Huntington Park (San Francisco, California)

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On this site in 1872, General David D. Colton, a railroad attorney, built one of the most elaborate residences ever seen in San Francisco. The classic white wooden mansion featured an entry flight of marble steps leading to a great portico of Corinthian columns. General Colton, his wife, and their two daughters entertained in the mansion with style and splendor. General Colton died in 1878 and shortly thereafter his widow, Ellen, closed the house and moved to Washington D.C.
In 1892, Central Pacific railroad baron Collis P. Huntington purchased the house where he lived with his wife, Arabella, until the time of his death in 1900. Mrs. Huntington occupied the grand mansion until its destruction in the San Francisco earthquake and fire of 1906. In 1915, Mrs. Huntington donated the land to the City of San Francisco to remain in perpetuity as a park for all the people of the City to enjoy.