Bidwell Mansion State Historic Park

Historic place in Chico, California, United States

United States historic place


Bidwell Mansion State Historical Park
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
California Historical Landmark No. 329^[1]

Bidwell Mansion in 2021
39°43′56.47″N 121°50′36.53″W / 39.7323528°N 121.8434806°W / 39.7323528; -121.8434806
Built	1865
Architect	Henry W. Cleaveland
Architectural style	Italianate, Italian Villa, Octagon house
NRHP reference No.	72000216
CHISL No.	329^[1]
Added to NRHP	1972

Bidwell Mansion, located at 525 Esplanade in Chico, California, was the home of General John Bidwell and Annie Bidwell from late 1868 until 1900, when Gen. Bidwell died. Annie continued to live there until her death in 1918. John Bidwell began construction of the mansion on his 26,000 acres (110 km²) Rancho del Arroyo Chico in 1865, during his courtship of Annie Ellicott Kennedy. After their marriage in 1868, the three-story, 26-room Victorian house became the social and cultural center of the upper Sacramento Valley. Now a museum and State Historic Park, it is California Historical Landmark #329^[1] and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The mansion was a $60,000 project, and was finished in May 1868.^[2]

When constructed, Bidwell Mansion featured modern plumbing, gas lighting and water systems. The three-story brick structure is built in an informally romantic version of the Italianate style. It also has aspects of the Italian Villa and Octagon house types present. The building's exterior is finished with a pink tinted plaster.

The first floor of the Bidwell Mansion is accessible via a ramp from the exterior of the Mansion. The interior of the entire mansion can be seen during an hour-long tour that starts on the hour most days of the week. A video is available in the visitor center for those who can not climb the 50 stairs to the 2nd and 3rd floors of the mansion.

The Bidwell Mansion Visitor Center is completely accessible. There is a gift shop, museum, theater, and comfortable lobby. There are also restrooms and water.

Trivia

Some of the interior scenes from The Thin Man were shot inside the mansion.
From 1925 to 1935, Bidwell Mansion was once again transformed into another entity when it served as a dormitory for Chico State Teachers College students. It is mentioned by local historians that the students studied and dressed in the rooms, but actually slept outside on the surrounding verandas. The mansion was later dubbed "Bidwell Hall" and housed the Art and Home Economics departments.

References

^ ^a ^b "Bidwell Mansion". Office of Historic Preservation, California State Parks. Retrieved 2012-09-05.
^ Chico: A 20th Century Pictorial History

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bidwell Mansion State Historic Park.

Bidwell Mansion SHP web site
Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) No. CA-1317, "Bidwell Mansion, 525 Esplanade, Chico, Butte County, CA", 10 measured drawings, 10 data pages
Wikimapia location of Bidwell Mansion

National Register of Historic Places in California

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National Parks	Channel Islands Death Valley Joshua Tree Kings Canyon Lassen Volcanic Pinnacles Redwood Sequoia Yosemite
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State Parks

