Architectural Tour Noe Valley Victorians-Part 2

Architectural Tour Noe Valley Victorians-Part 2

Come join us for the second part of our exterior Architectural Tour series, where we will explore the beautiful Victorian homes in Noe Valley. This in-person event will take place starting at 1257 Noe St., San Francisco, Ca., where we are meeting. Get ready to marvel at the intricate details and charming facades of these historic homes. Don't miss out on this unique opportunity to learn more about the architecture and history of this iconic neighborhood. See you there!

We start our exterior only tour, with a house built by Fernando Nelson in 1892, at 1257 Noe St.(Photo above). It has the Nelson signature gingerbread details, of donuts, button boards, drips and bow ties. Fun to see these unusual details. (photo below of these signature details)

. For a biography of Nelson click here. He continued building with his sons until his death in 1953, starting in 1876.

(By the way the upcoming tours around Duboce Park and Eureka Valley will feature a number of Fernando Nelson built houses.)

There are over one hundred Victorians in the various guidebooks for Noe Valley. In our tour time of two hours we will get to see about 30-40 of these.

Just imagine whole streets of these exuberant designs. A physical fantasy world, created of Victorian architecture. Row after row of these efflorescent, floriated, flamboyant creations. What prompted these??? Makes for an interesting discussion.

Roughly over 48,000 Victorians were built here, (1860s to 1890s), with about a third remaining.

This link will take you to the history of several of the houses on the tour. The info comes from the Victorian Alliance of SF, tour guide booklet for Noe Valley. The VAofSF is a marvelous group. Worth checking out.

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!

(There are five Victorian 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 (maybe a rounded or partial Moongate entry)-

Decorative Ironwork- A low fence in front, or a crown at the top.

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 at the end of railings and Finials on Tower tops and roof peaks.

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. Earliest had flat windows, later angled Bay windows. *Copying 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 both the Stick and Queen Ann styles in San Francisco. Sloping roofs appear. Gables and towers with witches caps.

Rooflines in the Queen Anne were irregular, combining the witches hat roof on a rounded or octagonal tower, (making for great looking corner houses) with a front facing large gable.

If you would like a scholarly and detailed explanation with photos, click.

Or, again, just come on the tour and soak up the info!

Host or Publisher Jordan M Herrmann