The Gryphon Gazette

By Romy S. ‘25

Charles Templeton Crocker, born on September 2, 1884, was a philanthropist, yachtsman, art patron, and, most notably, the grandson of railroad tycoon Charles Crocker. On February 28, 1911, Templeton married Helene, the daughter of Hawaiian sugar baron William G. Irwin. Following their extravagant honeymoon, the couple settled in Hillsborough, California, where Templeton had spent most of his childhood. Soon after arriving, he commissioned famous San Francisco architect Willis Polk to design a neoclassical Renaissance palazzo for his wife. Between 1912 and 1917, the house was under construction, and by the end, Crocker had spent $1.9 million (roughly $43.2 million today).

Upon its completion, Uplands boasted 35,000 square feet of living space and housed 12 bedrooms with extra quarters for ten servants. Crocker and Polk traveled to Europe to furnish the house, buying the finest French, Italian, and Spanish furnishings. Some examples include marble mantelpieces from a 16th-century Spanish castle, or the ceiling tiles for the mansion ballroom purchased in northern Italy. Once finished,Uplands had 160 acres of land filled with French gardens, fountains, a swimming pool, and tennis courts. Uplands quickly became a hub for the Bay Area elite society, where Crocker’s family and friends indulged in what the mansion had to offer.  

However, Irwin and Crocker divorced in 1928, and thus, the house was sold to Romie C. Jacks and temporarily rented in 1951 to a Soviet delegation attending the Japanese Peace Conference. Following, Jennie Crocker repurchased Uplands in 1956 for $95,000 ($1,020,000 now) and helped Crystal Springs Uplands School acquire it. 

Ever since, this historic building has belonged to Crystal, serving as a hub for students’ social and academic life. Its grandeur serves as a backdrop for the Crystal community as we navigate our daily lives.