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Presidio Heights, SF, Architectural Heritage Tour & nearby Presidio Hike
Sun, Jun 14, 5:30 PM***\*Don't be a No-Show*** *and have your membership in the Group canceled. See the,\*No-Show policies at the bottom.* This tour highlights not only the diversity of the architecture, but also the mix of architects and people who built, occupied and maintained these grand properties. About 50 of which are on our tour today, including Presidio Terrace. I also have some ephemera we can see to get a feel for what life was like here about ninety years ago. Here are some links if you would like to help with Meetup expenses. [Here is a Venmo link.](https://venmo.com/code?user_id=3262702482882560580&created=1757371525), for my account. Here is my Paypal account. '[herrmann48@comcast.net'](http://herrmann48@comcast.net'/) The walking tour covers approximately 15 blocks (3.0 - 4.0 miles of walking). Afterwards there are a couple of interesting dining spots at Divisadero and California Sts., *Patisserie & Dynasty Dumpling.* Both are good options for lunch. **But sometimes it's fun to try something different, Hinodeya Ramen Bar at 1737 Buchanan St.** I know where to find parking, no worries. So join me afterwards. They also have a location just off Chestnut St. at 3340 Steiner St. This location looks more luxe with nice outdoor seating and more tables. Same menu. The House Ramen or Spinach soup seems like the go to's! ($17.00.) By the way Chestnut St. seems to have a lot of new and unique restaurants if you have a good suggestion that you've actually tried and recommend, let me know. Lots of walking today, about three miles, but mostly level. (On Sundays we'll pass by the **[Swedenborgian Church of San Francisco](https://sfswedenborgian.org/history/)** at the end of our walk. A weekly Sunday tour of this early Arts & Crafts gem is offered at 1:00pm. We'll stop by and take a look. See some of the art there in the photos here.) We're meeting at the intersection of Baker St & Vallejo. Very ample parking on the nearby streets. We always manage to find a relatively clean porta-pottie nearby. But we do pass restrooms on our side hike through the Presidio. *\*(Don't be a no-show.)* It's good to give out name tags which I do. I fill out the name tags 24hrs. before for the tour. This also gives me a way to take attendance. Name tags that are not picked up, are recorded as no-shows. If you get too many no-shows recorded in your personal Meet-up profile you'll have to be cancelled from this Meetup. (To cancel your RSVP beforehand (must be at least 24 hrs. before the Event or a No-show is recorded.), so look for the, **"Edit Attendance"** tab at the bottom right hand corner of the screen.) *Please ask your guests to join the Meetup, otherwise they can't attend.* [Here are several photos, including inside the house at Presidio and Pacific, the house pictured above.](https://www.compass.com/listing/3198-pacific-avenue-san-francisco-ca-94123/1291319997995710705/) Popular architectural genres in the early development of Presidio Hts.- At the time of its development around 1905, the **brown shingle, Arts & Crafts style** was popular. Known as the First Bay Traditional or Regional style we'll see this genre in evidence at the beginning of the tour. (Be sure to take a look at the four photos here of a great example of this type of architecture.) Presidio Hts. was an early hot bed of this style, led by the Swedenborgian Church nearby and Its founding pastor, Rev. Joseph Worcester who is credited with building the first Bay Area brown shingle house in Piedmont, in 1876. **1895 the 1910 *Edwardian and Colonial Revival:*** The continued elaboration of ornament and facade shapes reached its height in the early 1890s as the the Victorian era ended. After that there was a gradual move towards simplicity and away from excess and toward, order. Eccentricity gave way to strict conventions, quiet lines and understated quality materials. Money now made understatement its chief method of display. Style was no longer measured in pounds of gingerbread ornament per square foot, but in elegant proportions and an air of conservatism. (Julia Morgan lived nearby at Washington & Divisadero. There are four JM houses on today's tour.)
