Downing, who served on Palo Alto's first city council.

A conical tower tops the house's northern corner; the tower features a finial, a dentillated and bracketed cornice, and decorative shinglework.

The porch features a decorated gable and gingerbread-style ornamentation along the roof, columns, and balustrade.

[2] The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 30, 1973.

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