(Block Party Nearby), Dolores Park Victorians,Along the 1906 Earthquake Fireline
Details
Meet at the far NW, parkside corner of the park, close to 20th & Church Sts., among the cluster of park benches there. Our first stop will be the famous Golden Fire Hydrant.
Block Party on Liberty St.bet.Valencia&Guerrero, 1-5pm. (Here, Liberty St. is part of the Liberty-Hill St., Historic District.)
The "miraculous fire hydrant" that saved the Mission District in the 1906 earthquake and fire. Read in the comments below how the point of the fire was stopped along 20th Street, between Dolores and Lexington St.
The photo above is of a beautiful 20th St. Victorian that survived the fire, by the width of 20th St. The houses across the street burned. (For a fabulous video tour of this house, including the interior at #3755-20th, click.)
Sometimes by walking along several blocks of the same street we can get a feel for how these houses blended into and were part of a neighborhood and form a village and the community fabric. We'll do that today along Lexington St and then Chattanooga St.
Option after the tour are take-out burritos at El Toro Taqueria. Then back to the Park for a picnic.
During the tour, I'll pass the hat. If you would like to bring a guest please sign-up on Eventbrite. If you have a No-show recorded in your Meetup profile you'll need to sign-up on Eventbrite. If you are late in RSVPing you should sign up on Eventbrite to get off the waitlist.
This link will take you to the history of several of the houses on the tour.
Just imagine streets after street of these exuberant designs. Victorian architecture in all its efflorescent, floriated, flamboyance. What motivated the Victorians? Makes for an interesting discussion.
Roughly over 48,000 Victorians were built here in SF, (1860s to 1910s), with about a third remaining. Many burned in the 06' fire and were lost in the urban renewal gov't programs of the 60s.
The information below is provided if you are interested in more details about SF Victorian architecture.
Or just come on the tour and soak up the info!
(Five handout paper sketches of what is described below, including most of the gingerbread details, are provided. We'll also go over a sketch of the interior of a typical Victorian, to see what the inside looks like.)
(There are five Victorian Styles)
- Flat front Italianate, no Bay windows.- (earliest Victorians).
- Italianate with slanted bay windows.
- San Francisco Stick Style (also called East Lake). Simpler square bay windows now used. More elaborate decoration, ornament and gingerbread.
- Queen Anne Tower House&Witches Cap, with a front gable.
- Queen Anne Row House, 1, 1-1/2 or two stories. Large front gable. Many have a moon-gate entry.
Features & "Gingerbread"
Decorative Ironwork- A low fence in front, or an iron crown at the top.
Floral Decor-Garlands
Fish scale or Diamond shingles-
Stained Glass or Beveled Glass-
Incised carvings and scary faces-
Sunbursts- often painted gold, half or full.
Newel Posts at the end of railings and Finials on Tower tops and roof peaks-
Woodworking mills South of Market mass produced the gingerbread. There was an Old English custom of using fancy cutouts of gingerbread to decorate wedding cakes. The term gingerbread was subsequently used for the decorating of Victorian houses. The secret ingredient was redwood. It could be carved, sawn, or turned, or soaked and press molded into almost any design
Periods
1860 - 1870s Italianate* Earliest had flat windows, later angled Bay windows. Copying the classic parts of Italian townhouses from the 15th & 16th centuries.
1880s Stick Style (also called East Lake): Lots of gingerbread. Squared off bay windows appear.
Late 1880s and 1890s Queen Anne : Gingerbread would be generously applied (nailed) to SF Stick and Queen Anns in SF. Front facing gables and towers with witches caps.
If you would like a scholarly and detailed explanation with photos, click.