How did California’s largest mansion end up
buried below a neighborhood? Hi everyone, Ken here, welcome to This House In 1826, James Flood was born to poor
Irish Immigrants on New York’s Staten Island. Growing up, he dreamed of becoming rich,
but knew that people like him could only dream. After graduating the 8th grade, he left school
to apprentice for a Carriage Maker, a job where he could make an honest living and, if he were
lucky, he could one day move up in the company and make enough to provide for a family of his
own. After nearly 10 years of making carriages, the reality started to sink in that he would
never make enough money to live comfortably. Around this time, stories of men striking it
rich in the Gold Rush began to circulate. With nothing to lose, James, now 23 years old,
took what little money he had been able to save and headed out west. Though he didn’t
strike it rich, he was able to find a handful of silver and gold nuggets to bring home with
him. Now that James had a little bit of money, he decided to propose to his longtime
sweetheart back in New York. Mary Leary said, “yes” and in no time at all the couple
said, “I do.” Feeling luckier than ever, James and Mary moved to San Francisco
and continued searching for gold. By 1857, they had given up on the idea
of finding enough gold to retire on, so James invested most of his savings in opening
a Saloon with his new business partner and friend, William S. O’Brien. The business grew rapidly,
and by the next year they had sold the saloon and used the profits open a Stock brokerage.
This endeavor went pretty smoothly for James and William and by the next year they were
ready to expand. They joined forces with a Mining Engineer and a Mine Superintendent and
shifted their interests from California to Nevada where silver had just been discovered.
The team pooled their money together to purchase claims and issued stocks, giving them
enough buying power for what would come next. By 1873, the business partners were able to
purchase a majority stake of the Consolidated Virginia Mining Company, and later in that same
year, their investment paid off more than they could ever have imagined with the uncovering of
the Comstock Lode. Not only did they find silver in the mines, it would become the largest lode
in history. The Big Bonanza, as it was called, consisted of a silver core stretching 1,200 feet
deep into the earth. When James announced the discovery, the mines were valued at 1 billion
dollars, the modern day equivalent of over 25 billion dollars. What followed was a frenzy in
the stock market and James saw an opportunity to manipulate the price of stocks as he learned new
information about his mines. When it was all said and done, the mine produced about one tenth of
its estimated value before becoming unprofitable, but with insider knowledge, James was able to
cash in long before the mines became unprofitable. Starting in 1875, he diversified his
fortune by buying up real estate and founding the Nevada Bank with William. This
series of events culminated in cementing James Flood’s place in the top 100
wealthiest Americans of all time. With his wealth, he set out to build his dream
home. He purchased a large lot in Menlo Park, modern day San Francisco, and constructed his
45,000 square foot mansion which he named, “Linden Towers.” The colossal, six
story Italianate palace was clad in limestone and embellished with
intricate relief work and statuary. As we arrive from the street, the gatekeeper
steps out from the gate house to greet us. The short side of the mansion comes into full view as
we round the fountain, but we still have a long way to go before arriving at the front door. We
must make our way down the winding gravel drive, meandering through lush gardens. This takes us
past a heard of cows grazing in the pastures just outside of the barn. Then, reaching off
into the distance, we wonder where the garden walks might take us. Looking beyond stone sphynx,
terraced gardens break away from expansive lawns, until, finally, Linden Towers can be seen
coming into view. Let’s dismount from our carriage and make our way towards the
front door, but before we go inside, let’s zoom out to see the grandeur of the
palatial mansion we are about to enter. Swinging open the nearly 12 foot tall front
doors, we arrive in the entrance hall, hearing the echoes of our footsteps
dance across the marble mosaic floor. As we look straight ahead, the main
hall stretches more than 100 feet below gilded ceilings shimmering in
the light of gold plated chandeliers. To the right, the smell of old leather bound
books tempts us into the library with hand tooled leather walls and a ceiling that has been
gold leafed between its polished ebony beams. The library feeds into the music
room, where a grand piano is so well polished that it reflects the
sun’s light back into our faces. Directly across the main hall from the music
room is the drawing room. Here we could find antique European chairs set out, one for each
expected guest. And above us, on the ceiling, a dramatic ecclesiastical mural is
framed by intricate hand stenciling. Let’s make our way back into the main hall, heading all the way to the end and turning
left just before the door to the service wing. This brings us to the dining room, dramatically
decorated with angels flying about overhead in the ceiling mural and gilded dragons resting behind
the table, supporting the fireplace’s mantel. Though, for a more casual dinner, the Floods could
eat in their breakfast room in the service wing.
Unfortunately, there are no known photos
of the stair hall, Moorish smoking room, service wing, or children’s dining room, but we can continue exploring the mansion from
below the dome of the second floor stair hall. James’ bedroom was decorated with
an eclectic mix of styles ranging from centuries old furniture pieces, to a
unique mix of Eastlake and baroque detailing. Mary’s bedroom was more cohesive, with a matching
bedroom set and a lively frieze running below murals framed by hand stenciled borders. Her
suite came complete with a large fireplace centered between windows and only the finest
hand sewn quilts and curtains money could buy. While no two bedrooms were identical,
each one bore a strong resemblance to the last with a writing desk in the middle
of each room and canopies over each bed. Once completed, Linden Towers became the largest
house west of the Rocky Mountains, but even so, the Floods spent very little time in it, only
using the mansion to host large parties. They chose to instead live in their Nob Hill mansion
in San Francisco. When James passed away in 1889, he left both of the mansions to his daughter,
Jennie. She had no use for Linden Towers and decided to donate it to the University of
California, who later sold the mansion to James Flood Junior. After his passing,
Junior’s widow placed the estate up for auction. Developers purchased the estate and
began selling the furniture and architectural salvage. This behemoth of a mansion would
have been too costly tear down and haul away, so it the house was imploded and its remains
were packed into the foundation and low points around the property before new houses and
apartments were built over them. Somewhere, below the Lindenwood Housing development,
are the fragments of some of the finest artisan work California has ever seen resting on
marble floors covered over with 10 feet of dirt. What did you think of this house?
Did you have a favorite room? Let me know down below in the comments
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