East Bernal Hts. Walking Tour-Via Stair Path & SF Vernacular Architecture
Wed, Jun 10, 5:30 PM(Photo above: *Family moving "their" earthquake Cottage from Precita Park up to Bernal Hts.,1907. Occupants could keep the government provided, Union built cottage they had lived in after the earthquake, if the rent was up to date. Sometimes charged $100. for the cottage. But land values had bottomed after the earthquake. Rows of these, painted, park bench green, were temporarily built in most of the parks in SF and the Presidio.* East Bernal Hts. is rarely seen on City Guides or other organization's listings. But we're adventurous and we'll risk the wilds of East Bernal Hts. and have a great time. In what is one of the most unique neighborhoods in San Francisco little houses cling halfway up the hills here. We'll explore and discover the scenic, up and down stair pathways, as well as the Victorian architecture in this especially unique neighborhood. Not to mention the marvelous views as we ascend the stair paths. ([Here's a simple link that will allow you to support the Meetup and add a thank you.](https://www.paypal.com/donate/?business=TJ8W6VVEGJ6BS&no_recurring=1&item_name=%0AIt%27s+very+nice+of+you+to+respond+and+give+support.%0AThank+you%2C%0AJordan¤cy_code=USD)) (Total distance, three miles, but there are several novel steps/stair/paths to climb up, resulting in a total elevation gain of a few hundred feet. You'll get your, "steps"/exercise, but overall we go slow, stopping to see some of the Victorian and vernacular varieties while taking in the gorgeous views of the bay. Wear sturdy shoes. *Don't risk a fall or a sprained ankle, or worse ,by wearing inappropriate footwear for this activity.* I think what makes Bernal Hts. unique in SF is that the early difficulties in commuting due to the terrain, made it a less desirable location. Resulting in a very working class, blue collar neighborhood with affordable housing for the locals. It also lacked in City infrastructure with some dirt roads not being paved until the 1980s. The typical SF, rigid grided, street layout didn't work well in Bernal Hts. The Berkeley ideal of streets following the contour of the land may have resulted in much more expensive housing? Instead we see so many moderate wood houses almost defying gravity in clinging to the sloping hills. If you have a problem maintaining your social calendar, please be advised! ***(Don't be a no-show.)*** It's good to give out name tags which I do. I fill out the name tags 24 hours before r the tour start time. This also gives me a way to take attendance. Name tags that are not picked up, are recorded as no-shows. (See photo below.) If you get too many no-shows recorded in your personal Meet-up profile you'll have to be canceled from this Meetup. (To cancel your RSVP beforehand (please at least 24 hrs.), look for the, **"Edit Attendance"** tab at the bottom right hand corner of the screen.)
Julia Morgan, Architect, in San Francisco
Sun, Jul 12, 5:15 PM(Photo above JM in Paris, 1900, Cathedral Notre Dame in the background.) **\*(Don't be a no-show or your membership will be cancelled.)** It's good to give out name tags which I will do. I fill out the name tags 24 hours before I leave for the tour. This also gives me a way to take attendance. Name tags that are not picked up, are recorded as no-shows. If you get too many no-shows recorded in your personal Meet-up profile, (only visible to the organizer) you'll be cancelled from this Meetup. (To cancel your RSVP beforehand [please at least 24 hrs. or a no-show is recorded.], look for the, **"Edit Attendance",** tab at the bottom right hand corner of the screen on a notebook and left bottom on a phone.) Along the way we'll stop to see two of Bernard Maybeck's, finest SF houses. Morgan graduated UC in 1894 with a degree in Civil Engineering, one of her specializations was structural engineering. (This benefited her clients greatly, as was seen after the 06' earthquake in her still standing buildings.) She arrived in Paris in 1896. A few years later it was reported in the San Francisco Call: **Paris, Oct.30,1902** - *Julia Morgan of San Francisco passed the examination with honors at the Architectural section of the School of Fine Arts (Ecole de Beaux Arts, Paris France.