Amongst the many different kinds of people, from businessmen to homosexuals to homeless, and amongst the busy cars, taxis, and buses, and amongst the tall skyscrapers, tourist attractions, and freight ships in the bay, lazily sit little frames made of redwood, which was cut nearby on the coastline.  They are usually three or four floors high, 25 feet wide, and packed next to eachother on the hillsides like sardines.  Staircases that stretch up to the front door are sometimes 2 floors up!  These frames are decorated with all sorts of colors, carvings, and woodwork imaginable.  They are the Victorian style homes built in San Francisco as early as when gold was discovered in California till around 1915.  With the schedule of the busy day, one might pass by and give little attention to this unique form of artwork.  Some, on the other hand, might notice the curves and bends and rolls of the carpentry, or the many different colors used and skillfully put one on top of the other.  The style and color of these homes are not the trend for American architecture today, but they give life and character to the city and tell what Americans enjoyed and considered important at the time.

    Nearly 48,000 Victorian homes were built within 65 years between the gold rush and 1915.  Some of these homes were built from prefabricated framework or plans that could be sent for in the mail, and others were planned and designed by architects.  Most of the mass produced Victorian homes survived the earthquake of 1906, but lost their ‘style’ soon afterwards.  During the World Wars, some of the Victorians were painted ‘battleship gray.’  Some were covered with stucco, asbestos siding, brick, and aluminum siding.  The rest were falling apart, considered a burden, and had colors that were fading,.  Then, in the sixties, when the style was psychedelic, bright, and different, the Victorians made a comeback.  By the mid-1970s, the Victorian homes, also known as ‘Painted Ladies’, were beginning to be appreciated once again.

    The style of the Victorian home comes from all parts of the world, because that is who came and lived in San Francisco.  “Carpenter Gothics, French Renaissance palaces, Turkish towers, stately Italianates, accented Sticks, embellished Eastlakes, and regal Queen Annes advanced triumphantly up and down every hill.”  During the time of the building of the Victorian homes, there was money to be spent, a thriving economy, with a fast growing middle class and developing industrial technology.  With the population of the city, land was scarce, making wide open homes like New England and Southern plantations impossible to build.  As the new design of living was developed, there came a freedom to include other features unique to Victorian homes, such as towers, balconies, and bay windows.  “The bay window gradually became the principal structural element until entire street fronts seemed to look like faceted walls of glass and color.”

    There are three basic ‘Victorian’ styles in San Francisco: Italianate, Stick or Stick/Eastlake, and Queen Anne.  Italianate architecture uses forms and adornment derived from 15th and 16th century Italian palace architecture.  Most Italianates have a vertical look to them, with tall and skinny windows and doors.  Some had decorative false fronts to hide their flat roofs.  Stick style is known by the wooden strips that outline the doors, bay windows, and framework of the house.  The siding and strips are accented by paint, defining the outlines of the house.  The Stick/Eastlake style differs only by including gingerbread to adorn the house.  Gingerbread refers to the ‘extra’ carvings and carpentry that is tacked on to the facade, only to decorate and give more character.  The Queen Anne is distinguishable by its steep gabled roof, a rounded turret corner tower, and a front porch usually inside the main structural frame.  Some homes include a piece of each of the above mentioned styles, in which case they are referred to as San Francisco style.  The many colors used by some where simply to highlight the different parts of the house.  Some are decorated with 4 different colors, while others have 11!  Each is considered a work of art.  One reason for the uniqueness of each home was best put by a painter and artist, Butch Meagher who had painted many of the ‘Painted Ladies.’  “You’ll notice a lot of similarities in the work that we do, and I’m sure there’s a point at which we all borrow something from each other and then evolve it our own way.  The hardest thing for me, though, is not to copy myself.”

    The art form itself is fascinating.  It is a structure, meant to house a family at the end of a days work, and keep them safe through the night.  And yet it is decorated with colors that celebrate the good things in life!  The light and many colors certainly do not suggest depression and unhappiness.  The early San Franciscan dwellers must have enjoyed life and living, or at least want to make the most out of it.  The gingerbread adorning the rooftops and windows and balconies appear to be decorations for a party.  San Franciscans were proud of what they had obtained, and wanted to show it.  They were set up to do the most with what they had.  Bay windows, opening up in three directions, brought in light because there could be no windows along the side of the house for such a purpose, due to the house next door.  Surviving the quake and fire and all the years passed tells us that those who built them, built them to last.  Whenever I see a Victorian home, only stabilizing thoughts come to my mind.  I am reminded of the steep hills, the view of the bay, the many different types of people, the cool breeze, and the fine craftsmanship that went into showing off and celebrating what people had accomplished in their lives as Americans.

    The Victorian homes are elite art.  Although massed produced, each is unique in its style and decor.  They were each painted by talented, trained artists, and in some instances, if not many, were designed by skilled architects, to make the most of the space available.  Victorian homes serve as a personal function, showing the artists idea of use of color and shape to bring a structure to life.  The homes have a practical function, for obvious reasons.  Victorians are decorative and have an aesthetic purpose as well, as they are colored with every color imaginable, to make the home appealing and comforting to the viewer, visitor, and dweller of the home.
 San Francisco grew and blossomed on the southern peninsula of the bay, and while so doing, built beautiful and living works of art along with it.  They were aware of art, they cherished art, and made it a part of their lives by living and building Victorian homes.  As time passed and seasons changed, so did the ‘Painted Ladies.’  “Facades crumpled with age.  The powder cracked, the mascara ran,”  until someone stopped to see what the artists who built them wanted to tell; that is, to show the character and lifestyle of San Francisco through its Victorian style homes.

Notes.
Elisabeth Pomada and Michael Larsen, “Painted Ladies,” E. P. Dutton, New York. 1978.  Pg.9-16.