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OUR HISTORY
Our Pioneer History
Our real estate roots date back to 1844 when the family’s pioneering ancestors arrived in California via the Sierra Nevada Mountains, prior to the Gold Rush. John Sullivan came to California in 1844 from St. Joseph, Mo., guided by Truckee, a Paiute Indian over what is known now as Donner Summit. When gold was discovered in 1948, he relocated to the Sierra foothills near Sonora in Tuolumne County. Sullivan was one of the fortunate few to find a true “gold nugget” in what became known as Sullivan’s Creek. The profits from this find were used to purchase and develop many of San Francisco’s noteworthy properties, including the Palace Hotel, Holy Cross and Old St. Mary’s churches. He also was the founder and first President of Hibernia Savings and Loan Society.
James Phelan was in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1848 when he heard of the Gold discovery in California. Already an established merchant, he converted merchandise into commodities that were in demand by miners and dispatched three ships to San Francisco. The funds acquired were then invested in banking founding National Gold Bank of San Francisco, Mutual Savings Bank of San Francisco and First National Bank of San Jose and insurance founding Manufacturer’s Hanover Insurance, Fireman’s Fund and Western Fire and Marine. His heart and soul were in real estate and he recognized that while land in California was limited, opportunities were vast. Many of the distinguished developments stand today such as the Phelan Building and the White House Building in Union Square, built by his daughter Alice Phelan Sullivan after the great earthquake and fire of 1906.
The marriage of these two great families came in 1882 when James Phelan’s daughter Alice Phelan married John Sullivan’s son, Frank J. Sullivan. Their daughter Gladys subsequently married Frank Doyle. Gladys Sullivan Doyle’s most well known gift was funding the restoration of Mission Santa Cruz and Holy Cross Church in Santa Cruz, California. The Alice Phelan Sullivan Corporation continues the legacy today. The Alice Phelan Sullivan Corporation is a San Francisco-based family corporation that has been in the business of real estate for 101 years. When Alice Phelan Sullivan, a California pioneer, died in 1912, her assets, including real estate holdings, were placed into what is now the family corporation. Today, the corporation has 41 stockholders, all of whom are family.
Patrick J. Doyle, CCIM, the grandson of Gladys Sullivan Doyle, is the Director of Real Estate and a stockholder of Alice Phelan Sullivan Corporation. Doyle Investment Real Estate, Inc., cultivates the 100 year old+ legacy by preserving the pioneering goals of our ancestors through the acquisition and management opportunities of real estate throughout California and the West.