State Parks	Ahjumawi Lava Springs Andrew Molera Angel Island Año Nuevo Anza-Borrego Desert Arthur B. Ripley Desert Woodland Bidwell–Sacramento River Big Basin Redwoods Border Field Bothe-Napa Valley Burton Creek Butano Calaveras Big Trees Castle Crags Castle Rock Caswell Memorial China Camp Chino Hills Clear Lake Coast Dairies Crystal Cove Cuyamaca Rancho D. L. Bliss Del Norte Coast Redwoods Donner Memorial Dos Rios Ranch Ed Z'berg Sugar Pine Point Emerald Bay The Forest of Nisene Marks Fort Ord Dunes Fremont Peak Garrapata Gaviota Great Valley Grasslands Grizzly Creek Redwoods Grover Hot Springs Hearst San Simeon Hendy Woods Henry Cowell Redwoods Henry W. Coe Humboldt Lagoons Humboldt Redwoods Jedediah Smith Redwoods Julia Pfeiffer Burns Leo Carrillo Limekiln MacKerricher Malibu Creek Manchester McArthur–Burney Falls Memorial McLaughlin Eastshore Mendocino Headlands Mendocino Woodlands Montaña de Oro Morro Bay Mount Diablo Mount San Jacinto Mount Tamalpais Navarro River Redwoods Pacheco Palomar Mountain Pfeiffer Big Sur Placerita Canyon Plumas-Eureka Point Mugu Portola Redwoods Prairie Creek Redwoods Red Rock Canyon Richardson Grove Rio de Los Angeles Robert Louis Stevenson Russian Gulch Saddleback Butte Salt Point Samuel P. Taylor San Bruno Mountain Sinkyone Wilderness South Yuba River Sue-meg Sugarloaf Ridge Sutter Buttes Tolowa Dunes Tomales Bay Topanga Trione-Annadel Van Damme Washoe Meadows Wilder Ranch
State Natural Reserves	Antelope Valley California Poppy Armstrong Redwoods Azalea Caspar Headlands John B. Dewitt John Little Jug Handle Kruse Rhododendron Los Osos Oaks Mailliard Redwoods Mono Lake Tufa Montgomery Woods Point Lobos Smithe Redwoods Torrey Pines Tule Elk
State Marine Reserves	Albany Anacapa Island SMR Asilomar Begg Rock Big Creek Bodega Head Cabrillo Carmel Pinnacles Carrington Point Del Mar Landing Elkhorn Slough Emeryville Crescent Estero de Limantour and Drakes Estero Fitzgerald Gerstle Cove Gull Island Harris Point Judith Rock Laguna Beach Long Point Lovers Point Montara and Pillar Point Moro Cojo Slough Morro Bay Natural Bridges Piedras Blancas Point Arena Point Buchon Point Cabrillo Point Dume Point Lobos Point Reyes Point Sur Richardson Rock Russian River Santa Barbara Island Scorpion Sea Lion Gulch Skunk Point South Cape Mendocino Stewarts Point Vandenberg
State Historic Parks	Anderson Marsh Antelope Valley Indian Museum Bale Grist Mill Benicia Capitol Bidwell Mansion Bodie California Citrus California State Indian Museum Chumash Painted Cave Colonel Allensworth Columbia El Presidio de Santa Barbara Empire Mine Folsom Powerhouse Fort Humboldt Fort Ross Fort Tejon Governor's Mansion Hearst Castle Indian Grinding Rock Jack London La Purísima Mission Leland Stanford Mansion Los Angeles Los Encinos Malakoff Diggins Marconi Conference Center Marsh Creek Marshall Gold Discovery Monterey Old Sacramento Old Town San Diego Olompali Pigeon Point Light Station Pío Pico Point Sur Railtown 1897 Rancho Petaluma Adobe San Juan Bautista San Pasqual Battlefield Santa Cruz Mission Santa Susana Pass Shasta Sonoma Sutter's Fort Tomo-Kahni Wassama Round House Watts Towers Weaverville Joss House Will Rogers William B. Ide Adobe Woodland Opera House
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State Recreation Areas	Admiral William Standley Auburn Austin Creek Benbow Benicia Bethany Reservoir Brannan Island Candlestick Point Castaic Lake Colusa-Sacramento River Folsom Lake Franks Tract George J. Hatfield Harry A. Merlo Kenneth Hahn Kings Beach Lake Del Valle Lake Oroville Lake Perris Lake Valley Martial Cottle McConnell Millerton Lake Picacho Providence Mountains Salton Sea San Luis Reservoir Silverwood Lake Standish-Hickey Tahoe Turlock Lake Woodson Bridge
State Vehicular Recreation Areas	Carnegie Clay Pit Heber Dunes Hollister Hills Hungry Valley Oceano Dunes Ocotillo Wells Prairie City
Other	Burleigh H. Murray Ranch California State Capitol Museum California State Mining and Mineral Museum California State Railroad Museum Castro Adobe Delta Meadows Estero Bay Hatton Canyon Indio Hills Palms Point Cabrillo Light Ishxenta State Park Point Montara Light Reynolds Wayside Campground San Timoteo Canyon Stone Lake Verdugo Mountains Ward Creek Wildwood Canyon

