San Francisco was becoming a cultural center of the isolated California frontier in the late 19th century. As advances in communication and transportation removed geographic barriers between the East Coast and European influences, San Francisco emerged as a distinct pioneer society. The city has attracted artists, architects and writers from around the world to develop innovative ideas from traditional fundamentals. The most dramatic evidence of San Francisco's maturity can be seen in the field of architecture, where design practices were diverging from standards established elsewhere. A new local design movement in San Francisco was created in the 1890s, known as Academic Eclecticism. This is a different approach to design from the 19th century style, in which design was limited by traditional stylistic parameters. Architects now adopted a more liberal perspective in design, where they favored the gradual evolution of their art by using historical precedents and then modifying and combining them in accordance with contemporary needs. The aim of the movement was academic in encouraging architectural development through scientific knowledge of the past, acquired through formal education. The architect of the Bourn Mansion, Willis Polk, along with architects Ernest Coxhead, AC Scheweinfuth, and Bernard Maybeck primarily influenced academic eclecticism in San Francisco because of their recognized talent. Each architect was educated on the East Coast or in Europe before settling in San Francisco in the late 19th century. The pioneer society and isolation of the city allowed architects to design freely without the limitations of imposed architectural standards...... middle of paper ...... later commissioned to design Filoli, the country house from Bourn to Woodside, California. Built in 1915, Filoli is a large masonry building with Georgian features. It was designed for large-scale housing, with large living spaces and magnificent gardens. Polk and local muralist Bruce Porter designed the gardens as a collaborative effort. The Bourn Mansion represents one of the first significant design projects of Willis Polk's career. It was his first project of this scale to be completed and the first to be built for William Bowers Bourn II. Soon after, Polk became one of the San Francisco Bay Area's leading architects. He is credited with designing important civic, residential and commercial buildings throughout his career. Polk played a leading role in planning the Panama-Pacific International Exposition of 1915..