CHICO — “Annie wanted white. John wanted red. They settled on pink,” this is the story Bidwell Mansion tour guide, Sondra Murphy, said she was told as a child.
Bidwell Mansion is the historical home of Chico founders John and Annie Bidwell. John Bidwell was a pioneer, politician and experimental farmer. Annie Bidwell was his wife and above all a devout Presbyterian Christian.
Despite the pale-pink color of the Bidwell Mansion today, some townies, like John Gallardo and John Nopel, remember a time when the building was white.
The building was painted entirely white including the trim, when the Chico State Teachers College, which would later become California State University, Chico, acquired the building and used it as a dormitory, Murphy said.
Annie and John Bidwell sit at the Bidwell Mansion in Chico, California in the late 19th Century. (Contributed by the Nopel Collection)
According to the Bidwell Mansion Association’s website, the building was acquired in 1923 by the Teachers College. The mansion was then acquired by California State Parks 41 years later in 1964.
When the property came into State Parks possession it was restored to its original appearance including painting the exterior pale-pink with brown trim, Murphy said.
For much of the early 1900s the Bidwell Mansion was white. Seeing the building painted pink and brown in the 1960s outraged some Chicoans, said John Gallardo, member of the Chico Heritage Association.
“At first, oh my God, you’d think they painted it with 57 psychedelic colors,” Gallardo said.
Part of restoring the mansion to its original appearance after it was acquired by State Parks involved testing the layers of paint through computer technology, Murphy said.
Through this testing they determined the original color was pale-pink, with brown trim.
The Bidwell Mansion carriage house in Chico, California on Friday, Feb. 9, 2024. (Jake Hutchison/Enterprise-Record)
The story that John and Annie settled on pink, is just that — a story, Murphy said. The mansion style is an Italianate villa. The color choice was likely inspired by the colors used in this architectural style, Murphy said.
According to the Bidwell Mansion Association’s website, the construction of the mansion began before John met Annie.
Chico historian John Nopel pointed this out, but also said, “They certainly could have talked about that. Bidwell could have wondered out loud to her. ‘Well, what color should it be?’”
Though the two did meet in person prior to the construction of the mansion, they communicated mainly through mail before its completion and before their marriage.
When John first met Annie he was smitten, Murphy said. He asked her to marry him and she declined, but she told him he could write to her.
“She starts giving him gardening advice, pretty soon spiritual advice, and after about two and a half years she suggests he asks again. The second proposal is accepted,” Murphy said.
The Bidwell Mansion, located at 525 The Esplanade, is open for tours at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. Tours are $6 for adults and free for youth under 18 years old.
The mansion is closing sometime this spring for a restoration project.
+ There are no comments
Add yours