Part 2- Eureka Valley, Great Victorian Tour in a Great Neighborhood

A marvelous tour of Victorians in Eureka Valley. We're meeting where we ended Part 1.

Meet on the sidewalk at the intersection of Noe St. and Liberty St., San Francisco. At the bottom of the Liberty St. steps.

(Note: We're starting in a quieter part of the neighborhood. So parking will not be that hard to find.)

After the tour, option is for take-out burritos at El Toro. Bring back to the Park for a picnic before the Mime Troop performance. (open to other takeout suggestions)

Sometimes by walking along several blocks we can get a feel for how these houses blended into and were part of a neighborhood and form a village as part of the community fabric.

Just imagine house after house of these efflorescent, floriated, flamboyant creations. What inspired the Victorians? Makes for an interesting discussion.

Roughly over 48,000 Victorians were built here, (1860s to 1915), with about a third remaining.

Builder, Fernando Nelson's houses stand out in a neighborhood of beautifully authentic Victorians, Nelson probably built more here than any of his contemporaries. 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.

Searching This link will take you to the history of several of the houses on the tour. Or near the tour. The info comes from the Victorian Alliance of SF.

The information below is provided if you are interested in more details about SF Victorian architecture.

(Five handout sketches of what is described below will be passed around. We'll also take a minute to go over a sketch of the interior of a typical Victorian to see what the inside was like.)

(There are five Victorian Styles)

1. 1860s -Flat front Italianate- (earliest Victorians). (French 2nd Empire appear)
2. 1870s -Italianate with slanted bay windows.
3. 1880s -San Francisco Stick Style (also called East Lake). Simpler square bay windows now used. Overall much more elaborate decoration, ornament and gingerbread used.
4. 1890s -Queen Anne Tower House&Witches Cap, with angled or rounded bay windows & front gable
5. 1890s -Queen Anne Row House, 1, 1-1/2 or two stories. Large front gable. Possibly with a moongate entry.

Features & "Gingerbread"

Moongate entry

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

Floral Decor-Garlands, Vases

Fish scale and/or Diamond shingles-

Towers & Witch's Cap-

Stained Glass or Beveled Glass-

Carvings of grotesque faces-

Sunbursts- often painted gold, half or full.

Gables

Newel Posts at the end of railings&Finials on Tower tops&roof peaks-

Woodworking mills South of Market provided the "gingerbread" for nailing on the Victorian houses There was an Old English custom using fancy cutouts of baked 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.

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

Host or Publisher Jordan M Herrmann