As an architecture buff, with a love for historic architecture, a stay in the historic Cleveland Heights neighborhood of Oakland CA was indeed a pleasure. Truthfully, when I booked the vacation rental I really had no idea that such a charming area would be our home for a week while visiting family, and while I did grow up in Berkeley, CA and am very familiar with the wide range of architectural styles used to build homes over past 100 plus years, I had never stayed in a neighborhood consisting of stucco clad homes only. So of course, I set out with camera in hand to document some of what I saw to share with you! After looking at all my photos, I realized that there a number of architectural styles represented, and I'm guessing that they are: Spanish Colonial, Mediterranean, Storybook, and Craftsman, though loosely in some cases.
And just by the way, the varied architecture was just one of the treats we enjoyed, the front yard gardens were spectacular and I have already shared photos of quite a few of them, so check out my Oakland category here.
This past August we rented a home in the historic Haddon Hill neighborhood overlooking Lake Merrit in Oakland California. I of course took many walks to enjoy the gardens and architecture, and photographed this large house on the corner not knowing that it was the Kaiser House at 664 Haddon Road, built by shipbuilding mogul Henry J. Kaiser. This was also interesting to me as I was born in Kaiser Hospital in Oakland!
This nearly 5,000-square-foot Italian Renaissance Revival style home designed by architect William Schirmer is Bay Area history. Built in 1924, the four-bedroom hosted Kaiser’s powerful guests over the years — including a visit from President Franklin Delano Roosevelt during World War II. Every room with a window looks out at either the East Bay hills, Oakland’s skyline, Lake Merritt or the rear garden.
Had I known about the significance of the home I surely would have taken many more photographs and maybe even climbing the front stairs, but I did not, and so it goes! Keep on reading for some interesting information about this historic home.
Above: A stunning deck with an outdoor kitchen, in Australia, designed by Breathe Architects
Everyone loves to spend time outdoors, and cooking outdoors, whether it be with a simple grill or using an outdoor pizza oven, is something many enjoy. The warm sun, fresh air, and cool breezes can truly be refreshing and a great way to make a family meal or get together even more special. A deck is a perfect place for an outdoor kitchen, as it is conveniently located for indoor/outdoor entertaining. Because decks are elevated above the ground, they cannot withstand as much weight as a patio, for example, which is directly on the ground. Lets learn some more about adding an outdoor kitchen to your deck, and make that outdoor entertaining area a reality!
As you may know, or may have read from my previous blog posts about Victorian houses in the Western Addition, The Painted Ladies, and The Westerfield House, San Francisco is a literal showcase for Victorian architecture. Victorian houses both grand and modest were built in San Francisco during a huge growth spurt which started around 1880. While Victorian homes elsewhere in the United States and in England were built from a variety of materials, stone and brick were not widely available in San Francisco, and certainly not in the quantities that were needed, so wood was the predominate building material. Wood elements and features were ordered from catalogs, and every builder in essence became a designer, adding details that are today whimsical and very detailed. Many of the houses were essentially cookie cutter homes, and many were built as row houses, such that every home, with the exception of its exterior color looked the same. The Victorian style whose origins in England dictated the general look of the homes built far from the design source in San Francisco, included stained glass windows, a favorite Victorian home feature and a way to individualize and personalize a residence, especially one built essentially from a kit! I had the wonderful opportunity to stay in a grand Victorian home in San Francisco whose stained glass windows were especially lovely and happened to reflect the present day owner's love for plants! Let's take a look!
Above: A beautiful American Queen Anne Style home built in 1905 in the Western Addition
On our recent stay in San Francisco I was especially inspired by the Victorian architecture, whose amazing and often very detailed style makes a huge statement in San Francisco. Though I lived in San Francisco for a few years, and have always loved Victorian houses, somehow not having seen them for quite a while led to a greater appreciation than ever. So many wooden details on the facades, so many unique combinations, so many wonderful applications of color, and above all, so many Captain's Towers, my favorite! While San Francisco has Victorian homes scattered through out, the bulk of the more "modest" and mass produced homes were built in the Western Addition and Fillmore neighborhoods. Additionally while many of the Victorian mansions of Nob Hill were destroyed by the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, those in the western and southern neighborhoods of the city were generally not affected. Ah yes, and if you think "Victorian" is one style, you are mistaken! It is true, the houses are all made of wood, and generally quite detailed, but there are several major Victorian styles, including Italiante, Stick-Eastlake, Carpenter Gothic and American Queen Anne, which adds even more interest! One of the most famous rows of Victorian homes in San Francisco, the "Painted Ladies" (which I wrote about here) on Alamo square are actually on the simple side compared to the variety that exists. Let's take a little walk to see some of the delightful homes built between 1849 and 1915, shall we?
