38 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM Circus Club event on the estate’s grounds in 1920, performing with their ponies and other animals to raise $500 for the Stanford Convalescent Home (now Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital). The oldest of the girls at 14, Eleanor acted as ringmaster. She even roped her goat into the act with some jumping tricks. Passing hands several more times over the years, the residence came to new owners in recent months. They immediately fell for its Old World grandeur and determined to restore it to its former glory. “It was like taking a step back in time,” one of them recalls of their first encounter with Gateways. “When you walk up to it, it has such a presence about it.” As you come up the drive, “It has this Southern belle kind of feel about it,” she describes. “The wraparound porch speaks of something in the deep South with the big columns.” Step inside the foyer and discover a dreamy cloud fresco on the ceiling that seems to swirl around the chandelier. Rich redwood paneling adorns many of its walls, while intricate tilework and oak floorboards grace the ground. The house is also distinct in that its interior reflects several different eras. While the living room has Victorian elements, “The butler’s pantry is very American colonial,” describes the owner. Then, “right next to it is the dining room, which to me, is very much Arts and Crafts,” she says, noting the room’s tasteful coffered ceilings, built-in china cabinet and redwood pocket doors. The owners intend to preserve and elevate these design details. “I like the possibilities of that,” she says. “I’m kind of an eclectic person where I just mix and match what I like.” One thing remains constant throughout the years. After the Weirs’ circus for charity, another one of the home’s previous residents William “Bill” Lee would establish several nonprofits and use the home as a place to collect donations—on one occasion flooding that sprawling front porch with donated mattresses for those in need, and on another, piling it high with thousands of boxes of shoes. The new owners intend to continue using the property to give back to their community. “I think that’s what this house lends itself to,” the owner reflects. Surely this heralds the preservation of this mid-Peninsula residence—both its history and its legacy—for many generations to come. {punchline} WITH APPRECIATION TO STEPHANIE ELKINS, WHO REPRESENTED THE SELLER, FOR INTRODUCING PUNCH TO THIS ARTICLE. / PHOTO: COURTESY OF DONNA MCMASTER / MENLO CIRCUS CLUB / ROBB MOST Above: (top right) A posse of kids pose with their ponies at one of the early Menlo Circus Club performances, a charity event that got its start at Gateways, a storied estate in Atherton.
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