall Mansion located in Belmont , California , was the country house of William Chapman Ralston , a San Francisco businessman , a founder of the Bank of California , and a financier of the Comstock Lode . It is an opulent Italianate Villa , modified with touches of Steamboat Gothic and Victorian details . It is a California Historical Landmark and is designated a National Historic Landmark . It is now part of Notre Dame de Namur University . The mansion . Ralston Hall Mansion is situated on the campus of Notre Dame de Namur University , on the San Francisco Peninsula . The mansion has been built around the villa of Count Leonetto Cipriani , the former owner of the estate . Taking three years to build , it was completed in 1867 , when San Franciscos leaders and first citizens had large summer homes on the Peninsula , an integral part of San Francisco high society . Architect John Painter Gaynor , who later worked with Ralston on the Palace Hotel in San Francisco , is thought to have worked on it . Several of the design elements of Ralston Hall Mansion were copied in the design of the Palace . A history of San Francisco speaks of the palatial grandeur of Ralston Hall : In a domed wing was the oval ballroom . Its walls were mirrored , and from the frescoed ceiling hung a great crystal chandelier whose reflected lights and sparkle filled the room . I have never seen a more effective setting for a ball . The Hall is a four-floor , mansion , with a stately dining room , a mirrored ballroom in the Versailles tradition , an opera box modelled after the Opéra Garnier in Paris , a grand staircase , 23 crystal chandeliers , and inlaid wood floors . Ralston greatly admired the Palace of Versailles , and incorporated several of the palaces elements in his design of the mansion . The mansion has a number of elegant sitting rooms and parlours . The Oriental Music Room has a set of Chinese high-tea chairs and buffets . Ralston Hall houses a collection of antiques accumulated by Ralston , including some valuable Thomas Hill paintings . The grounds of the mansion contain numerous gardens , a stoney grotto , and a garden of 150-year-old bamboo trees . Uses of the mansion . After Ralstons death , the estate passed to his former business partner , United States Senator from Nevada William Sharon , whose family lived in the house . Sharons daughter Floras wedding to Englishman Sir Thomas George Fermor-Hesketh , 7th Baronet , of Rufford was one of the last elaborate social events of the time , taking place in the mansions ballroom . After Senator Sharons death in 1885 , the mansion became Radcliffe Hall , a girls finishing school . From 1900 to 1922 , it was the Gardner Sanitarium . Since 1922 , Ralston Hall has been on the campus Notre Dame de Namur University , formerly the College of Notre Dame . Prior to its closure in 2012 , the mansion contained some of the university’s administrative and faculty offices , such as the admissions office . It was also used for some of the university’s events , such as “drama productions , concerts , recitals , guest lectures , student , faculty and staff meetings and forums” . The mansion was also used for weddings , galas , and other various events . In addition , it was open for public tours . A few of the notable persons who have been entertained at Ralston Hall include : - President Ulysses S . Grant - Admiral David Farragut - Leland Stanford - Mark Hopkins History . Cipriani Period ( 1853 - 1864 ) . Originally , the mansion was built for Count Leonetto Cipriani in 1853 . The original house was a “two-story Italian Villa-style house , featuring asymmetrical massing , Italianate cave brackets , lacy bargeboards , and a tower” . Some of the original house remains in the east wing . In 1864 , Cipriani sold the building to William Chapman Ralston . William Chapman Ralston Period ( 1864 - 1875 ) . In 1864 , William Chapman Ralston bought the villa . Ralston was a San Francisco businessman and entrepreneur who created the Bank of California . For the next few years , Ralston added to the building and grounds , and created one of the “first palatial home on the Peninsula” . He hosted many guests at the mansion , including Admiral David Farragut , Vice President Schuyler Colfax , Leland Stanford , Mark Hopkins , Anson Burlingame , James Flood , and Mark Twain . After Ralston finished expanding the mansion , it “resembled a hotel with extensive High Victorian architectural interiors ; grand entertainment spaces on the main floor ; European Renaissance designed pilasters , moldings , columns , interior arches , staircases , and furnishings ; a remodeled ballroom , reception hall , and dining room ; state-of-the-art ventilation system ; imported embossed glass in skylights , doors , and windows ; and decoratively painted rooms” . Ralston called the estate “Belmont” , and this eventually became the name for the town surrounding the estate . Outside of the mansion , the estate had a “ stone carriage house , barns , a bowling alley , greenhouses , servants’ quarters , and a gymnasium with Turkish baths” . The estate was built to be self sufficient , with innovative gas and water systems . A reservoir was constructed on the property in 1870 . In 1875 when Ralston himself died , and the Ralston era of the estate ended . Before his death , Ralston gave the estate to Senator William Sharon , his business partner . Senator William Sharon Period ( 1875 - 1895 ) . Sharon inherited the mansion in 1875 . He did not live in the mansion , but maintained it and used it for entertaining . Ulysses S . Grant visited during this time in 1879 , two years after his presidency . In 1885 , Sharon died . His family kept the mansion until 1895 . Institutional Period ( 1895 - 1922 ) . After the Sharon family , the mansion was used as a girls finishing school from 1895 to 1898 , called Radcliffe Hall . It was then a sanitarium from 1900 to 1918 , called Gardner Sanitarium . Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur ( 1922 - present ) . The sanitarium closed after World War I . Then , in1922 , the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur bought the mansion as a location for their college . The mansion is still owned by the Notre Dame de Namur University today . In 1966 , Ralston Hall was designate a National Historic Landmark and in 1972 , it became a California registered Historic Landmark . Pending renovation . In 2012 an engineering firm advised Notre Dame de Namur University ( NDNU ) that in spite of the homes relatively good condition “it could not guarantee the safety of the building’s occupants in the event of an earthquake on the San Andreas Fault” . As of April 2012 , the building has been closed , pending renovation . Among the required work - which indeed is substantial - is “replacement or retrofit , as necessary , of the entire masonry foundation” , and the re-roofing , removal and replacement of existing siding and localized replacement of the flooring” of the upper floors . The repairs are estimated to cost at least $12 million . As of February 2019 , NDNU has decided to place the Ralston Hall renovation project “on hold” to focus on fundraising for the school . The project has been “placed on an ‘indefinite’ hold” , although it is possible that retrofitting will resume sometime . The structure will be preserved until renovation can begin . Historical Significance . In order to help assure its preservation , the City of Belmont commissioned an architectural historian in 2016 to conduct an assessment of the Ralston Halls historical significance . Among his findings were that the mansion “retains its historic integrity , location , design , setting , materials , workmanship , feeling , and association” ( with William Chapman Ralston from 1864 to 1875 ) . One of the first palatial homes on the peninsula , it is also noted for its architecture . External links . - Ralston Hall - Notre Dame de Namur University