San Francisco Victorian landmark #136

This little San Francisco Victorian “Survivor” has weathered many storms during the last 134 years. Neither earthquakes, fires nor vandals have been able to destroy it. Fortunately, the various owners have resisted changing the appearance of its Italianate style exterior. The photos below show the home as it was in the late 1920's, and as it is today.

Click on images to enlarge

The present owner's family has an association with San Francisco that extends back to the Civil War, so the history of the locality is of particular interest to the current generation. After moving to this home, a search of the city records was begun to discover past owners. The City Archivist and others were helpful in obtaining historical information needed to gain landmark status. It was awarded a few years later, and the house is now protected from any future demolition. There has been a less than friendly attitude toward preservation in succeeding administrations. The owner's previous home had been a fine Victorian of 1886 which was “redeveloped” and torn down in 1971 to make way for an apartment building.

Since the transcontinental railroad had been completed just two years before this home was built, the tools that were available for construction were simple. Most of these items had to be brought in by ship. The redwood lumber for the exterior of this house was milled locally. Tall masted clipper ships had been arriving in great numbers since the Gold Rush days, bringing men and materials from Australia and Asia. Others came around the Horn from ports such as Boston and New York. The dirt streets in the downtown area were first covered with wooden planks, which contributed to the spreading of the numerous fires that plagued the business district. They were later replaced with cobblestones taken from the ballasts of deserted ships.

The photo above shows a few of the hundreds of abandoned vessels that lay in anchor near the shore in 1850. Gold drew the crews inland, and the hulks were either sunk or made into shops as the waterfront was extended into the bay.

These are the sleek clipper ships that plied the waters of the Atlantic and Pacific, bringing hoards of men, but few women, to the port of San Francisco. Most rushed on to the gold fields, but some stayed back to become rich merchants.

1851

1873

During the period when the rural tracts were being developed and subdivided, neither city water nor sewers were available. The acreage bounded by present day 20th, 21st, Valencia and Guerrero was a portion of the old Rancho Noe, and title was acquired in the early 1860's by a man who had a successful career downtown. He wanted a rural setting for his home, so he built a large house with a barn and stables, to create a comfortable farm on what is now Liberty Street. It was a bit safer to live in this area, rather than in the main part of the city, where fires were all too common. The ground at this location was just above the swamps, and was neither filled nor sandy. The earthquakes of 1865 and 1868 had proved how dangerous it was to build on unstable landfill.

In spite of the wealth brought to San Francisco from silver mining in the 1860's, the owner of this acreage fell on hard times. He was forced to divide his property and sell it off in the late 1860's and early 70's to raise funds for his family interests.

There were still only dirt and planked roads in the outer districts, and it must have been an ordeal to go into the center of the city or the port. Few signs of bridges show on the maps, so one probably had to ford some of the streams at times. During 1860, the construction of a wooden bridge was completed, spanning the marshes on Mission St, between 6th and 7th Sts. The local government also authorized private companies to build toll roads for some of the major thoroughfares to the outlying areas.

The drawing on the left shows the downtown area during the 1860's. People were still pouring into the city at that time, and the building boom continued. The map on the right depicts the Mission district, about 1876. The bays and waterways had not yet been completely filled in. Much of the open land was devoted to farms and cattle, even then. The railway to San Jose ended at the terminal shown at the upper left.

When this particular dwelling was built, a well was dug next to the site. An outhouse was placed just off the rear of the kitchen, and the local stream that ran through the property was forced underground. Public utilities were added at a later period. The Spring Valley Water Works eventually brought water piped from Lobos Creek near the Presidio. The remarkable thing was, that just 25 years before, San Francisco was not much more than a bunch of tightly packed tents, and the drinking water was drawn from artesian wells that the Spanish called “ojos de agua.”

The original Seal of the City and County of San Francisco, adopted in 1859, and the City and State flags.

“Oro en Paz. Fierro en Guerra”

Now, click on Page 2, below, to return to those distant days to learn more about the interesting area where the house is located...

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