HISTORIC HOMES TOUR: 2204 CAPITOL

 With its vertical, stately aspect, 2204 Capitol conveys the purest form of the Foursquare type of house. Although rectangular in plan, it alludes to squared features at the front, with what appears as a pyramidal hip roof over a squared facade. Another Foursquare feature is the lack of decoration. The boxed eaves, hipped attic dormer, and simple sash windows positioned at the four corners of the facade are also typical of this house type. The flat roofed front porch, offset to the right, features simple squared piers on a solid railing. The most unusual detail is the small, keyhole-shaped window in the center of the facade, just above the front porch roof. 

This house and one around the corner, 1311 22nd Street, stand on land that once belonged to the brother and sister-in-law of William E. Briggs, owner of 2209 Capitol. It is likely that Wallace and EIla Briggs built 2204 (originally numbered 2206) in 1898-99. The first recorded occupant was Wilbur F. George, who rented the house with his wife Eva for seven years (1900-1907).  George was a lawyer and notary as well as the secretary of the river steamer business known as the Sacramento Transportation Company. In 1907 the Briggs couple sold the house to Elbridge Lafayette Hawk, who immediately moved here with his wife Barbara and daughter Blanche. His son, Arthur S. Hawk, also lived at 2204 occasionally.

E. L. Hawk was the most prominent occupant of 2204 Capitol. Hawk was a Civil War veteran (served 1861-1865) and long-time member of the Grand Army of the Republic, of which he was appointed commander-in-chief in 1927.  A marker is located in Capitol Park to honor his service. He worked as both a realtor and insurance agent and was president of Hawk & Carly Co. in 1908-1911. He was an Assembly member of the California Legislature and was very active in local and state politics, introducing the bill that established Lincoln's birthday as a state holiday in California (1909). Blanche Hawk's 1913 wedding to San Francisco architect Walter Pinkham was celebrated in the family home, which was decorated throughout with elaborate floral displays. Rooms mentioned in a news story about the marriage include the reception hall, living room, and dining room. The journalist also praised the bride's use of her father's Civil War sword to cut the wedding cake, describing it as a " pretty sentiment."

After E. L. Hawk died in 1930, his widow remained in the house for three more years, occasionally taking in lodgers, before joining her son and daughter-in-law at their home in Boulevard Park. From the late 1930s onward, 2204 Capitol was used primarily as a multi-family structure, with three or more rental units. The current owners (since 2007) have restored it as a single-family residence.