Pacific Heights Architects #1 - Ernest Coxhead

Ernest Albert Coxhead is one of the city’s more distinctive and influential architects historically, a contemporary and a close friend of the better known Willis Polk, who served as best man at Coxhead’s wedding in 1898.

Coxhead came to California from England in 1887 at the age of 23, with a classical architectural education. He first settled in Los Angeles where he soon secured commissions to design several Episcopal Churches in Southern California. His success with these designs led to commissions for half a dozen more in Northern California, and with his older brother, Almeric as his business partner, he headed north in 1889, officially opening the Coxhead and Coxhead office here in 1890.

Their first project was the Holy Innocents Church at 455 Fair Oaks. That was followed by another church on 11th near Market before they obtained their first residential commission in 1891, a brick and half-timbered house with symmetrical paired leaded-glass windows and a steep shingled roof rolled at the edge, for James and Julia McGauley. Except that it is perched high up on a graded street, this house at 2423 Green Street reminds the viewer of an English thatched-roof country cottage adapted to the California environment using materials appropriate for this area, such as cedar shingles instead of thatch.

Soon after, in 1892, he designed a home for himself and his brother immediately east of the McGauley house, but on a lot one-half the width, at 2421 Green Street. By contrast, this house is completely asymmetrical and reminds one of a home on a remote part of the English coastline. With this design Coxhead established himself firmly as one of the small group of architects who were rejecting the overly-ornamented and brightly-painted Italianate and Queen Anne styles in favor of a more simple design and an approach to building which used materials left in their natural state to harmonize rather than stand-out from the existing landscape.

In 1893 his Episcopal Church client, Bishop William Kip, died and Coxhead started to concentrate on residential work in San Francisco and Berkeley. In the City he went on to design 2710 Scott in 1893, 2940 Jackson in1894, 2600 Jackson in1895, 2511 Baker and 3362 Clay in 1896, 2700 Scott in 1897, 2800 Pacific in 1899, 3647 Washington in 1900, and 3232 & 3234 Pacific in 1901. Remarkably, all of them survive 100 years later, largely retaining their original exterior appearance.

Coxhead’s legacy to San Francisco architecture also includes Prayerbook Cross (1894) and a bridge over Stow Lake (1896), both in Golden Gate Park; three buildings for the Home Telephone Company (now Pacific Bell), including their headquarters at 333 Grant in1908, which is now San Francisco Landmark #141; and the Golden Gate Valley Branch Library at 1801 Green on the corner of Octavia in 1910.

Coxhead (along with Polk to a lesser degree) is now considered to have had a direct and positive influence on other Bay Area architects such as Bernard Maybeck, Edgar Mathews, Albert Farr and William Wurster and to be one of the forefathers of the Bay Region style.

In contrast to the younger, more dynamic Polk, Coxhead kept his practice small and stable. After the First World War, he volunteered many months of his time in France training French architectural students to prepare them for the daunting task of rebuilding their country. He was also active in the local architectural community and he was Vice-President of the San Francisco chapter of the American Institute of Architects for the 2 years (1921-22) that George Applegarth was President. Coxhead’s lifelong partnership with his brother continued until November 30, 1928 when Almeric died. Ernest continued working for another five years until he died on March 27, 1933.

Coxhead had been born in Eastbourne, England in 1863, the fourth of six children. His father William Coxhead was a retired schoolmaster who had set up as a lodging-house keeper in this coastal town on the south coast of England, about 20 miles east of Brighton. At the age of 15 Ernest became articled to civil engineer George Wallis, who did a number of public works projects which were instrumental in Eastbourne's development as a resort. After five years experience in both public projects and residential developments, in 1883 Coxhead left Eastbourne for London. In London he worked for architect Frederic Chancellor, who instilled in Coxhead a keen interest in old churches.