The Mansion House II, circa 1912

Records for the City of St. Petersburg cannot be found previous to 1912 for 105 Fifth Avenue NE, but the house was believed to have been built in between 1901 and 1904 by David Mofett, St. Petersburg's first mayor. Alan and Suzanne Lucas, the remodelers of our home and the previous owners, gave the B&B the name "Mansion House", which, if you are British, indicates the house of the mayor.

The second owner of 105 Fifth Avenue NE, a single-family dwelling that was at 99 Fifth Avenue in 1912, was A.F. Thomasson, President of the Central National Bank and the Trade Council – the early Chamber of Commerce. Thomasson moved to St. Petersburg in 1909 and married Phoebe Mackey, daughter of one of the pioneering families of this area.

In approximately 1927, the house was remodeled and a Dr. R. K. O'Brien, a physician and local eccentric, moved into the house and used it for his practice. Dr. O'Brien bought the house at 115 Fifth Avenue NE, "Kemphurst", from the Julia Kemp family for his residence, and eventually that was given to his son, Dr. John O'Brien. This house is now Mansion House II, connected to Mansion House by a beautiful courtyard/garden called The Courtyard on Fifth.

The homes are mirror images of each other with the original, rusticated-brick porches having been enclosed on both houses by Dr. O'Brien in 1938.

The Mansion House, a component of three buildings surrounding a courtyard, was built between 1901 and 1904 and restored in 1913, 1928, 1938, and 1991. This historic building is a two-story masonry and wood platform, built as a single-family residential building. It is an example of Craftsman style architecture. The plan of the building is irregular and consists of a gabled roof main unit and a polygonal extension. The exterior wall fabric is wood shingle and stucco and fenestration consists of double-hung sash windows with 1/1 lights. The tiered porch has a shed roof. Other notable architectural elements include an east end, exterior chimney and a poured concrete foundation and decorative eaves brackets. The building has been altered by the enclosure of the porch.

Mrs. Julia Kemp  in front of 115 Fifth Ave. NE

115 Fifth Ave. NE with 105 Fifth Ave. NE in the background

Architectural Context

The Craftsman style was the most popular design for small residential buildings built throughout the country in the first three decades of the twentieth century. Influenced by the English Arts and Crafts Movement and Oriental and Indian architecture, the style was popularized by the work of two brothers, Charles S. and Henry M. Greene. The Greens began practicing architecture in Pasadena, California in 1893. In the ensuing two decades, they designed a number of large, elaborate prototypes of the style. Their innovative designs received a significant amount of publicity in national magazines such as Western Architect, The Architect, House Beautiful, Good Housekeeping, and Ladies' Home Journal.

By the turn of the century, the design had been adapted to smaller homes, commonly referred to as bungalows. It was this scaled down version of the Craftsman style that became a ubiquitous feature of Florida's residential neighborhoods during the early twentieth century. The Craftsman bungalow is typically a one- or one-and-one-half-story building with a low-pitched gable (occasionally hipped) roof. The eaves are wide and open, exhibiting structural components such as rafter ends, beams, and brackets. The porch is often the most dominant architectural feature of the Bungalow. They are generally either full or partial width, with the roof supported by tapered square columns that either extend to ground level or sit on massive brick piers. Windows are usually double-hung sash with vertical lights in the upper sash.

The Mansion House is potentially eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places as a contributing element in a historic district. It is significant under the National Register criterion C as a representative example of Craftsman style architecture and its association with the development of the North Shore area, St Petersburg's foremost historic residential neighborhood. The Mansion House has received two prestigious awards: The City of St. Petersburg 1993 Beautification Award, and in 1994 the St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce Building Enhancement Award. The Mansion House II is a designated historic building.