Schubert Hall, which is built of wood and stucco, was inspired by Baroque European buildings of stone or brick. It was commissioned by John D. Spreckels, Jr., as a wedding present for his son. The elder Spreckels lived in an even grander house just up the hill on Washington Street (San Francisco Landmark 197).

Behind Schubert Hall, and party visible in the photograph, is the Whittier Mansion (San Francisco Landmark 75). Next door to Schubert Hall is a stucco Georgian Revival mansion which the younger Spreckels used as a guest house for Schubert Hall.

From the 1950s to the 1990s, Schubert Hall served as the library of the California Historical Society.