The White Mansion was built in 1878 for Asa L. White, a lumber dealer in San Francisco. It is one of the most outstanding examples of the late Italianate style in the Bay Area due to its formal and romantic influence. A general attenuation of classical decorative elements and an overall vertical feeling call to mind the late Renaissance, particularly, Venetian palaces.
Asa White and his family occupied the property until 1922 when he retired to a ranch in Los Gatos, CA.