* The first woman to do so. Ironically one of the greatest architects in history, was made to wait two years, taking entrance exams before admission. By the end of her 45 yr. career she had received over 700 commissions. On average a new building every six weeks. It was said, "Her rational approach to home design and the public success of her large commissions gave Julia Morgan a solid reputation. It also won her the confidence of her clients. With the hard work, genius, inspiration and true artistic perception to create memorable works. Over the course of her career, Morgan designed nearly one hundred buildings across California and the nation for women’s organizations. Her commissions included social and civic clubs for women; academic, residential, and recreational buildings; primary schools; orphanages; hospitals, sanitariums,and nursing residences. She also designed more than thirty YWCA buildings, including those in San Francisco and Berkeley. In fact when JM bought her own house at Washington & Divisadero in SF in 1925, she bought a pair of houses there. To read more about the many Julia Morgan public buildings, such as the Hearst Castle etc. go to wikipedia. She was California's most prolific architect. The first woman to receive the American Institute of Architects highest award, the AIA Gold Medal, awarded posthumously in 2014. The three projects that immediately solidified her future career as a great architect, engineer and fully capable project/construction manager were the rebuilding of the new Fairmount Hotel after its semi-destruction following the earthquake. The design, engineering and building of the beautiful Bell Tower at Mills College and Carnegie Library there, both of which survived the earthquake without a crack. And the completion on time and within budget of the construction of the Greek Theater at UC for John Gayland Howard, campus architect. Option for lunch afterward. Here are some links if you would like to help with Meetup expenses. [Here is a Venmo link.](https://venmo.com/code?user_id=3262702482882560580&created=1757371525), for my account. Here is my Paypal account. '[herrmann48@comcast.net'](http://herrmann48@comcast.net'/) *Or use the Donation feature above.*
Haight-Ashbury Tour & Golden Gate Park Walk & Band Concert
Sun, Jul 5, 5:15 PMPARKING tips! Parking is not a big problem where we are meeting. (No parking restrictions on weekends, but check the signs.) The higher up the hill you go the more available parking. There are three parts to today's tour. We'll do an hour or so of the Haight's Victorians and local history, like where the bands lived, and the counter-culture movement here. There was a Calif.League professional baseball park on Stanyan bet. Haight & Waller in 1890. (Then the Hippies of the 1960s) We'll take a walk down Haight St. to recall the counter-culture movement and hippie days of the 1960/70s. (If you want to take a deep dive into what happened in SF in those days, [click here](https://sfplanning.org/project/citywide-historic-context-statement#completed) and once there, look on the right side under the *Cultural heading* and click, "*Citywide Historic Context Statement for Counter-Culture (1965-1975)*, Third we'll walk into the eastern end of GG Park for a walk and a little touring there. **We'll stop at the Music Concourse Bandshell for lunch.** [The concert starts at 1:00pm and is a good one today.](https://goldengateparkband.org/calendar) Total distance about four miles. When we stop at the Music Concourse band shell for lunch, I always get the clam chowder from Sam's Chowder House food truck. (highly recommended) It always seems most attendees go their separate way from here. There's a lot going on at this location, two museums, Japanese Tea House, SF Botanical Garden, Stowe Lake etc. It's popular to take a tour of the SF Botanical Garden from here and/or you are welcome to head back with me from here after the Concert ends at 2:30pm. (Please don't be a no-show.) It's good to give out name tags which I do. I'll fill out the name tags just before I leave for the tour. This also gives me an opportunity to take attendance. Name tags that are not picked up, are recorded as no-shows. (Be sure to pick up your name tag.) If you get