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www.deltalivingmagazine.com
April – June 2013
By Gene Metz, AIA
I
n 1856, Dr. John Marsh built
a remarkable stone house
in the Brentwood area of Contra
Costa County. The House, due to
its unique architectural character,
and the circumstances and time in
which it was built, was placed on
the National Register of Historic
Places in 1978, and in 1998 desig-
nated one of “Save America's Trea-
sures.”
The house in plan is a 36’ x 60’
rectangle, and measures 38’ to the
top of the roof.The exterior wall of
locally quarried sandstone laid up
in a rubble pattern. Corners, doors
and windows are finished with
rectangular cut, finely tooled stone.
Arched top windows are pointed
at the third level, and all fenestra-
tions have prominent keystones.
The steep roof has four large dor-
mers, and was roofed with tapered
redwood shakes in alternating rows
of rounded "fish-scale" and square
shingles.
Originally stone, the upper
third of the tower was replaced
with wood to simulate stone after
the 1868 earthquake. The east side
tower is 47’ high with rustic battle-
ments at the top.A 10’ wide portico
abuts three sides of the house, with
access to go onto the portico from
the interior on the first and second
levels through full height French
windows.
The house interiors are elegant
in their simplicity. A wide stair hall,
with a graceful curving stairway,
extends from front entrance to the
matching rear entrance. The 20’ x
35’ parlor has two marble mantled
fireplaces. A dining room, stair hall,
kitchen and office complete the
remainder of the first floor. The
second level consists of a master
bedroom suite, two other bedrooms
and a bath.The third level has three
rooms and a “ships ladder” that pro-
vides access to the top of the tower
with a panoramic view from the
Delta waters to Mt. Diablo.
A major problem saving the
house is the deterioration and insta-
bility of the exterior stone walls and
interior brick walls due primarily to
moisture intrusion.With the stone
wall being separated from the brick
interior walls by a four inch void
(a very unusual detail for mid 18th
century California), the structural
integrity of the wall relies solely on
the strength of the stone wall itself.
Major construction begins later this
spring that will begin the rehabilita-
tion.Your donations are essential to
complete this critical work.
Gene Metz is the President of the
John Marsh Historic Trust Inc. Board
of Directors. Board meetings are open
to the public and held the third Tues-
day of every month at 10 a.m. in
the Community Room at REI, lo-
cated at 2475 Sand Creek Road,
Brentwood, CA.
Saving the
John
Marsh
House
For more information about the John Marsh House and
how you can be a part, visit www.johnmarshhouse.com.
Donations may be made through PayPal, or by check to
P.O. Box 1682, Brentwood, CA 94513.
Photos by Charleen Earley
(L-R) Steve Torgeson of U.S. Bank, Alex Ghiozzi of Cruise One and also Chair for the
John Marsh Historic Trust, and President Gene Metz toured the John Marsh house
on Feb. 27, 2013.
The curving stairway to the second floor
is one of the John Marsh homes' grace-
ful features.
President of the John Marsh Historic Trust, Gene Metz, talks about the current struc-
tural support of the 1856 home.
Photo courtesy of Gene Metz, AIA