San Francisco's only intact Victorian-era private house open to the public — built 1886, survived the 1906 earthquake, and reportedly still occupied
2007 Franklin St, San Francisco, CA 94109
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$
Regular guided tours and special events including annual Halloween ghost tours. Check SF Heritage website for current admission pricing.
Access
Limited Access
Victorian-era house with multiple floors and narrow staircases; limited accessibility.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1886 · Queen Anne Victorian Architecture · Survived 1906 San Francisco Earthquake · Only Intact Victorian Private Residence Open to Public in SF · San Francisco Heritage Museum
William Haas commissioned the house at 2007 Franklin Street in 1886 as a family home. Haas was a partner in a wholesale grocery business and among the successful German-Jewish merchant families who built substantial homes in the Western Addition and Pacific Heights neighborhoods in the late 19th century. The architect Samuel and Joseph Cather Newsom designed the structure in the Queen Anne style — steeply pitched rooflines, decorative shingles, a corner tower, and extensive millwork.
The house passed through the Haas family and then to the Lilienthal family, who were relatives by marriage, over the subsequent decades. The 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire destroyed much of the city; the Franklin Street house survived with minimal damage, which was attributed to the quality of its construction and its location. The structure remained a private residence until 1973, when the Lilienthal family donated it to San Francisco Heritage, a preservation organization that operates it as the sole intact Victorian-era private house open to the public in San Francisco.
The house retains original furnishings and decorative elements across three primary floors plus the attic and basement. Regular guided tours have been offered since the 1970s. SF Heritage has expanded public programming to include the annual Halloween-season Mayhem Mansion events, which draw on the house's ghost reputation as well as its well-documented history.
Sources
The reported activity at the Haas-Lilienthal House comes, in part, from people who have spent substantial time inside it — docents and staff who work the building regularly. The accounts in available sources describe two recurring visual apparitions: an older woman seated in one of the upstairs rooms, observed by multiple people in the same location across different visits, and a man in a chauffeur's or service uniform seen near the back staircase.
The chauffeur figure is notable because it is a specific detail — the description implies staff rather than family, which in a house of this era and scale would correspond to domestic employees whose historical record is far less complete than the owners'. Whether the figure represents an actual individual associated with the house is unknown.
Additionally, staff and visitors have described objects moving of their own accord and windows opening without anyone approaching them. The Haunt Ghost Tours, a San Francisco ghost tour operator, has documented employee sightings at the house as part of its research into the city's paranormal sites.
SF Heritage, the nonprofit that operates the house, leans into the ghost reputation through its Mayhem Mansion annual event, suggesting a degree of institutional acknowledgment even if the organization does not make paranormal claims officially.
Notable Entities
San Francisco Heritage leads regular guided tours of the Haas-Lilienthal House, the city's only intact example of an original Victorian private residence open as a public museum. The 1886 Queen Anne structure is fully furnished with period pieces across three main floors. Tours cover the family history and architectural details; the house's paranormal reputation adds a layer that guides acknowledge seasonally.
SF Heritage hosts an annual Halloween-season program called Mayhem Mansion that specifically engages the house's reported paranormal activity. The event sells out; check the SF Heritage events calendar for dates and ticketing.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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