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Architecture, Design & Drinks — September 2026
Sat, Sep 26, 1:00 AMArchitecture, Design & Drinks is a casual monthly gathering for people who work in, around, or are inspired by design. We meet on the last Friday of each month to unwind, trade ideas, and connect. No agenda, no pressure. Whether you’re an architect, designer, creative, or simply design-curious, this is an easy way to expand your circle and have meaningful conversations in a relaxed setting. New faces are always welcome. Grab a drink, join the conversation, and stay as long as you’d like.
Architecture after hours
Fri, Sep 11, 1:00 AM**Good evening! We’ll be having our first meetup Tuesday, September 3rd , from 6–8 PM at Heyma Yemeni Coffee. This will be a relaxed evening to meet one another, connect with people who share similar passions and aspirations, and get a feel for where we’d like to take the group. Expect a casual laid back night! Looking forward to meeting you all!**
Duboce Park SF Victorian & History Tour
Sun, Oct 25, 5:30 PM**Taking MUNI which stops very close by, highly recommended.** Parking, directly **adjacent to Duboce Park** is a good possibility. Also Googling "find parking in the Duboce Triangle" will show parking lots in the area. *I think this tour will be marvelous in a sometimes overlooked part of the Lower Haight/Hayes Valley neighborhoods. It is a good example of an old, small, SF neighborhood. Try to make it, despite the parking challenge!* But take MUNI. *The Reveille Cafe at the corner of Steiner & Waller, where we meet, is very good, excellent for brunch.* The tour will start near Duboce Park and include, Waller St., Carmelita, Pierce, Potomac, then, Walter, Henry and Beaver Sts. SF Builder, Fernando Nelson's Carmelita St. stands out in a neighborhood of beautifully authentic Victorians. Nelson retired as San Francisco's most prolific builder, producing some 4,000 homes, during the years he worked with his sons, from 1876 until his death in 1953. After the Victorian Era he created developments in the Richmond, Presidio Terrace and West Portal, among others. [For a biography of F. Nelson, click.](https://outsidelands.org/nelson.php) The photo above is of #78 Carmelita St. a house almost identical to Nelson's family house at 701 Castro St. Roughly over 48,000 Victorians were built in SF, (1860s to 1890s), with about a third remaining. Bay Area entrepreneurship with the wealth of the best building material, old growth **redwood**, driving forces? *The information below is provided if you are interested in more details about SF Victorian architecture.* **Looking at a San Francisco Victorian, what to look for:** *(There are five Styles)* 1. **Flat front Italianate**\- \(earliest Victorians\)\. \(French 2nd Empire appear\) 2. **Italianate with slanted bay windows**. 3. **San Francisco Stick Style (also called East Lake)**. Simpler square bay windows now used. Overall much more elaborate decoration, ornament and gingerbread used. 4. **Queen Anne Tower House**&Witches Cap, with angled or rounded bay windows & front gable 5. **Queen Anne Row House,** 1, 1-1/2 or two stories. Large front gable. Possible moongate entry. Features & "Gingerbread" Type of Entry & Doorway(maybe a rounded or partial Moongate entry)- Decorative Ironwork- Floral Decor-Garlands (one of many types of decorations known as \*"Gingerbread") Fish scale&Diamond shingles- Towers & Witch's Cap- Stained Glass or Beveled Glass- Carvings of grotesque faces- Sunbursts- often painted gold, half or full. Gables (Queen Anne's) in a variety of material- (mainly redwood) Newel Posts and Finials on Tower tops and roof peaks- [If you would like a scholarly and detailed explanation with photos, click.](https://sfplanning.org/sites/default/files/documents/preserv/bulletins/HistPres_Bulletin_18.PDF)
Presidio Hts.&Terrace Architecture&Presidio Walk+Swedenbor.Church Tour&Lunch
