Alamo Square – The Painted Ladies

Named by Mayor James Van Ness in 1856, this 12.7 acre park in the middle of Victorian mansions built during the 1870’s to the 1920’s, was noted as a watering hole in between the commandant’s quarters in the Presidio and Mission Delores Basilica, both occupied and controlled by the Spanish, who were the first European inhabitants of San Francisco. A lone alamo, or cottonwood tree, marked the watering hole for both Spanish Army soldiers and later, San Francisco residents. If you look at Hayes Street between Pierce and Scott, and the southern edge of the park’s sidewalk, you can still see water weeping from the ground marking where this lone Cottonwood tree stood, marking the tiny oasis. This natural spring is more evident after a heavy rainfall. The steep grade running through the middle of the park is part of an unlisted fault line running through the city from the Presidio by the Lake District to the Bayview and the Hunter’s Point shipyard area.

Alamo Square has become a tourist must see spot to view the Painted Ladies, San Francisco’s first tract housing: houses built with no owner in mind. Most of the mansions built in the neighborhood followed the pattern of most home building at the turn of the century. Houses were built by the owner to be, and contracted out by a carpenter and builder known to the would be owner. This district is second only to Pacific Heights in density of 10,000 square foot mansions, some still undivided after all these years.

Another architectural fact is to notice which Queen Anne style windows still remain curved, and not replaced with square window frames. There are four basic architectural styles in San Francisco’s residential neighborhoods. Eastlake Stick, Italianate, Queen Anne, and Edwardian. The Painted Ladies, the picture postcard row of houses with the city skyline backdrop, are Italianate with gingerbread type scrollwork around the windows and eves, and ornate woodwork design, such as the dowel found at the roof ridge top. 

Eastlake Stick homes, named after the designer, Sir Eastlake, were available from the Sears and Roebuck catalog, and could be assembled from a kit delivered to you by boat or train in the days when weed and dune were fast vanishing to streets and wood frame houses. 

On the west side of the park, you can find the Italianate William Westerfield house, complete with widow’s walk and intense lightning rods on the roof and eves. This National Historic Landmark (no. 135) is worth seeing, as are the Seattle Block on Golden Gate and Steiner, and the Tivoli Theatre’s bed-and-breakfast hotel on the corner from the Seattle Block of houses. These latter buildings are more toward Queen Anne than Italianate, as they are marked with cupolas and curved windows. The final style is of Edwardian, usually the simplest in lines and complexity, and marked by huge rectangular windows.

The west side of Alamo Square has Edwardian houses, and you can see this by the huge windows on the front of the houses over the driveways. Proceeding west on Hayes, past Divisadero on the right side, you will find Eastlake Stick Sear’s specials, with only two stories remaining. The bottom floor was taken away after these houses collapsed in the 1906 earthquake!  

Divisadero Street is a great street for a bite, a drink, or a dessert. The Bi-Rite store has ice cream rated the best by many. My favorite sandwich shop is the Bean Bag Cafe. A neighbor of mine actually got married here, as loyal customers develop friendships that can lead to vows!

Also along “Divis”, as we nickname the street, are pizza, greek sandwich, and Louisiana fried chicken! If you are cycling through the area, there is Mojo Cafe, designed with you in mind. You can get the best bike ride routes from other patrons here. The Harding Theatre, dormant for years, is ready to open with a fresh marketplace interior.

The Alamo Square, or ‘Lone Cottonwood,’ is accessible on the 21 Hayes line which can take you from Ferry Plaza and the SF Railway Museum, all the way to Golden Gate Park. There you can transfer to the 5R Fulton and traverse the entire 3.5 mile journey along the park to Ocean Beach for a view of Cliff House and Seal Rock. 

In any event, the 21 Hayes can easily qualify as The Trolleybus to Happy Destiny as it slices through the Heart of San Francisco.