In his book A Home in Alameda, local historian Woody Minor describes 899 Union Street in grand terms: “This big and boisterous Queen Anne is a neighborhood landmark by virtue of its size, intactness and conspicuous siting. The sinuous, shingled design incorporates a corner tower and belvedere turret perched atop a spacious curving porch.”

A beautiful view
In all of my writings about our Alameda Treasures, I don’t believe I’ve ever had the opportunity to describe a belvedere turret. According to Merriam-Webster, the word belvedere originates with the Italian words Bel, which means “beautiful”, and Vedere, which means “view.” In architectural terms, a belvedere—like a cupola—can provide both views and ventilation to the upper floors of a home. By describing the small, turret-like porch above the main porch as a belvedere turret, Woody Minor elevates this architectural element and brings our attention to one of the many delightful elements of this Joseph A. Leonard creation.
Leonardville
Although many renowned builders have left their indelible marks on the unique Victorian–era architecture of Alameda—among them Marcuse & Remmel, A.W. Pattiani, Denis Straub, A. R. Denke, Charles Shaner and Bert Remmel—there is only one who has a whole neighborhood named after him. Joseph A. Leonard (1849-1929) built so many homes in Alameda that “Leonardville” is a historic district still on maps to this day.
About 150 homes are known to have been built by Joseph Argyle Leonard in Alameda alone, and his neighborhood was centered around Chestnut Station on the Encinal Avenue rail line. Most of his homes survive to this day. Walk the streets around Union, Lafayette, San Jose, Clinton, and San Antonio, and you are in the heart of Leonardville. Unlike Marcuse & Remmel, who specialized in smaller Queen Anne-style cottages, Leonard built mainly two-story residences for wealthier clientele.

Peak years
The foundations of the first Leonardville homes were laid in late 1889, and by the fall of 1890 Leonard had moved into spacious new quarters on Park Street, where he employed a large staff that included a general manager, salesmen, rent collector, bookkeeper, draftsmen, and a stenographer/typist. In addition, his Supervisor of Building, Edwin A. Randlett, oversaw the work of nearly 100 workers, including carpenters, brick masons, lathe operators, plasterers, plumbers, shinglers, painters, and various other craftsmen and laborers. Leonard’s peak building year was 1890, when his company put up 52 homes. The Joseph A. Leonard Company continued building throughout the 1890s, until a worsening recession caused the company to cease building operations in the summer of 1897, and finally close its doors in the spring of 1898.
An early Leonard creation
The home at 899 Union Street was built relatively early in Joseph Leonard’s time in Alameda. Construction began in October 1891 and was completed in the following year. While 1891 didn’t match the construction output of 1890, Leonard’s company still managed to build 19 homes in this district that year, including three that were still under construction as the year ended—899 Union Street among them. This grand home was built on commission for George H. Morrison, manager of The History Company, Hubert H. Bancroft’s publishing firm in San Francisco. Morrison, who also worked as an insurance agent, paid $9,000 for his new home. Joseph A. Leonard’s standard business practice at the time called for buyers to pay a 20% down payment, with the balance due in monthly installments equaling 1% of the purchase price, with 8% annual interest factored in.

A short stay
George H. Morrison and his family must have moved into their large and beautiful new home near Alameda’s bayshore with high hopes in 1892, but their stay there would be relatively short. On September 9, 1895, an article with the headline, “He Is Insolvent” appeared in the Alameda Times Star, describing the bankruptcy petition of George H. Morrison. His liabilities were listed as being $12,306, mostly secured by mortgages and real estate, which meant that he’d be losing his dream home to his creditors. But Morrison’s troubles didn’t occur in a vacuum. Instead, he was caught up in forces beyond his control.
The Panic of 1893
The so-called “Panic of 1893” was an economic depression in the United States that lasted into 1894, but the effects lingered at least into 1897. It was considered the most serious economic depression in history until the Great Depression of the 1930s. During the Panic of 1893, several of Alameda’s most successful and prolific homebuilders saw their businesses decline and eventually close. Among them were Marcuse & Remmel and the Joseph A. Leonard Company. Indeed, a look at Alameda’s legacy of Queen Anne homes finds that the vast majority of them were built from the late 1880s through the mid-1890s. After that, while some homes were built, large-scale construction didn’t begin again until the early 1900s. By then, economics and changing tastes resulted in an entirely different style of home being built—mainly Colonial Revival style—with a later move toward Craftsman-style homes. Although styles and tastes change regardless, it’s possible that had the economic depression of the mid-1890s not occurred, we’d have a lot more Queen Anne-style homes in town now.

From the Gold Coast to the Copper Coast
After his home at 899 Union Street was foreclosed on due to his bankruptcy, George Morrison and his family moved from the south shore to a home at 2123 Eagle Avenue on the northern waterfront. Sadly, just five years later, George died there, on August 13, 1900. He was just 55 years old, and left behind a wife and four children. The native of Maine, who had made a success of himself in San Francisco and raised a family in Alameda, had experienced some reversals as well, not the least among them being his early death. How the stress of his bankruptcy played into that early demise is not known, but it would not be surprising if it played a significant role. And just two years later, his widow Mary Emily died on December 23, 1902, after what was described as a protracted illness. She was 57 years old.
Rental period
According to historian Woody Minor, Morrison’s foreclosed property was then maintained by its creditors as a rental for about 14 years until it was purchased by traveling salesman Frank Warner in 1909. During the rental period, various names of tenants were associated with 899 Union Street, including John P. Teller, Samuel Burger, and a Mrs. Charlotte Haviside, a native of England. The Warner family lived in the home through the early 1930s, and then during World War II it was divided into multiple rooms for military housing. By the 1960s it was converted into three units and was covered with aluminum siding. The next owners, Charlie and Mimi Stuart, who purchased the home in 1988, began the long process of restoring it once again into a single family residence.
Next up
When our series continues, we’ll meet the current owners, Kasi and Harrison Riley, who have owned this historic home since 2021. We’ll learn what updates and changes they’ve made to the house, and how they’ve preserved and respected its original 1890s style. We’ll also look back on an early 1900s dispute over a “sleep-murdering racket” caused by Joseph Leonard’s own nearby tank-house windmill, and how its creaks, groans, and screeches caused the residents of 899 Union Street to summon the police to the scene. We’ll also attempt to learn why this house has the phrase “Captain’s Corner” painted above the front porch. All of that, and the role the home played in the 1999 movie The Sixth Sense, will be revealed when our story continues.
Contributing writer Steve Gorman has been a resident of Alameda since 2000, when he fell in love with the history and architecture of this unique town. Contact him via [email protected]. His writing is collected at AlamedaPost.com/Steve-Gorman.