Sun, Sep 20, 5:30 PM***\*Don't be a No-Show*** *and have your membership in the Group canceled. See the,\*No-Show policies at the bottom. Almost everyone manages to arrive by the start time, don't be late and miss the Event.* The idea is to make almost a day of it. Relax like on vacation. [Have lunch ](https://www.presidiogolf.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Ironwoods-Brunch-2026.pdf)and enjoy a variety of tour activities and give it three hours plus lunch next to the Presidio golf course. We're meeting in front of the former home of William Hammond Hall, the father of GG Park and the first State Engineer of Calif. He finished building this 4900sf house in 1913 and lived at this location from 1905 until 1933. We'll review a little history of the Panama Pacific Int'l Exposition when we get to the vantage point of Lyon & Broadway. Inside the Presidio we'll do a nature walk to the golf course for lunch. After a Presidio Heights and Presidio Terrace architecture tour, including a stop inside the Swedenborgian Church. [Then lunch at Presidio Golf Course restaurant](https://www.presidiogolf.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Ironwoods-Brunch-2026.pdf), *at the end*\*\*.\*\* We can dine outside overlooking the beautiful Golf Course. The restaurant is called the **Ironwoods Bar & Grill.** This tour highlights not only the diversity of the architecture, but also the mix of architects and people who built, occupied and maintained these grand properties. About 50 of which are on our tour today, including Presidio Terrace. I also have some ephemera we can see to get a feel for what life was like here about ninety years ago. Here are some links if you would like to help with Meetup expenses. [Here is a Venmo link.](https://venmo.com/code?user_id=3262702482882560580&created=1757371525), for my account. The walking tour covers approximately 4.0 - 5.0 miles of walking with an uphill stretch). *(We won't be going to these dining spots.)* Afterwards there are a couple of interesting dining spots at Divisadero and California Sts., *Patisserie & Dynasty Dumpling.* Both are good options for lunch. **But sometimes it's fun to try something different, Hinodeya Ramen Bar at 1737 Buchanan St.** I know where to find parking, no worries. So join me afterwards. They also have a location just off Chestnut St. at 3340 Steiner St. This location looks more luxe with nice outdoor seating and more tables. Same menu. The House Ramen or Spinach soup seems like the go to's! ($17.00.) By the way Chestnut St. seems to have a lot of new and unique restaurants if you have a good suggestion that you've actually tried, and recommend, let me know. *What follows applies to previous tours, not this one.* Lots of walking today, about three miles, but mostly level. (On Sundays we'll pass by the **[Swedenborgian Church of San Francisco](https://sfswedenborgian.org/history/)** at the end of our walk. A weekly Sunday tour of this early Arts & Crafts gem is offered at 1:00pm. We'll stop by and take a look. See some of the art there in the photos here.) *\*(Don't be a no-show.)* It's good to give out name tags which I do. This also gives me a way to take attendance. Name tags that are not picked up, are recorded as no-shows. If you get too many no-shows recorded in your personal Meet-up profile you'll have to be cancelled from this Meetup. (To cancel your RSVP beforehand look for the, **"Edit Attendance"** tab at the bottom corner of the screen.) *Please ask your guests to join the Meetup.* [Here are several photos, including inside the house at Presidio and Pacific, the house pictured above.](https://www.compass.com/listing/3198-pacific-avenue-san-francisco-ca-94123/1291319997995710705/) *Popular architectural genres in the early development of Presidio Hts.-* At the time of its development around 1905, the **brown shingle, Arts & Crafts style** was popular. Known as the First Bay Traditional or Regional style we'll see this genre in evidence at the beginning of the tour. (Be sure to take a look at the four photos here of a great example of this type of architecture.) Presidio Hts. was an early hot bed (It fizzled out.) of this style, led by the Swedenborgian Church nearby and Its founding pastor, Rev. Joseph Worcester who is credited with building the first Bay Area brown shingle house in Piedmont, in 1876. **1895 the 1910 *Edwardian and Colonial Revival:*** The continued elaboration of ornament and facade shapes reached its height in the early 1890s as the the Victorian era ended. After that there was a gradual move towards simplification and away from excess and toward, order. Eccentricity gave way to strict conventions, quiet lines and understated, quality materials. Money now made understatement its chief method of display. Style was no longer measured in pounds of gingerbread ornament per square foot, but in elegant proportions and an air of conservatism. (Julia Morgan lived nearby at Washington & Divisadero. There are four JM houses on today's tour.)
