This sedate Italianate residence (1876) on the southwest shore of Lake Merritt was home to a succession of prominent figures, including Josiah Stanford, brother of railroad magnate Leland Stanford. The mansion served as the first Oakland Public Museum from 1910 until 1967, when most of the exhibits were removed for storage pending completion of the new Oakland Museum building. The interior was painstakingly restored to its 19C ap-pearance and reopened for public tours in 1978. The lower floor still exhibits some of the original museum's Oakland history collections, while the main floor showcases Victorian-era interior decoration and furnishings.