too many no-shows recorded in your personal Meet-up profile, you'll have to be cancelled from this Meetup. Also booking multiple Meetup Events on the same day and time is cause for immediate cancellation. (To cancel your Event RSVP in advance, look for the, **"Edit Attendance"** tab at the bottom right hand corner of the screen.) The Victorians in the Haight are some of the most elaborate in San Francisco. All the neighborhoods in SF have histories that are fun to learn of. What follows goes into the research done for the tour. It may be of interest if you like the details? For a detailed history of about six Victorian houses near the tour, click the link, [(Detailed info 1071 Page St. & 21 Baker St.)](https://archive.org/details/victorianallianc00unse_13/page/6/mode/2up?view=theater) etc. Additionally the Victorian Alliance of SF, archive link, also has two pages of history, each, about the following houses along or near our route: 23 Baker St. 110 Lyon St. 1283 Page St. 1461 Page St. There are ten officially designated city and national landmarks in the area. 301 Lyon, Clunie House 1111 Oak, Phelps House 1153 Oak, Mish House Stanyan Park Hotel The Four Seansons Painted Ladies on Waller St. bet. Masonic & Delmar. Northwest corner at 1410 Haight St. (Location of one of the first head shops. An historic site, designated as a national landmark, now donated and maintained by a non-profit.) **\*Don't be a no-show. *See the Group's no-show policy below.*** Don't be a no-show and lose your membership in the Group. *Attendance is always taken and no-shows recorded.* The Haight, historically called an "electric streetcar suburb", was least affected by the '06 earthquake and fires. And was almost fully built out by then. Imagine what it must have been like when there were row after row, of these new, exuberant creations. Sparkling new in the bright San Francisco sunshine. Baseball was being played at a baseball stadium at Stanyon & Haight, starting in 1885, for the California Baseball League. Roughly over 48,000 Victorians were built in SF, (1860s to 1890s), with about a third remaining. Bay Area entrepreneurship with the wealth of the best building material, old growth **redwood**, a driving force? *The information below is provided if you are interested in more details about SF Victorian architecture.* **Looking at a San Francisco Victorian, what to look for:** *(There are five Styles)* 1. Flat front Italianate- (earliest Victorians). (French 2nd Empire appear) 2. Italianate with slanted bay windows. 3. San Francisco Stick Style (also called East Lake). Simpler square bay windows now used. Overall much more elaborate decoration, ornament and gingerbread used. 4. Queen Anne Tower House&Witches Cap, with angled or rounded bay windows & front gable 5. Queen Anne Row House, 1, 1-1/2 or two stories. Large front gable. Possible moongate entry. Features & "Gingerbread" Type of Entry & Doorway(maybe a rounded or partial Moongate entry)- Decorative Ironwork- Floral Decor-Garlands (one of many types of decorations known as \*"Gingerbread") Fish scale&Diamond shingles- Towers & Witch's Cap- Stained Glass or Beveled Glass- Carvings of grotesque faces- Sunbursts- often painted gold, half or full. Gables (Queen Anne's) in a variety of material- (mainly redwood) Newel Posts and Finials on Tower tops and roof peaks- [If you would like a scholarly and detailed explanation with photos, click.](https://sfplanning.org/sites/default/files/documents/preserv/bulletins/HistPres_Bulletin_18.PDF)
Eureka Valley, A Great Victorian Tour
Sat, Jun 20, 5:30 PM**\*Don't be a no-show. *See the Group's no-show policy below.