Name/Title
Print, PhotographicEntry/Object ID
1991.004.0556Description
B/W photograph of sketch of J.W. Jones residence in Benicia.
Location is 185/187 West "H" street Benicia Ca.
An imposing Italianate residence, the house was constructed in the 1870s. It is L-shape in plan with two-full stories. The roof is flat with overhanging eaves that exhibit a plain fascia and an elaborately detailed frieze with oval panels and carved double brackets.
Fenestration consists of one-over-two double hung windows with that are vertically emphasized.
Some histories of Benicia have connected the existing house at 187 West H Street with Robert Semple, one of the founders of Benicia. It is clear that the lot at the corner of West H and West Second Streets was owned by Semple and that he did construct a residence there inthe 1840s. However, the precise relationship of the existing house and Semple’s buildings is less clear.
The house belonged to J.W. Jones, a judge, and was one of the larger and more stately homes constructed in Benicia up to the 1870s. The drawing of the house which appears in Thompson and West, shows a large formal garden/grounds on the lots to the east. The 1886 Sanborn Map shows the footprint of the house with number of attached and adjacent rear structures where there is now a two-story addition.. In the 1950s the house was subdivided into apartment
units, the porch was enclosed, and the exterior was clad with asbestos shingle. The current owners have rehabilitated the house based on historic lithographs and photographs.Collection
Benicia Historical Museum Collection