Built in 1892. This highly ornamented two-story Queen Anne house has a octagonal corner tower with finial, and the curved gable over the porch and curved lintels over various windows lend a restrained classical touch. The octagonal tower is pure Queen Anne, while the arches of the entrance porch are reminiscent of a more Gothic style. Since the architect was James Simpson, the house is called the Simpson-Vance house. It should be pointed out that this major Eureka landmark is also a major work of the architects of the Carson houses, surpassed only by William Carson’s own house. It is similar in spirit to Carson the younger’s house, while more ambitiously sized. Its great bulk hides well behind the large number of overly endowed bays and the massive tower itself, and seems successfully approachable as a house rather that a castle or chateau.
