Time for another #ThrowbackThursday edition of the blog: Imagine if the Mark Hopkins Mansion still stood in San Francisco today. What an iconic sight that would be. The Gilded Age era mansion on Nob Hill managed to survive the 1906 earthquake, but not the three-day fire that followed.
Mark Hopkins was one of "The Big Four" founders of the Central Pacific Railroad. He was purportedly persuaded by his wife, Mary, to build on the Southeastern peak of the hill near the mansions of the fellow railroad barons, but sadly the mansion was completed in 1878, after his death.
At the time, the mansion was the highest point in the city and featured 360 degree views, which Eadweard Muybridge used to shoot his famous 1887 panoramic.
Most will still recognize the site, which has an interesting history. It's a designated a California Historical Landmark and since 1929 has been the home of the luxury Mark Hopkins Hotel.