Designed by regionally prominent architect Walter H. Ratcliff, of Berkeley, California for mining engineer and San Francisco businessman Charles Washington Merrill.

[2] However, with the house's two stories, low-pitched roofline, and second-story balcony on the front elevation, it also reflects Monterey style architecture, popular in large California homes built between 1925 and 1940.

The house occupies a hillside location and is sited on two stonework terraces, pierced by three stone staircases placed among gardens designed by landscape architect Mabel Symmes in 1938–1939.

[4] The house is significant under Criterion B for its association with the final stage of Charles W. Merrill's long and distinguished career.

This article about a property in Contra Costa County, California on the National Register of Historic Places is a stub.