This article is about the house in Palo Alto. For the house in Holly Springs, North Carolina, see Norris-Holland-Hare House. For for the house in Raleigh, North Carolina, see Norris-Heartt House.
The Norris House is a historic house located at 1247 Cowper St. in Palo Alto, California. The house was built in 1927 for Kathleen Norris, a novelist and columnist who was once the highest-paid female author in the United States, and her husband Charles Gilman Norris, also a noted novelist. Kathleen Norris' novels featured female characters who represented her ideals of motherhood and moral virtue; her columns appeared in major magazines and included both short stories and advice columns. Charles Gilman Norris wrote novels which touched on contemporary social issues and served as Kathleen's agent.[2]
In 1949, the Diocese of San Francisco purchased the house to serve as the Newman Center for Stanford University. Around 2000 the house was sold into private hands again.[3]
Architect Birge Clark designed the Spanish Colonial Revival house. At the time, the house was Clark's largest and most expensive design. The house's layout features several one- and two-story sections surrounding a patio. The house is built from white stucco with a tile roof; handcrafted ironwork and woodwork is used in the beams and decorations.[2]