Burial area for Samuel Newsom
Plot 30 Lot 236
Samuel Newsom was one of the most prolific architects of late-nineteenth-century California, a designer whose work defined the look of civic pride and domestic grace across the state. Born in 1848 in Canada, he came to Oakland as a child and remained a Bay Area resident for the rest of his life. Along with his brother J. Cather Newsom, he founded the architectural firm Newsom & Newsom, responsible for hundreds of notable public buildings and ornate residences from San Diego to Eureka. [Cather Newsom is buried in the Main Mausoleum]
Architecture was truly the Newsom family trade. Samuel and his brother J. Cather worked closely for decades before Samuel later partnered with his sons Sidney and Noble, who became the next generation of architects in the firm. J. Cather also served on the California State Board of Architects, extending the family’s influence statewide. Their San Francisco office in the Humboldt Bank Building became a hub for civic commissions, courthouse designs, and high-profile residences.
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| Old Oakland City Hall & Old Gilroy City Hall |
Their City Hall commissions extended throughout the state:
- Berkeley City Hall (since demolished 1904)
- Gilroy City Hall (1905), an enduring example of the Newsoms’ mature style
- Healdsburg City Hall, a distinctive civic landmark still admired today
Together, these buildings symbolized the architectural optimism of turn-of-the-century California, fusing ornamentation with function.
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| Bradbury Mansion in Los Angeles |
- The Hall of Agriculture, a monumental exhibition building that established the firm’s early reputation.
- The Napa Opera House, an elegant blend of Victorian and Italianate design that remains a cultural icon.
- The Bradbury Mansion in Los Angeles, a Gilded Age showpiece of carved ornament and towering presence.
- The Boyd House in Eureka and Vollmer House in San Francisco—both rich examples of Queen Anne craftsmanship.
- The Magnin House in San Francisco, reflecting the firm’s sophisticated residential design for the city’s elite.
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| Design for St. Luke’s Episcopal Church |
The Newsoms were also noted for their ecclesiastical work, including an ambitious Gothic Revival design for St. Luke’s Episcopal Church at Van Ness Avenue and Clay Street in San Francisco—an unbuilt but widely praised concept estimated at $50,000. And in Piedmont, Samuel’s own Newsom Cottage was celebrated in the press as “one of the prettiest homes in that section,” showcasing his talent for domestic design.
Despite his many achievements, Newsom’s life was marked by misfortune. In December 1899, while overseeing a residence in San Rafael, he was thrown from a runaway buggy alongside contractor Thomas O’Connor. The accident left him with multiple broken ribs and serious bruises. Though he recovered, the injuries compounded a lifelong struggle with heart trouble.
Nearly a decade later, on September 1, 1908, Newsom collapsed and died suddenly aboard a Key Route ferry as he returned to his Oakland home after lunching with his son Sidney in San Francisco. Doctors attributed his death to heart disease, from which he had long suffered.
Today, the name Newsom & Newsom endures as a hallmark of Victorian California architecture. Whether through the grand civic monuments that once anchored city centers or the richly detailed homes that still grace Bay Area hillsides, Samuel Newsom’s designs remain an enduring expression of an era when craftsmanship and ambition defined the California skyline.
Sources:
San Francisco Call, Jan. 16 1898; San Francisco Call, Dec. 6 1899; San Francisco Call, Sept. 2 1908; Oakland Tribune, Dec. 15 1907; Wikipedia: Samuel Newsom; Find a Grave; Wikipedia; Homestead Museum blog
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