Kings' Daughters' Home Plot

Marker at the Kings' Daughters' Home Plot (photo by Michael Colbruno)

Adjoining the Ladies Relief Society plot in the unendowed area is the plot of the "Kings' Daughters' Home for the Incurables." Like the Ladies Relief Society, the Kings' Daughters' Home cared for those most in need, many of whom were too ill to be cared for in hospitals. The name has a religious connotation as it comes from the daughters of the "King of Kings," which would be Jesus Christ of the Bible.

Drawing of the West Elevation by Julia Morgan

The building, which is now owned by Kaiser, replaced another structure which was considered unsafe, a fire hazard and unable to handle the growing number of residents. The board of directors decided in 1906 to build a new structure to be designed by Mountain View Cemetery denizen Julia Morgan. The budget for the building was $45,000 for the three-story structure, which was exceeded by $13,000.

The building was dedicated on November 24, 1912 by Judge Everett Brown with a crowd of over 2,000 people in attendance.

Rev. Frank Goodspeed, pastor of the First Presbyterian church, led an interfaith dedication that included Jews and Christians. "This dedication is an important event," said Rev. Goodspeed. "It means that another building has been erected to serve as a blessing for humanity. This structure will stand during its entire life as an evidence of Christianity and as a proof of the broad attitude of charity which men are taking nowadays toward their fellows. Formerly we wrote our Christianity in books: now we write it in such splendid buildings as this."

Gateway, donated by Eliza Morgan, mother of the architect

The brick building with a tile roof is vaguely Mediterranean in style. Like many of her works, it was designed around a courtyard. The entrance gateway, also designed by Morgan, was donated by Morgan's mother (Eliza Morgan) in memory of her son Sam, Julia's younger brother, who was killed in 1913 at age twenty-six. Eliza Morgan served on the Board of Directors.