The Liberty-Hill/Southwest Mission Victorians, & SF Earthquake History Tour
Sat, Oct 31, 5:30 PM**\*Don't be a no-show. *See the Group's no-show policy below.*** Don't be a no-show and lose your membership in the Group. Attendance is always taken and no-shows recorded. As we do these tours it's nice to see and learn about the Victorian houses and SF history. But it's always kind of sad that we can't see the fabulous interiors many of the houses have. And in most cases see how sturdily they were built. But a special day is coming. On **Sunday, October 18th** the Victorian Alliance of SF will be holding an open house tour in this neighborhood. Let me know if you are interested in being a volunteer docent and I can hook you up. But reserve Oct. 18th and see the interiors. Something new has been added to the tour as we discover another facet of the 20th St. fireline history. *A neighbor advised us that the 1900 block of Lexington St. suffered partial burning in the 06' fires. Evidence remains and we will take a look.* We'll visit the *"Golden Fire Hydrant"* and walk the 20th St. Fire Line where fire-fighters and citizens held the line and saved the Mission from going up in flames. Actually the north side of 20th St. starting at Dolores St. was demolished to create a fire break. The difference between the north and south side of 20th St. here is startling. [3755-20th St. is on our tour today. It is a beautiful 1889 Victorian. These interior photos show some of the beautiful interior details typical of a Victorian of this era.](https://www.redfin.com/CA/San-Francisco/3755-20th-St-94110/home/713440) [Here is a link to detailed histories of seven Victorians East of Noe Valley.](https://archive.org/details/victorianallianc1093unse/page/n19/mode/2up?view=theater) We'll see some of these and many others on today's tour. [Another link to one of the oldest houses on today's tour.](https://noehill.com/sf/landmarks/sf136.asp) [Here's a simple link that will allow you to support the Meetup and add a thank you.](https://www.paypal.com/donate/?business=TJ8W6VVEGJ6BS&no_recurring=1&item_name=%0AIt%27s+very+nice+of+you+to+respond+and+give+support.%0AThank+you%2C%0AJordan¤cy_code=USD) One of our go to restaurants after the tour has been Udupi Palace for Indian vegetarian food at 21st & Valencia. Also across the street is Ritual Coffee Roasters. Tartine Bakery is four blocks away at 18th and Guerreo. And there is always Park Coffee at 18th & Dolores with Bi-rite ice cream across the street. *The information below is provided if you are interested in more details about SF Victorian architecture.* **Looking at a San Francisco Victorian, what to look for:** *(There are five Styles)* * Flat front Italianate- (earliest Victorians). (French 2nd Empire appear) * Italianate with slanted bay windows. * San Francisco Stick Style (also called East Lake). Simpler square bay windows now used. Overall much more elaborate decoration, ornament and gingerbread used. * Queen Anne Tower House&Witches Cap, with angled or rounded bay windows & front gable * Queen Anne Row House, 1, 1-1/2 or two stories. Large front gable. Possible moongate entry. Features & "Gingerbread" Type of Entry & Doorway(maybe a rounded or partial Moongate entry)- Decorative Ironwork- Floral Decor-Garlands (one of many types of decorations known as \*"Gingerbread") Fish scale&Diamond shingles- Towers & Witch's Cap- Stained Glass or Beveled Glass- Carvings of grotesque faces- Sunbursts- often painted gold color, half or full. Gables (Queen Anne's) in a variety of material- (mainly redwood) Newel Posts and Finials on Tower tops and roof peaks- Fernando Nelson built thousands of homes in SF. Over many, many decades. We'll also see clusters (2 to 17) of Victorian homes systematically built for the average working person by a development company, "The Real Estate Assoc." THEA, from 1870 to 1880. Not quite magnificent but many still standing. Development of woodworking mills South of Market provided the ornaments with which to add the "gingerbread" to the Victorian houses There was an Old English custom 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*:** Buildings were vertical in emphasis with rounded classical detail. Earliest had flat windows & flat roofs with false roof fronts. **1880s *Stick Style* (also called East Lake):** The early buildings in this genre relied heavily on plane vertical board decorations. Squared off bay windows appear. **Late 1880s and 1890s *Queen Anne*** : Gingerbread would be applied to both the Stick and Queen Ann styles in San Francisco. Sloping roofs appear. Gables and towers. In Queen Ann surfaces are covered in a variety of patterns with fish scale and diamond shingles, lap siding and masonry, sometimes all in the same building. Victorians Around Dolores Park Explored, and Houses Burned in the 1906 EQ/Fire*Rooflines in the Queen Anne were irregular, combining the witches hat roof on a rounded or octagonal tower,* sometimes decorated with a spool work of gable braces. Frieze bands of foliated patterns wrapped around towers and tall chimneys. Horizontal proportions prevailed over the general vertical emphasis of the previous styles. [If you would like a scholarly and detailed explanation with photos, click.](https://sfplanning.org/sites/default/files/documents/preserv/bulletins/HistPres_Bulletin_18.PDF) After the 06' earthquake apartments in substantial buildings became popular with well-to-do San Franciscans. [To check for a possible, for sale/open house tour, click this link.](https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-search/Mission-District_San-Francisco_CA/type-single-family-home/show-open-house)