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National Wilderness Preservation System	Agua Tibia Ansel Adams Bucks Lake Caribou Carson–Iceberg Castle Crags Cucamonga Desolation Dick Smith Dinkey Lakes Emigrant Golden Trout Hoover Inyo Mountains Ishi Jennie Lakes John Muir Kaiser Marble Mountain Mokelumne Mount Shasta Wilderness North Fork Pine Creek San Gabriel San Jacinto San Rafael Sanhedrin Sespe Siskiyou Snow Mountain South Fork Eel River South Sierra South Warner Thousand Lakes Trinity Alps Ventana Yolla Bolly–Middle Eel Yuki
National Monuments and Recreation Areas	Giant Sequoia National Monument San Gabriel Mountains National Monument Sand to Snow National Monument Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument Smith River National Recreation Area Whiskeytown–Shasta–Trinity National Recreation Area

State Forests
Boggs Mountain Demonstration Ellen Pickett Jackson Demonstration Las Posadas LaTour Demonstration Mount Zion Demonstration Mountain Home Demonstration Soquel Demonstration

National Wildlife Refuges

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Wildlife Areas	Antelope Valley Ash Creek Bass Hill Battle Creek Big Lagoon Big Sandy Biscar Butte Valley Buttermilk Country Cache Creek Camp Cady Cantara/Ney Springs Cedar Roughs Cinder Flats Collins Eddy Colusa Bypass Coon Hollow Cottonwood Creek Crescent City Marsh Crocker Meadows Daugherty Hill Decker Island Doyle Dutch Flat Eastlker River Eel River Elk Creek Wetlands Elk River Fay Slough Feather River Fitzhugh Creek Fremont Weir Grass Lake Gray Lodge Green Creek Grizzly Island Hallelujah Junction Heenan Lake Hill Slough Hollenbeck Canyon Honey Lake Hope Valley Horseshoe Ranch Imperial Indian Valley Kelso Peak and Old Dad Mountains Kinsman Flat Knoxville Laguna Lake Berryessa Lake Earl Lake Sonoma Little Panoche Reservoir Los Banos Lower Sherman Island Mad River Slough Marble Mountains Mendota Merrill's Landing Miner Slough Monache Meadows Morro Bay Moss Landing Mouth of Cottonwood Creek Napa-Sonoma Marshes North Grasslands O'Neill Forebay Oroville Petaluma Marsh Pickel Meadow Pine Creek Point Edith Putah Creek Rector Reservoir Red Lake Rhode Island Sacramento River San Felipe Valley San Jacinto San Luis Obispo San Luis Reservoir San Pablo Bay Santa Rosa Shasta Valley Silver Creek Slinkard/Little Antelope Smithneck Creek South Fork Spenceville Surprise Valley Sutter Bypass Tehama Truckee River Upper Butte Basin Volta Warner Valley Waukell Creek West Hilmar Westlker River White Slough Willow Creek Yolo Bypass
Ecological Reserves	Albany Mudflats Alkali Sink Allensworth Atascadero Creek Marsh Bair Island Baldwin Lake Batiquitos Lagoon Blue Sky Boden Canyon Boggs Lake Bolsa Chica Bonny Doon Buena Vista Lagoon Butler Slough Butte Creek Canyon Butte Creek House Buttonwillow By Day Creek Calhoun Cut Canebrake Carlsbad Highlands Carmel Bay Carrizo Canyon Carrizo Plains China Point Clover Creek Coachella Valley Coal Canyon Corte Madera Marsh Crestridge Dairy Mart Ponds Dales Lake Del Mar Landing Eden Landing Elkhorn Slough Estelle Mountain Fall River Mills Fish Slough Fremont Valley Goleta Slough Indian Joe Spring Kaweah Kerman King Clone Laguna Laurel Loch Lomond Vernal Pool Lokern Magnesia Spring Marin Islands Mattole River McGinty Mountain Morro Dunes Morro Rock Napa River North Table Mountain Oasis Spring Panoche Hills Peytonia Slough Phoenix Vernal Pools Pine Hill Piute Creek Pleasant Valley Rancho Jamul Redwood Shores River Springs Lakes Saline Valley San Dieguito Lagoon San Elijo Lagoon San Felipe Creek San Joaquin River Santa Rosa Plateau Springville Stone Corral Sycamore Canyon Sycuan Peak Thomes Creek Tomales Bay Upper Newport Bay Watsonville Slough West Mojave Desert Woodbridge Yaudanchi
Marine Protected Areas	Abalone Cove and Point Vicente Anacapa Island SMCA Año Nuevo Arrow Point to Lion Head Point Batiquitos Lagoon Big Creek Bodega Head Bolsa Chica Cambria Campus Point Carmel Bay Cat Harbor Crystal Cove Dana Point Duxbury Reef Edward F. Ricketts Elkhorn Slough Estero Americano Estero de Limantour and Drakes Estero Estero de San Antonio Fagan Marsh Famosa Slough Farnsworth Onshore and Offshore Goleta Slough Greyhound Rock Lovers Cove and Casino Point MacKerricher Marin Islands Morro Bay Naples Pacific Grove Marine Gardens Painted Cave Piedras Blancas Point Arena Point Buchon Point Dume Point Reyes Point Sur Portuguese Ledge Pyramid Point Robert E. Badham Robert W. Crown Russian Gulch Russian River Salt Point San Diego-Scripps San Dieguito Lagoon San Elijo Lagoon Saunders Reef Sea Lion Cove Sonoma Coast Soquel Canyon South La Jolla South Point Southeast Farallon Island Stewarts Point Swami's Tijuana River Mouth Upper Newport Bay Van Damme Vandenberg White Rock (Cambria)

