McDonald Mansion

For other uses, see McDonald House.

The McDonald Mansion, also known as Mableton, is an historic residence in Santa Rosa, California.^[2] It was built in 1876 in the Victorian Stick/Eastlake style as a summer home for the McDonald family, whose primary residence was in San Francisco.^[3]

McDonald Mansion
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Mableton, as it appeared in summer 2010.
Mableton
Location	1015 McDonald Ave. Santa Rosa, California
Coordinates	38°27′1″N 122°42′15″W
Built	1877
Architectural style	Stick/Eastlake
NRHP reference No.	74000560[1]
Significant dates
Polyanna filming	August 1–7, 1959
Added to NRHP	March 1, 1974

After the death of the senior McDonalds, the eldest son Mark Jr. and his wife Isabelle eventually became sole owners of Mableton, and made it their primary residence. By the early 1920s, the two began to extensively remodel Mableton to suit their own tastes.^[4]

In 1959, Mabelton's exterior was used in the filming of Walt Disney's Pollyanna.^[2] However, film editors altered the look of the McDonald house by using matte painting to add several stories to make the building taller, as well as architectural features.^[5]

In 1977, during a restoration process, a fire destroyed a large part of the house. The owner, Dr. Jack Leissring, rebuilt the house.^[6] He sold it in 2005 to technology entrepreneur John Webley and his wife Jennifer. As of 2018, they remain the owners of the house.^[7][8]

In 2006, the Rynerson O'Brien Architecture firm began a five-year renovation of the home. The overhaul included restoring the exterior, recreating Victorian theme rooms throughout the home, and adding new features to the backyard.^[5]

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
2. Smith, Dave (November 3, 2011). "Ask Dave". D23. Archived from the original on April 3, 2012. Retrieved November 4, 2011. Congratulations on owning such an impressive landmark in Santa Rosa! Mableton, as the house is known, was built in 1877 and was the residence of Mrs. Juilliard MacDonald when Disney used its exteriors for the filming of Pollyanna. The actual filming took place at the house from August 1 to August 7, 1959.
3. Connor, Ann M. (1970). McDonald Avenue: A Century of Elegance.
4. "A Brief History of "Mableton" and The McDonald Family | Rynerson OBrien Architecture". rynersonobrien.com. Retrieved 2020-07-08.
5. Mattern, Jessica Leigh (2017-06-28). "The House from Disney's 'Pollyanna' Is Barely Recognizable Today". Country Living. Retrieved 2020-07-08.
6. "Mableton In Transition | Rynerson OBrien Architecture". rynersonobrien.com. Retrieved 2020-07-08.
7. Digitale, Robert (2014-05-31). "Telecom Valley pioneer John Webley's fresh start with startup". Santa Rosa Press Democrat. Retrieved 2020-07-08.
8. Weber, Janet Balicki (2018-10-15). "Then and now: Historic local mansions". Sonoma Index-Tribune. Retrieved 2020-07-08.

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