• Apartment house for Irving Scott
• 2209 Van Ness Ave. house
• 2508 Green St. house
• French Bank Building
• Baron Edward S. Rothschild house
• Julian Waybur house
• Bruce Porter house
• Koshland Mansion
• Dewey Monument
• Barracks and stables
• Abbreviations

Appears to be extant and heavily remodeled (Longstreth 1998: 426).

One of the homes along Van Ness Ave. that survived the 1906 fire (Woodbridge and Woodbridge 1992: 66).

A half-timbered Craftsman house, whose mate to the left is almost certainly also by Mathews, a prolific designer of shingled houses and apartments in Pacific Heights (Woodbridge and Woodbridge 1992: 95).

Edgar Mathews designed this half-timbered house, an expecially (sic) good example of its style. It relates to his houses at 2415 and 2421 Pierce (Olmsted and Watkins 1969: 270).

An exposed-frame, Chicago School building that was gussied up after the fire. The gound floor columns display a handsome scrolled shield with a caduceus, the symbol of Mercury, the god of commerce (Woodbridge and Woodbridge 1992: 26).

An extremely fine early San Francisco skyscraper with a somewhat cloudy history, originally designed in a skeletal Chicago School manner by an important but little-known firm and remodeled with an overlay of Beaux-Arts details by a (presumably) French architect.

In 1902, the architectural supplement to the San Francisco periodical Town Talk called the original design "A modern, superbly appointed, fire proof building, now in the course of construction." It was designed for the Bullock and Jones Co., who occupied the lower two floors, with offices above. At that time it was a two part vertical composition, strongly skeletal in expression with the principal differentiation between the 2-story base and the shaft being the color of the decorative tile cladding. The shaft was terminated in a frieze punctuated by small round windows recalling Sullivan's Guaranty and Wainright buildings, among others. Ornamentation was Renaissance/Baroque, applied in a purely decorative manner except in the traditional cornice and cresting. Unfortunately the tile cladding of the steel frame failed in the fire and the exterior was badly damaged. In 1907, it was apparently rebuilt to its original design.

At some point after 1907 the building was taken over by the French American Bank. In 1913, it was enlarged and remodeled by E. A. Bozio for the French Bank. As remodeled, although the facade was still skeletal, its composition and ornamentation became even more elaborate and its base and columns were treated as rusticated masonry. Piers were clad in gray Colusa sandstone; spandrels and cornice were copper. The design and placement of the decorative iron grilles above the spandrels are taken directly from Ernest Flagg's first Singer Building in New York, of 1904, as is a certain quality of the overall conception, albeit in miniature. The building was extended for three bays down Trinity Street and is fully ornamented for the length of that alley facade. Although part of that facade is hidden by the California Pacific Building, much of it is visible above the low buildings on Montgomery Street. The small but sumptuous marble banking hall, with its coffered ceiling, has been partially remodeled. In composition, the present building is a three part vertical block.

Apart from its great architectural value, the French Bank (now the French branch of the Bank of America) is extremely important as a supportive structure to the Hallidie Building and as a part of one of the finest rows of buildings in downtown San Francisco in this block of Sutter (and extending west another block to Grant). The block can be viewed as a capsule history of downtown San Francisco architecture which has come together in an aesthetically highly successful group. This building represents both the skeletal, Chicago-derived aspect of the city's buildings and the influence of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, and also serves as an integral element in the progressively taller buildings on the block whose cornices change in design and color at every step. A (Corbett 1979: 169).

This Classical Revival house became a boys' school in 1910, and then for many years was a residence club, the Chateau Bleu. Finally it was a nursing home, and then stood empty and deteriorating for several years. In September 2001 a thorough restoration of the house is nearly complete, including replacement of the wide white marble front stairs, renovation of a splendid 10' by 12' Tiffany art glass window on the west side, and magnificent plasterwork on the ceilings. This enormous house is now divided vertically into two three-story townhouses, each with five bedrooms (Alexander and Heig 2002: 305).

This monumental Classic Revival mansion has had a number of uses: a residence, a school, a restaurant, a guest house and presently a retirement home. The interior detailing reflects the opulence of the era: carved moldings, damask walls, crystal chandeliers (Olmsted and Watkins 1969: 275).

Exact design date unknown (Longstreth 1998: 426).

The next two houses, 3232 and 3234 Pacific Avenue, were built in 1902, at the same time as 1 Presidio. This pair was designed by architect Ernest Coxhead, who here adapted the Georgian theme to the native frame-and-shingle style. Bruce Porter, well-known San Francisco artist, writer and critic, is thought to have contributed heavily to the design of the houses, one of which was built for his brother-in-law, Julian Waybur, the other for himself.

In the Waybur house (3232) the interior staircase and its landings are employed for a most unusual external decorative effect, the form of the stairs being carried right through the Palladian window above the elaborate doorway. (Olmsted and Watkins 1969: 143).

A talented amateur, Bruce Porter, contributed to the First Bay Tradition in architecture, stained glass, and landscape design. His own house, designed for him by his friend Ernest Coxhead, is ... at 3234 Pacific Ave. (Woodbridge and Woodbridge 1992: 100).

The next two houses, 3232 and 3234 Pacific Avenue, were built in 1902, at the same time as 1 Presidio. This pair was designed by architect Ernest Coxhead, who here adapted the Georgian theme to the native frame-and-shingle style. Bruce Porter, well-known San Francisco artist, writer and critic, is thought to have contributed heavily to the design of the houses, one of which was built for his brother-in-law, Julian Waybur, the other for himself...

