About the Camron-Stanford House

Built in 1876, the Camron-Stanford House is the last surviving Victorian mansion on the shores of Lake Merritt — a solitary remnant of the grand estates that once defined Oakland's earliest neighborhoods. In 2026, it turns 150 years old. It passed through a succession of influential Bay Area families before the city acquired it in 1907, when it became the first home of the Oakland Public Museum, a role it held until 1965.

The structure was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972 and has been a designated Oakland Historical Landmark since 1975. Its rooms are filled with art, furniture, fashion, and personal artifacts of the Gilded Age, donated by descendants of the families who once called it home.

Rescued from Demolition — Then Left to Fend for Itself

By the early 1970s, the Camron-Stanford House had fallen into disrepair. The City of Oakland planned to bulldoze it to make room for a parking lot. A group of local history advocates stepped in: the Camron-Stanford House Preservation Association (CSHPA) raised more than $800,000 in donations and gifts to restore the building, and in exchange received a below-market lease in order to maintain the house as a site of public education.

For more than fifty years, CSHPA upheld that commitment. All operating costs — restoration, maintenance, programming, security — were covered by grants, donations, and rental revenue. The city provided no ongoing financial support. The house reopened as a museum and event space in 1978 and has served Oakland ever since.

The Crisis: Three Threats at Once

1. The April 4, 2026 Fire

In the early morning hours of April 4, 2026, a fire broke out on the north side of the Camron-Stanford House. Twenty-five firefighters responded and contained the flames. According to CSHPA, less than 10% of the building was damaged; the structure is sound and the historical rooms and artifacts are intact. But the fire damage is real, the repair costs are substantial, and the house remains closed while insurance assessment is pending. The city has boarded the windows and installed a chain-link perimeter fence. CSHPA has launched a $100,000 fundraising campaign to help cover repairs and reopen the museum — but the fate of a 150-year-old public landmark should not rest on a crowdfunding campaign alone.

2. The Lease and the Path to Reopening

Even before the fire, the Camron-Stanford House faced a crisis of the city's own making. Oakland's Department of Parks, Recreation & Youth Development declined to renew CSHPA's lease in 2024, closed the museum in August of that year, and signaled plans to issue a request for proposals seeking new management. The city blocked CSHPA from booking future events, draining the organization's funds and forcing the layoff of museum staff.

CSHPA is now working with the City of Oakland toward reopening — a welcome development. But a good-faith partnership requires more than goodwill: it requires a secure lease, dedicated funding, and a firm public commitment that the Camron-Stanford House will remain a site of historic preservation and public education. Without those guarantees, the house remains one budget cycle or one change in city leadership away from another closure — or worse, conversion to a commercial venue that serves profit rather than community.

3. Ongoing Vandalism and a Dangerous Tree

In the years leading up to the fire, the Camron-Stanford House suffered repeated acts of vandalism and attempted arson, forcing CSHPA to spend more than $60,000 on private security in 2025 alone. A massive, aging eucalyptus tree on the property has been dropping large branches and poses a serious structural threat; an arborist's report recommended extensive pruning or full removal, but the city ignored the findings.

Oakland's track record with historic properties left without stewards is not reassuring. The Miller Avenue Branch Library — once listed on the National Register of Historic Places — burned down in 2018 after years of city neglect. The J. Mora-Moss House in Mosswood Park has sat boarded up for decades. This pattern of "demolition through neglect" must not claim the Camron-Stanford House as its next victim.

What We Are Asking For

We call on the City of Oakland to take the following concrete steps:

1. Immediately fund emergency stabilization and fire damage repairs to the Camron-Stanford House, including securing the structure against further deterioration, vandalism, and weather damage
2. Address the eucalyptus tree hazard by following the recommendations of CSHPA's arborist report without further delay
3. Establish a dedicated city funding commitment to support the long-term maintenance and security of this publicly owned landmark
4. Commit publicly that the Camron-Stanford House will remain a site of public education and community access — not be converted into a private commercial venue

Why It Matters

The Camron-Stanford House belongs to all of Oakland. It was saved from a bulldozer by community volunteers. It was restored with donated funds. It has served the public for nearly fifty years. In 2026, as it marks its 150th year, it deserves better than a future defined by fire damage, funding uncertainty, and institutional neglect.

Oakland designated this building a landmark. Oakland put it on the National Register. Oakland accepted the benefit of CSHPA's stewardship for five decades. It is time for Oakland to meet that history with action — and make the 150th anniversary of the Camron-Stanford House a beginning, not an ending.

Sign this petition to demand that the City of Oakland protect, repair, and preserve the Camron-Stanford House — for this generation and every one that follows.

You can also support CSHPA's $100,000 fire repair and reopening fund directly at cshouse.org. Every donation goes toward restoring the house and bringing it back to the public.