Bureau of Land Management National Conservation Lands

National Monuments	Berryessa Snow Mountain California Coastal Carrizo Plain Cascade–Siskiyou Fort Ord Mojave Trails Sand to Snow Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains
National Conservation Areas	California Desert King Range
Wilderness Areas	Argus Range Big Maria Mountains Bigelow Cholla Garden Bighorn Mountain Black Mountain Bright Star Bristol Mountains Cadiz Dunes Carrizo Gorge Chemehuevi Mountains Chimney Peak Chuckwalla Mountains Chumash Cleghorn Lakes Clipper Mountain Coso Range Coyote Mountains Darwin Falls Dead Mountains Dick Smith El Paso Mountains Fish Creek Mountains Funeral Mountains Garcia Golden Valley Grass Valley Headwaters Forest Reserve Hollow Hills Ibex Indian Pass Inyo Mountains Jacumba Kelso Dunes Kiavah Kingston Range Little Chuckwalla Mountains Little Picacho Machesna Mountain Malpais Mesa Manly Peak Matilija Mecca Hills Mesquite Newberry Mountains Nopah Range North Algodones Dunes North Mesquite Mountains Old Woman Mountains Orocopia Mountains Otay Mountain Owens Peak Pahrump Valley Palen/McCoy Palo Verde Mountains Picacho Peak Piper Mountain Piute Mountains Red Buttes Resting Spring Range Rice Valley Riverside Mountains Rodman Mountains Sacatar Trail Saddle Peak Hills San Gorgonio Santa Lucia Santa Rosa Sawtooth Mountains Sespe Sheephole Valley South Nopah Range Stateline Stepladder Mountains Surprise Canyon Sylvania Mountains Trilobite Turtle Mountains Whipple Mountains