Ralston Hall

The bronze ends with the Palace Hotel and stops there. Ralston never saw it open. The Bank of California's directors forced his resignation on the morning of August 27, 1875, and his body was found in the Bay hours later; a coroner's inquest, with his widow's insurance turning on the finding, called it an apoplectic stroke rather than drowning. The Palace opened five weeks later, under his former partner William Sharon, who also took this house. Parts of Count Cipriani's villa of about 1853 are still inside the east wing.

What the plaque says

Ralston Hall This redwood structure was completed in 1868 by William Chapman Ralston, San Francisco financier. Incorporating Count Cipriani's earlier villa, this enlarged mansion with its mirrored ballroom became the symbol of the extravagance of California's silver age. It anticipated features later incorporated into Ralston's Palace Hotel of San Francisco. California Registered Historical Landmark No. 856 Plaque placed by the State Department of Parks and Recreation in cooperation with the California Historical Society. November 5, 1972

Where it stands

More markers nearby

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