(in progress still need to be edited and added to…)
Wren Robb
Painted Ladies –Research Paper
History of Architecture
These houses called the Painted ladies which sit by the city by the bay, adding contrast to a modern and urban skyline are truly a site to see. However bright they are painted from purple and turquoise to a mild yellow with white trim, they shine and they are a jewel to the city of San Francisco. I don't know who named these lovely houses Painted Ladies but I have many guesses behind the name. For one the architecture to me is very feminine and the colors accent the architecture in a very celebratory way. Although these San Francisco houses are unique and represent a culture that can only be found in the Bay Area, there are other Painted Ladies. Yes that's right Painted Ladies can be found in the jazzy areas of New Orleans, a village in Baltimore City, they house some saints and angels in St. Louis, and are even found at a place called Cincinnati. But for this research project I want to focus on one row of houses, in San Francisco sitting on the edge of Alamo square, with some history on all Victorian houses throughout San Francisco.
These houses were built in San Francisco between 1845 and 1915. Before I began my research I assumed that these houses were first built during this period and then later painted bright colors in more recent history. However California Architects and Builders News reported in 1885 "...red, yellow, chocolate, orange, everything that is loud is in fashion...if the upper stories are not of red or blue... they are painted up into uncouth panels of yellow and brown." The paint has been the clothes for these buildings to express themselves and the culture of the city and time.
During World War I some of these houses were painted Battleship gray with war-surplus Navy paint. These painted Ladies once had lots of company but in the 1905 earthquakes many of their Victorian and Edwardian friends were destroyed. An more were destroyed in 1906 in the great fire that followed the earthquake. Also about sixteen thousand were demolished, and others were stripped of their décor, and forced to wear tarpaper, brick, stucco, or aluminum siding.
An artist by the name of Butch Kardum came to the rescue of these Ladies and painted them beautiful colors of greens and blues in 1963. This began a domino effect with neighbors deciding to bright up there exteriors block by block. This became known as "the colorist movement" which brushed across streets and neighborhoods throughout the city.
When I visited the site for my research of these houses at 712–720 Steiner Street I was struck by the diversity between each house from color to décor, but also at the same time how unified these house appeared. Maybe it's because they are so crammed up against each other that if it weren't for the difference in color and they could appear as one house. This row of houses has character and they have blended into the culture of San Francisco to visually be an element that makes the city what it is. What makes these Victorians so special, after all there are Victorian houses in just about every place there is houses. I believe these houses stand out not only because of the bold way they are painted but the view they create in contrast to the modern architecture that chokes the skyline. This also represents San Francisco's nature to embrace the new, but not forgetting about the old or the history.
The delicacy of the wood work and detail of linear forms with some swirls mixed in against a box-ey apartment building and linear sky scrapers intriguing. It is juxtaposition of old and new that is proof that architecture represents culture, people, and life.
These houses are often called "postcard row" and have been featured in TV shows like "Full House" to movies like "Down to You" and "So I Married an Axe Murderer." This site is one of the most photographed locations of the city. This particular block of residential architecture has managed to develop into so much more than a period style of a forgotten time, but instead somehow stays a current destination and reflection of the culture in this moment right now. Although not everyone is a fan of the bright colors brushed onto these homes on the hills the painted color scheme is very effect and strategic in complementing the architecture of each individual Victorian home…
