Levi Goodrich
Levi Goodrich (1822–1887) was an American architect based in San Jose, California. His most notable projects include San Jose City Hall, Santa Clara County Courthouse, San Jose City Hall, and California State Normal School. Goodrich's wife, Sarah Knox-Goodrich, was a well known activist who worked for women's suffrage in California. Biography. Levi Goodrich was born January 1, 1822, in New York City, New York. His parents died when he was young, and he lived with relatives in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Goodrich became a carpenter, then studied architecture in the office of R. G Hatfield in New  York City. On March 8, 1849, Goodrich sailed for California via Cape Horn on the ship "Loochoo" arriving on September 16, 1849. He traveled with a large quantity of building materials and sold them upon arriving in San Francisco. Soon after arriving, he designed the Parker house, a wood-framed building on Portsmouth Square. The building, at the corner of Washington and Kearny Streets, was built to replace tents used by Gold Rush miners. It was reportedly the first work in San Francisco by a professional architect. Goodrich moved to San Jose, California in November 1849. His architectural offices were  in the Knox Block. On April 13, 1854, Goodrich married Juliet Peck. They had a son, E. B. Goodrich, who joined his father's office and, eventually, succeeded him. Goodrich married Sarah Knox on January 15, 1879. She was prominent in the cause of equal rights for women, fully supported by her husband. Goodrich retired in 1886. On April 2, 1887, he suffered an attack of apoplexy while visiting San Diego with his wife, and quickly died. He is buried in Oak Hill Cemetery in San Jose. Goodrich Quarry. In 1874, Goodrich purchased a 500-acre sandstone quarry that came  to be known as Goodrich's Free-Stone Quarry. The quarry is about eight miles south of San Jose in the Santa Teresa Hills on the eastern slope of the Almaden Valley. After Goodrich's death, the quarry was leased, and then sold, to the quarry's stone master Jacob Pfeiffer. It was renamed Graystone Quarry. The stone from the Goodrich/Graystone quarry has been used in many California buildings including the front walls and cornices of the Stanford University quadrangle the Santa Clara County Courthouse, U.S. Post Office in San Jose (now the San Jose Museum of Art), California  State Normal School, Lick Observatory, University of the Pacific, the Knox-Goodrich Building, San Carlos Railroad Depot, and Agnews State Hospital.