Benedict Gieling House San Francisco 2 Stock Photo

With the discovery of silver on Mount Davidson Nevada in 1859, a new silver rush was started. It became known as the Comstock Lode, named for Henry Comstock, one of the earliest owners of rights to the area. This proved to be the largest silver find ever in the United States, too bad for Henry, he sold out his share of the mine too early. All this silver needs a refiner to finish the processing of this precious metal, and Jacob Benedict was a San Francisco refiner who made a fortune in the process, and had this Italianate villa built c1870-79. After the 1906 Earthquake it was used as an emergency boarding house and eventually a Hippie crash pad. John and Imogen Gieling bought and lovingly restored the house. As enjoyed 16 October 2023.