Benicia Historical Society

Page 4 DAVIS/MERRITT HOUSE ~ c. 1848 123 West D Street History: This structure was pre-fabricated in Maine and re-assembled in its present location in about 1848. The small two-room annex in the rear of the building is believed to have been built here prior to 1848 and contains an origi- nal chimney among its other features. Prior to its most recent renovation in 1988 this residence was called the “What Not Shop,” an antique and collecti- bles store. Architecture: This residence is a clapboard structure and represents a type of early American neoclassicism popular in New England at the turn of the 19 th century. This residence also represents an archaic use of the Federal style in California. The Federal style was the preferred architectural mode among the New England aristocracy, a style itself drawn from late eighteenth century English design. In domestic architecture, a horizontal emphasis predominated, with crisp, delicately proportioned wall surfaces and clearly delineated win- dows punctuating the façade. In particular, this Benicia residence most closely resembles the rural, more conservative house designs found in Federalist New England. These tended to be two stories with a low-pitched roof, having a more simplified detailing than the more prominent three story townhouses of the period.