• Solari Building East
• John Brickell house
• Adams house
• The Old U.S. Mint
• Ortman-Schumate house
• 49 Liberty St. house
• 70 Liberty St. house
• 109 Liberty St. house
• 25 Alta St. house
• 29 Alta St. house
• Abbreviations

(Woodbridge and Woodbridge 1992: 47).

The Solari Building East (13) at 468-70 Jackson was built by Italian merchant Nicholas Larco in 1852 and later housed the Spanish (1856-57), French (1860), and Chilean (1861-65) consulates, the Italian Benevolent Society, and La Parola, an Italian newspaper. Ina Coolbrith, the poet laureate of California and much admired by Mark Twain and Bret Harte, taught school in this building. She was born Josephine Smith, the niece of the founder of the Mormon church, and arrived in California riding on the same horse with famed African-American mountain man James P. Beckwourth. After an early mnarriage to an abusive husband, she divorced and moved to San Francisco to write (Wiley 2000: 150-51).

A wide variety of businesses has occupied this attractive brick building--a Chinese printing firm, a liquor warehouse and now decorators' shops (Olmsted and Watkins 1969: 274-75).

Russian Hill's Green Street has the distinctive flavor that we like to think of as singularly San Franciscan. The John Brickell house, shown above in an early photograph, is one of the row in the 1000 block of Green Street that were saved from the flames in 1906. It was remodeled in 1916 by Julia Morgan, whose name and the date of remodeling are inscribed on the keystone over the front door. Today it has a very different façade. (Courtesy Tony Hail) (Alexander and Heig 2002: 109; Woodbridge and Woodbridge 1992: 68).

Next to the octagon house, at 1055 Green Street, is an elegant little villa originally built in 1866. This house was remodeled under the direction of Julia Morgan in 1916, and it is Miss Morgan who must be given the credit for the beautifully balanced facade, with its three arched French doors and wrought-iron balcony (Olmsted and Watkins 1969: 47).

Captain Adams bought this 13-acre tract in the 1860s and built his home here probably from a carpenter's plan book from the east (Woodbridge and Woodbridge 1992: 155).

On the western slope of the Hunters Point heights, in the Bayview district proper, are two very large residences which are distinctive examples of the restrained Italianate style of the period. At 1562 McKinnon Street is a fine, two-story house built about 1867 for a prominent San Francisco physician. This house is very much the same in character as the Adams house on the Potrero, with a somewhat different treatment of the window openings. At present, it is a very handsomely kept up, and represents a striking contrast to the sometimes run-down structures round it (Olmsted and Watkins 1969: 94, 98-99).

Compared to the architect's Second Empire style buildings in Washington and St. Louis, this Tuscan-Doric temple was unfashionable when it was built. Still, it was considered to be one of the best appointed mints in the country. Following a lengthy restoration, the mint opened as a museum in 1976 and is well worth a visit (Woodbridge and Woodbridge 1992: 10).

Two of the handful of important buildings which survived within the limits of the burned area of 1906 are found South of Market--the Old Mint and the Post Office. Both of these structures came through the great fire intact, and are of unusual distinction.

The "Old Mint," Fifth and Mission Streets, is a massive monument to the Federal Baroque-Classical Revival style of architecture. There is nothing quite comparable to it west of the Mississippi, except the old post office in Portland. Designed by A. B. Mullett, architect of the amazing Old State, War and Navy Building in Washington, D. C., the mint was commenced in 1869 and completed in 1874. The structure is built of brick, the exterior of the base and the Doric columns of the portico being Rocklin granite, the facing of the rest Columbia sandstone.

In keeping with the clean-lined exterior, the interior is not exceedingly elaborate, though such touches as fine bronze hardware, cast-iron balustrades, and rose marble fireplaces bespeak an age in which craftsmanship was inexpensive. A startling characteristic of the interior, suggestive of the essentially utilitarian and industrial purpose of the building, is the treatment of the ceilings; shallow brick arches that carry the floors are not concealed by a hanging ceiling (being only plastered by way of finish in the case of the main floor), and the ceiling of the upper floor is formed by exposed corrugated metal arches.

Time has not dealt gently with the Old Mint. for years pieces of the sandstone cornice fell off at odd intervals, and recently the whole cornice was removed in the interests of public safety. Yet it remains an outstanding monument to an age in which a great public building was supposed to express the power and the majesty of the nation and reflect the pride of a free people (Olmsted and Watkins 1969: 93).

At present (02.21.03) the premises have again fallen into disuse. The current proposal is to use the building as the home of the city's museum (Personal observation).

At 1901 Scott Street between California and Pine, is the family home of the late Dr. Albert Shumate. Built in 1870 by Dr. Shumate's grandfather, John Frederick Ortman, this Italianate house, with its fine garden, still occupies half of the 100-vara frontage, 187 feet along Scott Street. The house, which once had its own windmill, is one of the very few Victorians in San Francisco still in the families of their original owners. The Ortmans used to picnic on the land just east of the site, where rows of later Victorians now stand; an old real estate publication identifies the area as a picnic ground (Alexander and Heig 2002: 281).

Near the southernmost edge of Pacific Heights stands the Shumate House, 1901 Scott Street. This thoughtfully-detailed Italianate residence was constructed in 1870 for John F. Ortman, the present owner's grandfather, who had come to San Francisco from Germany in 1852. Mr. and Mrs. Ortman had picnicked here, and were so taken with the beautiful trees that they determined to purchase the property for their home. Aside from the elegant Italianate simplicity, perhaps the building's most notable feature is the large south garden which is still watered by the original well (Olmsted and Watkins 1969: 112).

One of the Mission's best groups of Italianates and one imposing Queen Anne line a street that was obviously a choice place to live from early on. The houses on the south side are set high on the hill to catch the view (Woodbridge and Woodbridge 1992: 142).

(43-49 [Liberty Street])Built for the family of Marshall Doane, merchant and contractor, this Italianate complex was originally a three-family dwelling. The family's residence was undoubtedly 45. A driveway on the east leads back to a tree-shaded area and structure which resembles an old carriage house (Olmsted and Watkins 1969: 278).

(Woodbridge and Woodbridge 1992: 142).

The balanced facade, central entrance (containing slender horse-shoe arched windows and etched transome) and three story bay tiers of this house are unusual Italianate (Olmsted and Watkins 1969: 279).

(Woodbridge and Woodbridge 1992: 142).

Although most of Telegraph Hill's buildings are post-1906, two clusters of houses on the eastern flank of the hill reveal what it looked like in its early period. The simple wood-frame buildings of almost miniature scale resemble the prefabs shipped from New England to this Yankee outpost. Few have escaped alterations, but they have a time-bound quality that matches their setting (Woodbridge and Woodbridge 1992: 50).

This early Italianate house has a first floor modernization, which demonstrates how such a remodeling can affect the basic proportions of a house (Olmsted and Watkins 1969: 249).

Although most of Telegraph Hill's buildings are post-1906, two clusters of houses on the eastern flank of the hill reveal what it looked like in its early period. The simple wood-frame buildings of almost miniature scale resemble the prefabs shipped from New England to this Yankee outpost. Few have escaped alterations, but they have a time-bound quality that matches their setting (Woodbridge and Woodbridge 1992: 50).

(29 and 33 Alta Street) These residences, framing no. 31, once echoed their neighbor's architectural styling, although both are smaller in scale. Like 25, they have been extensively remodeled (Olmsted and Watkins 1969: 249).

Abbreviations