The Victorian architecture movement that can be seen in great glory in San Francisco includes both relatively modest homes as well as grand ones. And some of the grands ones are so stunning and well, large, they really take your breath away! Well at least if you are an architecture buff like myself, otherwise they may not even show up on one's radar? I spotted the silhouette of the Westerfield house's tower one night a few weeks ago, as I was combing the neighborhood for a supermarket, and it was both haunted mansion and architectural splendor, even from afar and in the dark. I knew I had to return by day to take a closer look, The early evening on which I returned, was a foggy one, so my photos are well, foggy, but such is life in San Francisco. The Westerfield House in on Alamo Square, which I wrote about here, and just down the street from the famous "painted ladies" which I wrote about here. Let's take a closer look at this Victorian Stick or Eastlake style Victorian beauty and learn a little bit about its history, which I always find so very interesting.
Above: The very famous row of comparatively humble Victorian row houses who lucked out with their position in the foreground of the view of downtown San Francisco.
The painted ladies victorian row houses are one of those tourist attractions that I have to admit I may have only visited once or so when I lived in San Francisco. A huge mistake friends, as the location of the painted ladies also includes the amazing Alamo Square, which I wrote about here. Plus, truly, the view of the San Francisco skyline, assuming it isn't fogged in, is wonderful! Though the term painted ladies generally refers to this famous location, the term is actually much broader. In American architecture, "painted ladies" refers to Victorian and Edwardian houses and buildings repainted, starting in the 1960s, in three or more colors that embellish or enhance their architectural details. The term was first used for San Francisco Victorian houses by writers Elizabeth Pomada and Michael Larsen in their 1978 book Painted Ladies: San Francisco's Resplendent Victorians. Since then, the term has also been used to describe groups of colorfully repainted Victorian houses in other American cities, such as the Charles Village neighborhood in Baltimore; Lafayette Square in St. Louis; the greater San Francisco and New Orleans areas, in general; Columbia-Tusculum in Cincinnati; the Old West End in Toledo, Ohio; the neighborhoods of McKnight and Forest Park in Springfield, Massachusetts; and the city of Cape May, New Jersey.
So, if you can't make it to San Francisco, make an effort to check out the gorgeous Victorian houses near you! In the meantime lets take a closer look at the beauties on Alamo square!
Above: A view of the well know "painted ladies" and the San Francisco skyline, from Alamo Square Park
One of the unexpected highlights of my recent stay in San Francisco was a visit to Alamo Square, a residential neighborhood and park in in the Western Addition nieghborhood. The park is located on a hill, and had gorgeous landscaping, including very tall dramatic cypress trees, making it all in all an amazing location. Alamo Square Park, consists of four city blocks at the top of a hill overlooking much of downtown San Francisco, with a number of large and architecturally distinctive mansions along the perimeter, including the "Painted Ladies", a well-known postcard motif. Named after the lone cottonwood tree ("alamo" in Spanish), Alamo Hill, was a watering hole on the horseback trail from Mission Dolores to the Presidio in the 1800s. In 1856, Mayor James Van Ness created a 12.7 acres (5.1 ha) park surrounding the watering hole, creating "Alamo Square".
Today, Alamo Square Park includes a playground and a tennis court, and is frequented by neighbors, tourists, and dog owners. On a clear day, the Transamerica Pyramid building and the tops of the Golden Gate Bridge and Bay Bridge can be seen from the park's center. The San Francisco City Hall can be seen directly down Fulton Street. The Alamo Square neighborhood is characterized by Victorian architecture that was left largely untouched by the urban renewal projects in other parts of the Western Addition. Let's take a closer look!
If you happen to be an architecture buff or just love architectural history, then San Francisco is certainly a must visit kind of place. I'll admit I lived in San Francisco for a few years, but never quite realized the richness of design and detail seen with so many of the historic buildings. It also may be that Market street, the home to many historic buildings was either to seedy to venture on, or too crowded to allow pausing to take a look. On our visit the downtown looked like a Sunday (empty) on a weekday due to the Pandemic, and that may have allowed me to take that closer look that didn't previously happen? I was always a big fan of the many Victorian houses, having grown up with some across the Bay, but I think since then so many more have been restored and make such a grander statement than they once did. Maybe it took riding atop a hop-on hop-off bus and seeing things at a higher level, though more likely my love for architecture blossomed after I left San Francisco? So friends, I could not resist capturing some the details I saw, to share with you, and while the photo above is a Victorian style facade, that era will be shared in a different post, for now we're looking at buildings mostly built around 1920-1920, enjoy!
