Arthur Monroe Free House Explained

The Arthur Monroe Free House in San Jose, California is a Craftsman-style how which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002. It is located at 66 South 14th Street, which previously was 66 South Priest Street.^[1]

The house was listed on the National Register for its association with Arthur Monroe Free, a United States Congressman. Free lived at the house from 1919 until his death in 1953.^[1]

However, Donald and Annie Palmer had commissioned the house in 1905 from residential designer, Emily Williams, their "adopted" daughter and partner of their daughter, Lillian McNeill Palmer.^[2] The Palmers lived there until they moved to San Francisco around 1909.^[3] Lillian Palmer had a workshop in the basement where she practiced her metal art. Emily and Lillian lived in this house on and off.^[4]

Notes and References

1. Web site: [{{NRHP url|id=02000384}} National Register of Historic Places Registration: Arthur Monroe Free House ]. National Park Service. William G. Robson . June 10, 2001 . August 5, 2017. With .
2. News: Women as Architects, With a Special Application to Miss Emily Williams, San Jose's Successful Architect. 1906-11-11. San Jose Mercury & Herald reprinted in The Board and Batten, Winter 2009, p.22. 19.
3. News: San Jose Mercury & Herald. 1909-05-20.
4. Book: Horton, Inge Schaefer. Early Women Architects of the San Francisco Bay Area - The Lives and Work of Fifty Professionals, 1890-1951. McFarland & Company. 2010. 978-0-7864-4656-8. Jefferson, NC. 368–379.