Julia Morgan,Architecture Tour-Elmwood&Claremont Ct.+add*Berkeley City Club Tour
Sun, Sep 27, 5:15 PM**\*\*Don't be a no-show or a last minute canceller. *See the Group's no-show policy below.*** Do the Meetup tour in the morning, stop for the pizza and then: ***\*On*** *the 4th Sunday of the month there are **45 min**. docent led tours of*[ Julia Morgan's Berkeley City Club](https://berkeleycityclubconservancy.org/docent-tours/), *2315 Durant St., starting at 1:00pm-3:30pm.* (Photo above JM in Paris, 1900, Cathedral Notre Dame in the background. For more information about JM, read here and see the photos below.) We're meeting outside the, Berkeley Playhouse/[Julia Morgan Theater on College Ave. at Derby St.,](https://berkeleyplayhouse.org/) our first stop on the tour. (Optional stop after the tour, at nearby, Nabolom Bakery & Pizzeria.) If you're not going for the City Club Tour, consider a matinee performance at the Julia Morgan Theater and a chance to really take in the interior of a classic JM design. Public places like Asilamar and Hearst Castle offer a chance to see a JM interior, a must to fully appreciate her work. (Along the way we'll see Bernard Maybeck's, First Church of Christ Scientist, a Nat'l Landmark site, where free tours are offered on the first Sunday of every month at 12:15 PM. [One of the best ways to experience these buildings is to attend an event there.](https://www.friendsoffirstchurch.org/tours-and-events) Across the street is Julia Morgan's 1918 Baptist Theological Seminary. (Bowditch & Dwight Way). Built having a brick facade to resemble the Ashmolean Library of Oxford. Britain's first public museum and the world's first university museum. *note.* The Seminary's windows and Tudor details recall the period when the Baptist Church was founded. (We'll pass 2727 Dwight Way, one of the oldest, non-JM houses on the tour, 1891, remodeled in 1917 by Willis Polk.) Morgan graduated UC in 1894 with a degree in Civil Engineering, one of her specializations was structural engineering. (This benefited her clients greatly, as was seen after the 06' earthquake in her still standing buildings.) She arrived in Paris in 1896. A few years later it was reported in the San Francisco Call: **Paris, Oct.30,1902** - *Julia Morgan of San Francisco passed the examination with honors at the Architectural section of the School of Fine Arts, Ecole de Beaux Arts, Paris France.* The first woman to do so. Ironically one of the greatest architects in history, was made to wait two years, taking entrance exams before admission. By the end of her 45 yr. career she had received over 700 commissions. It was said, "Her rational approach to home design and the public success of her large commissions gave Julia Morgan a solid reputation. It also won her the confidence of her clients. With the hard work, genius, inspiration and true artistic and historic perception to create memorable works. Over the course of her career, Morgan designed nearly one hundred buildings across California and the nation for women’s organizations. Her commissions included social and civic clubs for women; academic, residential, and recreational buildings; primary schools; orphanages; hospitals, sanitariums,and nursing residences. She also designed more than thirty YWCA buildings, including those in San Francisco and Berkeley. We'll concentrate on the many Julia Morgan designed houses, churches and buildings in the Claremont Ct. and Elmwood neighborhoods. Unique here are the Julia Morgan ensemble houses, where she creatively and economically placed two houses on one large lot. We'll see several of these ensembles. In fact when JM bought her own house at Washington & Divisadero in SF in 1925, she bought a pair of houses there. To read more about the many Julia Morgan public buildings, such as the Hearst Castle etc. go to wikipedia. She was one of California's most prolific architects. The first woman to receive the American Institute of Architects highest award, the AIA Gold Medal, awarded posthumously in 2014. The three projects that immediately solidified her future career as a great architect, engineer and fully capable project/construction manager were the rebuilding of the new Fairmount Hotel after its semi-destruction following the earthquake. The design, engineering and building of the beautiful Bell Tower at Mills College and Carnegie Library there, both of which survived the earthquake without a crack. And the completion on time and within budget of the construction of the Greek Theater at UC for John Gayland Howard, campus architect. **\*\*Don't be a no-show.** Don't be a no-show and lose your membership in the Group. *Attendance is always taken per name tags that are not picked up.* After the last Julia Morgan home we'll find our way back through what I call the "Pacific Heights" of Berkeley. Look for parking on the smaller side streets or College Ave. Option for lunch afterward. (In my opinion the best slice of organic flour pizza or best overall, in the Bay Area.) Here are some links if you would like to help with Meetup expenses. [Here is a Venmo link.](https://venmo.com/code?user_id=3262702482882560580&created=1757371525), for my account. Here is my Paypal account. '[herrmann48@comcast.net'](http://herrmann48@comcast.net'/) *\*Docent-led, 45-minute tours of Julia Morgan's Berkeley City Club on Durant, are offered on the fourth Sunday of every month (except December) from 1:00 PM to 3:30 PM. These are drop-in, public tours that cost $10 per person.*
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