*** Don't be a no-show and lose your membership in the Group. Attendance is always taken and no-shows recorded. A marvelous tour of Victorians in Eureka Valley. On our way we'll discover a beautifully restored "Earthquake Cottage", from 1906. Just imagine house after house of these efflorescent, floriated, flamboyant creations. What inspired the Victorians? Makes for an interesting discussion. Roughly over 48,000 Victorians were built in SF, (1860s to 1915), with about a third remaining. Builder, Fernando Nelson's houses stand out in neighborhoods of beautifully authentic Victorians due to his signature gingerbread details. With his sons he produced some 4,000 homes from 1876 until his death in 1953. After the Victorian Era he created developments in the Richmond, Presidio Terrace and West Portal, among others. The two photos below show very similar F.Nelson, Queen Ann Tower row houses. The one with the garages added underneath is in the Castro[ (for sale listing) ](https://websites.open.homes/site/1eff45d8-994d-6e92-8956-02ffe917ffb9)the other, more original is at Waller and Carmelita St [For a biography of F. Nelson, click.](https://outsidelands.org/nelson.php) [This link will take you to the history of several of the houses on the tour. ](https://archive.org/details/victorianallianc00unse_7/page/n1/mode/2up) Or near the tour. (Sketches of what is described below will be passed around. We'll also go over a sketch of the interior of a typical Victorian.) *(There are five Victorian Styles. Walking in the Victorian neighborhoods is even more fun when you can identify each of the five styles of Victorians.)* 1. 1860s -Flat front Italianate- (earliest Victorians). (French 2nd Empire also appear downtown to burn after the '06 earthquake.) 2. 1870s -Italianate with slanted bay windows. 3. 1880s -San Francisco Stick Style (also called East Lake). Simpler square bay windows now used. Overall much more elaborate decoration, ornament and gingerbread used. 4. 1890s -Queen Anne Tower House&Witches Cap, with angled or rounded bay windows & front gable 5. 1890s -Queen Anne Row House, 1, 1-1/2 or two stories. Large front gable. Possibly with a moongate entry. Features & "Gingerbread" Moongate entry Floral Decor-Garlands, Vases Fish scale and/or Diamond shingles- Towers & Witch's Cap- Stained Glass or Beveled Glass- Carvings of grotesque faces- Sunbursts- often painted gold, half or full. Gables Newel Posts at the end of railings&Finials on Tower tops&roof peaks- Woodworking mills South of Market provided the "gingerbread". There was an Old English custom using fancy cutouts of baked gingerbread to decorate wedding cakes. The term gingerbread was subsequently used for the decorating of Victorian houses. The secret ingredient was redwood. It could be carved, sawn, turned on a lathe, incised, or soaked and press- molded into almost any shape. [If you would like a scholarly and detailed explanation with photos, click.](https://sfplanning.org/sites/default/files/documents/preserv/bulletins/HistPres_Bulletin_18.PDF) [Most of the photos below and listings are taken from the SF Planning Dept. information of 240 pages reviewing Eureka Valley.](https://default.sfplanning.org/Preservation/EurekaValleyHCS/hp_eureka_valley_hcs_HCS_FINAL-122017.pdf)
Don't miss Tomales bays unique hidden gems & Drakes Bay wonders !
Sat, Jun 6, 4:45 PMSome people still have not been here & beyond to see the Elephant Seals ! plus if we get the low tide we can wade in at a special location & observe & photo the cool Bat Rays ! (Harmless) \*\*\*\*\*Our lunch location is on a cliff overlooking the Northern shore line & beaches .\*\*\* You won't want to leave this place. \*\*\* The forest trek is down hill or cliff top along the beaches. Only one uphill , through a Cypress forest. Bathrooms are available & water. Plus I will also have other drinks and trail food available. (Including hiking poles). \*\*\*\*\*\* Then we are off to explore the amazing Drakes Bay, cliffs & the beautiful beaches. And If we are lucky, we may see pods of huge Elephant Seals basking in the sun. And they are very big ! This beach is also known for its annual Sand Sculpture contest In Sept. Plus, don't miss all the many Sand dollars you will find in the surf ! \*\*\*\*\*\* We will carpool from Starbucks . So don't drive solo ! You may get lost! Sorry ! No dogs allowed on this outing, because of all the wildlife . Membership donation is only $22 & guests are $15. You get so much for so little. Always have my phone #: 925 787 3041 . Plus when you RSVP , \*\*\*\*\*I will need your phone #, email & group meetup name. \*\*\*And most of all, do not ever, ever, be a dreaded NO SHOW ! OK ! LET'S RUMBLE ! Leave all the rat race behind & clear your mind. Your Guru for great adventures !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! INDIE TOM !
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