Coxhead, Ernest Albert
Entry Author: David
Parry
Architect
 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.
( photo on the right cortesy of San Francisco
Public Library)
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.
Entry taken from the website of David Parry at www.classicSFproperties.com
and is used by permission. Unauthorized use of this copyrighted
material is strictly forbidden without permission from the
author.
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Coxhead came to California from England in 1887 at the age
of 23