Pardee Home Museum

Here's your chance to discover a glorious historical treasure! While visitors flock to San Francisco's historical sites, few know what's just across the Bay: the Pardee Home Museum, one of the great undiscovered gems of California Museums. Oakland's Pardee Home Museum is one of California's greatest architectural and historical treasures. From the outside, the beauty of the house and gardens is striking enough -- but once you get inside, you'll be astonished by the unique interiors and artifacts from around the world. And you'll discover its outstanding historical importance as the home of one of the East Bay's most influential families.  FROM THE MINES TO PUBLIC OFFICE Enoch Pardee came to California from the Midwest during the Gold Rush to make his fortune. He succeeded well enough to become a respected eye doctor, and in 1868-69 built the house that is now the Pardee Home Museum. Enoch also pursued a vigorous public career in the 1870's and 1880's, serving as mayor of Oakland, state assemblyman, and state senator. His son, George C. Pardee, followed closely in his father's footsteps, also becoming an eye doctor and mayor of Oakland, and was elected Governor of California in 1902.