the early days of San Francisco's growth and soon after the Central
Pacific railroad had been built by Leland Stanford, Charles Crocker,
Mark Hopkins, Collis P. Huntington and the others who devoted the best
part of their lives to the project of crossing the mountains by rail
this hill was selected as the most desirable spot in the city for the
erection of homes for the use of wealthy pioneers.

The eminence is situated northwest of the business section of the city
and commands a view of the bay and all adjacent territory with the
exception of the Pacific Ocean, Russian Hill, Pacific Heights and
several other high spots obscuring the view toward the west.

Far removed above the din and noise of the city Charles Crocker was
the first to erect his residence on the top of this historic hill
which afterward became known as Nob Hill. The Crocker home was built
of brick and wood originally, but in later years granite staircases,
pillars and copings were substituted. In its time it was looked upon
as the most imposing edifice in the city and for that reason the
business associates of the railroad magnate decided to vie with him in
the building of their homes.

Directly across from the Crocker residence on California street Leland
Stanford caused to be built a residence structure that was intended
to be the most ornate in the western metropolis. It was a veritable
palace and it was within its walls that the boyhood days of Leland
Stanford, Jr., after whom the university is named, were spent in
luxurious surroundings. After the death of the younger Stanford a
memorial room was set apart and the parents permitted no one to enter
this except a trusted man servant who had been in the family for many
years.

But the Stanford residence was relegated to the background as an
object of architectural beauty when Mark Hopkins invaded the sacred
precincts of Nob Hill and erected the residence which he occupied for
three or four years. At his death the palatial building was deeded to
the California Art Institute and as a tribute to the memory of the
sturdy pioneer the building was called the Hopkins Institute of Art.
Its spacious rooms were laden with the choicest works of art on the
Pacific coast and the building and its contents were at all times a
source of interest to the thousands of tourists who visited the city.

The late Collis P. Huntington was the next of the millionaires of San
Francisco to locate upon the crest of Nob Hill.