Sunnyside Conservatory
Historic conservatory in San Francisco, California, US
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sunnyside Conservatory is an event space and former historic 1902 plant conservatory in the Sunnyside neighborhood of San Francisco, California. It is listed as a San Francisco Designated Landmark (No. 78) since December 7, 1975.[1] It is owned by San Francisco Recreation and Parks since 1980. Sunnyside Conservatory is also known as the Merralls Conservatory, or incorrectly as Merrills Conservatory.[2]
San Francisco, California, U.S.
| Sunnyside Conservatory | |
|---|---|
| |
 Interactive map of Sunnyside Conservatory | |
| Location | 236 Monterey Boulevard, San Francisco, California, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 37.731913°N 122.440790°W |
| Built | 1902 |
| Built for | William Augustus Merralls |
| Restored | 1999–2006 |
| Designated | December 7, 1975 |
| Reference no. | 78 |
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History
It is a Victorian-era two-story octagonal redwood structure used as an exotic plant conservatory, which has been historically associated with the house located at 258 Monterey Boulevard.[1] It was built for British engineer William Augustus Merralls (1852–1914; also spelled William Merrills), who specialized in the engineering and design of mining equipment.[3][4] The site started as a 175 foot (53 m) rural lot purchased in 1897, made up of 7 adjacent 25 feet (7.6 m) lots; first he built his home at 258 Monterey Blvd., and then the conservatory afterwards.[3][1]
Merralls died in 1914 in a train accident.[3][5] His widow and son remained in the property until 1916, when the bank repossessed the house.[3][6]
The conservatory and surrounding grounds would change private owners several times.[4] In 1919, the house, land and conservatory was purchased by Ernest and Angele Van Beckh, two self-proclaimed clairvoyants and con artists.[3] The Van Beckh's remained in the property until the 1960s, Ernest died in the 1951, and Angele ran out of money and sold some of the property to a neighbor, who built the house at 234 Monterey Boulevard (built 1954).[3] By the 1970s the property lines became an issue when the house at 234 Monterey Boulevard was sold.[3]
The 258 Monterey Boulevard property with the conservatory was sold in 1974 to Robert Anderson, who was interested in redeveloping the surrounding lots.[3] The Sunnyside Neighborhood Association had just formed and the neighbors were interested in preserving the Sunnyside Conservatory site.[3] It became a San Francisco Designated Landmark on December 7, 1975. However Robert Anderson still proceeded to get a permit to tear down the conservatory structure, and removed most of the structure before he was stopped.[3] The City of San Francisco used Open Space Fund money to purchase the land and conservatory from Anderson.[3]
Renovation
Neighbors tended to the exotic trees planted on the lot after the demolition.[3] A new group formed in 1999 called the Friends of Sunnyside Conservatory, and they fundraised and worked with the city to renovate the conservatory structure.[3] One of the neighbors had saved the original wooden spire that sat on the roof after the demolition, and brought it 30 years later during the renovation for replication (and now it is made with copper).[3]
It now serves as a meeting and events space for community and groups.