In Porter's own house (3234) one finds the same plain front with the same simple but elegant window pattern highlighted by an imaginative central decorative device, in this case two pairs of Corinthian pilasters and a pattern of narrow windows that is artfully repeated at the entrance level and in the central third-floor window. A number of new ideas were incorporated into this house when it was built: floor-to-ceiling "picture" windows, all built-in wardrobes, and what may have been the first roof garden in San Francisco. (Olmsted and Watkins 1969: 143).

The Petit Trianon transplanted. A comparison with Mendelsohn's Russell house across the street reveals how much the image of the mansion changed in 50 years (Woodbridge and Woodbridge 1992: 100).

One of the last great houses to be built in Pacific Heights, just prior to 1906, was Marcus Koshland's Petit Trianon, so-called because the façade was an exact copy of Marie Antoinette's original playhouse at Versailles. Mrs. Koshland, a notable San Francisco art patron, was also a great music lover. Many San Franciscans have enjoyed listening to chamber music in the glass-domed interior court. Although the façade was badly damaged in the 1906 earthquake, it was perfectly restored and may be still admired at 3800 Washington Street (Alexander and Heig 2002: 313).

While the young Rooses went to Europe and came back to move into a Maybeck masterpiece, Mr. and Mrs. Marcus S. Koshland had earlier returned from the grand tour eager to duplicate a palace they had spotted at Versailles. Thus in 1902, at 3800 Washington Street, there arose a replica of Le Petit Trianon. The advantage of a stock design became apparent during the course of construction, for when the architect fell ill, Mrs. Koshland was able to supervise completion of the job with the help of an interior decorator.

It must be said that the Koshlands put their palace to full use. The grand housewarming in 1904 was a Marie Antoinette costume ball conducted (after the power failed) by candlelight. Mrs. Koshland patronized the arts, taking a leading role in the launching of both the Symphony and the Opera companies. (Olmsted and Watkins 1969: 150).

Union Square has been the heart of San Francisco's shopping and hotel district since well before the 1906 earthquake leveled its first commercial buildings. Laid out in 1850 during the mayoralty of John W. Geary, the informal grassy plot, then the heart of a residential district, acquired its name in the 1860s when pro-Union rallies were held there. Its civic status was further assured by the erection of the monument to Admiral Dewey's 1898 victory over the Spanish at Manila Bay. The 95-foot high column was designed in 1901 by Robert Aitken, sculptor, and Newton Tharp, architect. The monument survived both the 1906 disaster and the 1942 transformation of the square into the first-ever under-a-park garage, designed by Timothy Pflueger in cooperation with the city park department. Built in wartime, the concrete structure was meant to double as a bomb shelter. Its covering has minimal but effective landscaping and room for people and for seasonal floral displays that contribute to the square's festiveness (Woodbridge and Woodbridge 1992: 5).

In those years [1892-1906], before the Mark Hopkins Art Institute [today the California School of Fine Arts] was consigned to the flames in the 1906 holocaust, the building served as the center of San Francisco's artistic and Bohemian life. The grand rooms of the first floor were a perfect setting in which to display collections, while the rooms on the upper floors were converted into studios. Here the beautiful, statuesque young Alma de Bretteville posed for painters, photographers, and sculptor Robert Aitken, who used her as a model for the figure atop the Dewey Monument in Union Square, never dreaming that she would eventually marry Adolph Spreckels and give the city its finest art museum, the Palace of the Legion of Honor (Alexander and Heig 2002: 206).

Sculptor Robert Aitken, an instructor at the Art Institute for whom Alma [de Bretteville] had previously posed, asker her to model for a monument he was planning in memory of President William McKinley. The president had been the victim of an assassination attempt in Buffalo a few months previously. He lingered a week, but on September 14, 1901, McKinley died. San Francisco, like the rest of the country, mourned his tragic end. They remembered his visit in May, when he had christened the new battleship Ohio, and broke ground in Union Square for a monument to Admiral Dewey, the hero of the naval engagement in Manila.

When all the necessary funds were in, it was announced that a contest would be held to select the design for a statue for President McKinley. While most sculptors struggled to get the best likeness of the president, Aitken had other ideas. Where was it written that a memorial, to be fitting, had to be a portrait statue: A great man, the sculptor reasoned, was not honored because of his height, or the shape of his nose or his head. He was honored for the mental and spiritual attainments that made him a leader of men.¹⁶

To exemplify those attainments, Aitken used Alma ... to pose. His concept was simple: a bronze figure of a woman, typifying the Republic, dignified and graceful, on a pedestal of granite. In her outstretched hand he placed a palm, denoting work well done, a tribute to the memory of the beloved president. In her other hand he gave her a trident, the three-pronged fork which was the scepter of King Neptune, king of the sea.

Thus, Aitken created one statue that performed double duty: it acknowledge both the martyred president, and the admiral whose victory at Manila Bay earned him the right to be called King of the Sea. The Citizens Committee chosen to judge the contest picked the sculpture of the voluptuous Alma, her body covered only by a diaphanous drape, as the winner from a field of six entries.

Alma's statue in Union Square would come to stand for more than a memorial to the two men whose names are carved on the granite pedestal. It became symbolic of the woman who was the incarnation of San Francisco. Like the city itself, she sprang from humble beginnings; like it, she was beautiful and uninhibited and aspired to noble things (Scharlach 1999: 13, 16).

Driving along Lincoln Boulevard toward the Golden Gate Bridge, you pass a white wooden Classic-Revival building with a two-story veranda which was built as barracks for the Calvary division. Below the road are five handsome brick stables, each for 102 hourses (Woodbridge and Woodbridge 1992: 163).

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