The Camron-Stanford House sustained moderate damage to its exterior and small area of the interior when a fire broke out early Saturday morning.
The Camron-Stanford House — a historic Victorian building and Oakland landmark at Lake Merritt — sustained moderate damage to its exterior and small area of the interior when a fire broke out early Saturday morning.
But firefighters from the Oakland Fire Department were able to prevent major damage to the building, which was long ago converted into Oakland’s first museum and holds a variety of local historic art and artifacts, according to Oakland Fire Department spokesperson Michael Hunt.
The structure was built in 1876 by Samuel Merritt, who was a doctor from Maine who came to California in 1849 and became Oakland’s 13th mayor, a local businessman and philanthropist. He is considered by some to be one of the Bay Area’s most prominent influences of that era and helped advance the construction of Lake Merritt, Oakland City Hall and Oakland Public Library, according to the university bearing his name and Camron-Stanford House’s website.
Camron-Stanford House is the last Victorian estate on Lake Merritt, according to the nonprofit historical society that maintained the house as a museum for decades, the Camron-Stanford House Preservation Association.
Firefighters responded to the fire at the house at 14th Street and Lakeside Drive at about 12:40 a.m. and controlled the flames within about 40 minutes, according to a statement from the Oakland Fire Department.
Some interior walls were ripped open during the response, which involved 28 firefighters entering the structure to attack the flames from inside. But firefighters were able to save art, furniture and other local history from being destroyed, according to the Fire Department. The rear exterior and a corner of the interior sustained the most damage.
The museum was closed in 2024 due to a loss of financial support from the city, according to the Camron-Stanford House Preservation Association, which is leading a fundraising campaign to reopen it, according to the Preservation Association’s website.
Preservation Association representatives and city officials will assess the building to determine next steps, according to the Fire Department.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
“Side-splittingly funny and brilliantly chaotic” Read moreThe Play That Goes Wrong
CA Is Burning said:
Dirk van Ulden said:
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.