Camron-Stanford House

What Camron-Stanford House does

The Camron-Stanford House Preservation Association is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit (FEIN #94-2210551) operating a single historic house museum at 1418 Lakeside Drive on Lake Merritt in Oakland, California. The 1876 Italianate Victorian is the only surviving estate among fourteen grand residences developed by Samuel Merritt along the lake and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (1972) and designated Oakland Historical Landmark #2 (1975). The Association was formed in 1971 to save the building from demolition after the Oakland Museum of California opened, raised more than $800,000 in the 1970s for restoration, and opened the house to the public in May 1978. Today the museum serves Oakland residents, school groups, and Lake Merritt visitors through in-person admission (currently suspended), docent-led and self-guided tours, rotating exhibits, and online exhibits; a Kuula-powered 360-degree virtual tour and a CatalogIt-hosted online collection catalog extend its reach digitally.

The revenue model is a mix of contributed and earned income: one-time donations (suggested $10-$250 plus custom), sustaining monthly memberships via Square at $10-$100/month, annual memberships from $40 (Basic through President's Circle), corporate memberships at $500+ (Friend through Partner), admissions and event rentals (suspended), and an e-commerce shop selling branded merchandise and the Franklina C. Gray hardcover ($45) and softcover ($25) publications. Go-to-market is community-led: grassroots donor cultivation, a GoFundMe fire recovery campaign, an Oakland Heritage Alliance petition to the Oakland City Council, organic social on Instagram and Facebook, email newsletters, and partnerships with Exhibit Envoy, Oakland Museum of California, and Square for content and payments. The organization holds no parent company, subsidiaries, or app products, and has no disclosed management team in the input data.

Since August 2024 the museum has been closed to the public after the City of Oakland declined to renew its 20-year lease; staff were laid off, tenants moved out, and reserves were depleted. The Association resecured the lease in February 2026 and announced a Spring 2026 reopening, but a fire on April 4, 2026 damaged less than 10% of the building, delaying reopening by months and triggering a new community fundraising drive against a $100,000 goal covering insurance, security, utilities, staff rehiring, and programming relaunch.

Name

Camron-Stanford House

Legal name

The Camron-Stanford House Preservation Association

Website

https://cshouse.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1971

Operating status

Closed

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Camron-Stanford House Preservation Association operates a 501(c)(3) historic house museum at 1418 Lakeside Drive in Oakland, California, preserving the 1876 Italianate Victorian on Lake Merritt and serving Oakland residents, students, and visitors through tours, exhibits, and membership programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Historic House Museum

NAICS

Museums (712110), Historical Sites (71212)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

History Museums (THAJADAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Museums & Heritage Sites (History, Science, Specialty) (BPAGAHAA), Museum & Landmark Guided Tours (Skip-the-line/Docent-led) (THAJAAAC)

Keywords

• Historic house museum
• Victorian preservation
• Cultural education programs
• Heritage tourism
• Museum membership programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Oakland, California

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations

Revenue model

1. Donations and Fundraising: Tax-deductible contributions to support reopening campaign and fire recovery efforts. Includes direct website donations and GoFundMe campaign.
2. Membership Program: Annual memberships with tiered benefits including free admission, event invitations, and reciprocal museum benefits. Also includes monthly sustaining membership options.
3. Gift Shop and Merchandise: Sale of branded merchandise including t-shirts, mugs, tote bags, wooden ornaments, and publications such as 'Franklina C. Gray: The Grand Tour' book.
4. Museum Admission: Admission fees for museum visits, self-guided tours, and special exhibitions (currently suspended pending 2026 reopening)
5. Corporate Memberships: Business membership tiers (Friend, Sponsor, Benefactor, Partner) providing community visibility and employee engagement opportunities

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Camron-Stanford House is a historic Victorian house museum that preserves and presents local history through in-person guided tours, virtual tour experiences, rotating exhibits, and educational programs. The site also operates a small retail merchandise offering and offers membership subscriptions to support its preservation mission.

