Historic Homes Tour: 2209 Capitol Avenue

This elegant Foursquare home conveys a mixture of modern Prairie and

traditional Classical ideals in its shape and decorative details. The low-

pitched hipped roof with wide overhanging boxed eaves is often found in

Prairie-style architecture in the Midwest. The wide simple frieze below the

eaves lines the top of the windows set high in the walls, which also are

typical of the Prairie style. The flat roofed front

porch with wide overhanging eaves reflects the overall horizontality of the

Prairie form. Classical elements include the Palladian window in the

hipped-roof attic dormer; the Ionic pilasters at the corners of the facade

(each two stories tall); the Ionic columns supporting the front porch; and

the turned balustrades lining the front porch railing. The front door is

framed by vertical sidelights and has a transom window above,

illuminating the entry hall inside.

Developer and contractor Philip Wolf, Jr. may have built this house shortly after acquiring the land in 1901. The first occupants were Frederick H. Pierce, a teller with the National Bank of D. O. Mills, and his family (from 1902-03). They were followed by Dr. William E. Briggs and Grace R. Briggs, who bought the house in 1904 and lived there for several decades. William died in 1931; his widow Grace remained here until 1941. Two years later, Eula Lee Lane purchased 2209 and turned it into a boarding house. She had as many as a dozen tenants on the premises in the late 1940s. The house remained a multi-family rental property under different owners until the late 1970s. In 1981, four business partners purchased the building and operated it as a bed-and-breakfast inn for several years (The Briggs House). In 1990 it was sold to the current owners, who painstakingly brought it back to its original status as a single-family residence.

Like his brothers Wallace (the original owner of 2204 Capitol) and Asahel, William Ellery Briggs was a distinguished physician. He trained in Europe and became a specialist in the treatment of diseases of the eye/ear, nose, and throat before setting up a practice in Sacramento in 1879.  All three brothers owned impressive residences in Sacramento. William's first home was an early 1880s Victorian at 1830 N St.  Wallace built a French Beaux-Arts style home on Poverty Ridge in 1910 (2015 21st St.), and Asahel built a Craftsman-style home in Boulevard Park (2212 G St.).

William E. Briggs was committed to medical and civic causes and was a founder of the Save the Redwoods League. His wife, Grace Rideout, came from a very wealthy family, was well educated, and was actively involved in the administration of local non-profit organizations. She organized Sacramento's branch of the American Association of University Women and was president of the Kingsley Art Club. She also managed a Red Cross relief program during World War I. The couple's two children, Phebe Briggs McClatchy Conley (her first husband was Carlos McClatchy) and Dr. Wallace Rideout Briggs, were prominent figures as well.