Product overview

Camron-Stanford House operates as a historic house museum offering in-person visits, virtual tours, rotating exhibits, and online educational content. The museum provides membership programs for individuals and corporations, sells branded merchandise and publications through its online shop, and hosts events at the venue. The core offering centers on preserving and sharing Oakland's 19th-century history through the historic Italianate Victorian building, period rooms, collection objects, and interpretive programs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• In-Person Museum Tours Guided on-site tours of the historic Victorian house museum for general visitors, families, and cultural tourists in Oakland, California.
• Virtual Tour Experience Online virtual tour of the historic house providing remote access to the museum experience for distant visitors and those unable to attend in person.
• Rotating Exhibits Temporary themed exhibits displayed within the museum showcasing historical and cultural topics relevant to the site's collections and local history.
• Educational Programs Structured educational programs for students, teachers, and school groups designed to teach local history and the Victorian era through the museum's collections.
• Membership Program Annual membership subscriptions offered to supporters, providing recurring financial support for the museum's preservation mission and offering member benefits.
• Museum Merchandise Retail merchandise sold through the museum's online and on-site shop, supporting the organization's preservation mission.
• Community Events Community events hosted at the museum for local audiences, supporting cultural engagement and the museum's mission.

Quantifiable outcome

• First teaching museum west of the Mississippi River (1907-1965)
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• City of OaklandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Camron-Stanford House Preservation Association holds a lease with the City of Oakland to operate the historic house museum. In August 2024, the City did not renew the 20-year lease, but in February 2026, the Association resecured the lease in renewed partnership with the City to reopen the house. The City purchased the property in 1907 for $40,000.
• Oakland Heritage AllianceminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnered to circulate petition to Oakland City Council advocating for preservation of the Camron-Stanford House and protection of Oakland's last Victorian landmark at Lake Merritt.
• Exhibit EnvoyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvider of traveling exhibits featured at Camron-Stanford House including 'Gadgets Galore! Transforming the American Household' and 'Tattooed and Tenacious: Inked Women in California's History'.
• Oakland Museum of CaliforniaminorOthersIn 1967, when Oakland Museum of California opened (replacing Oakland Public Museum, Snow Museum, and Oakland Art Gallery), the collections were combined into the new modern facility. Oakland Museum loaned items to Camron-Stanford House during restoration period.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• The Gamble House: Pasadena-based historic house museum operated by a nonprofit preservation organization. Comparable as a fully restored historic residence with museum operations, gift shop, and public programming.
• Filoli Historic House & Garden: Historic estate in Woodside, CA operated by a nonprofit with admissions, memberships, and educational programming. Comparable as a heritage estate open to the public with diversified museum revenue streams.
• Villa Montezuma Museum: Victorian-era historic house museum in San Diego operated as a heritage nonprofit. Comparable as a Victorian-era restored residence open to the public on a volunteer and donor-supported basis.
• Heritage House Museum: Small Riverside, CA historic house museum operated by a nonprofit with volunteer docents. Comparable in scale, operating model, and reliance on community fundraising to a similar small heritage house.
• Dunsmuir Historic Estate: Oakland-based historic house museum (Dunsmuir Mansion) operated as a nonprofit on city-owned land. Directly comparable as a small, volunteer-supported Bay Area historic estate dependent on local government partnership and donor funding.
• Lanterman House Museum: Small California historic house museum operated by a nonprofit with free admission and a docent program. Directly comparable in scale, mission, and nonprofit operating model to Camron-Stanford House.
• John Muir National Historic Site: California historic house site managed for public visitation and education. Comparable as a preserved Victorian-era residence with interpretive tours and school programming.

Others

• Oakland Museum of California: The successor institution to the Oakland Public Museum that previously occupied Camron-Stanford House. Historically and geographically linked, having absorbed collections from the same 1907–1965 Oakland Public Museum period.

Broad incumbents

• Hearst Castle: Iconic California historic estate open to public visitation via tours and ticketed admissions. Comparable as a large-scale preserved California historic estate, though operated by California State Parks at much greater scale.
• The Winchester Mystery House: Large, commercially operated historic Victorian house museum in San Jose. Comparable as a Bay Area California Victorian-era residence open to public visitation, though far larger and for-profit.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/camronstanford
• Instagraminstagram.com/camronstanford
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cshpa

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Camron-Stanford House