Golden Gate Park – Sharon Building

 Posted by on March 14, 2012
Mar 142012
 
Golden Gate Park
Sharon Building

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This delightful example of what some say is Victorian Romanesque architecture and others say is Richardsonian Romanesque, was designed by architects George Washington Percy and Frederick F. Hamilton. The building is the result of a $50,000 donation from silver baron, Nevada senator, and unscrupulous bank owner, William Sharon. The building and the intent of the donation, included a playground.

The building was originally intended to give families with children a place to play indoors and have refreshments during inclement weather, it now houses the non-profit Sharon Art Studio, offering art classes in various mediums to both adults and children.

Damaged terribly after the 1906 earthquake, and again by a fire in 1974 that gutted the interior and another fire in 1980 which did damage to the structure, the building was finally renovated in 1992.

According to the San Francisco Encyclopedia:

Frederick F. Hamilton was born in Addison, Maine in 1851. He began work in 1866 as a draftsman in the office of Boston architect and book illustrator Hammatt Billings. In September 1875 he journeyed out to California and worked on the ill-fated San Francisco City Hall, then under the direction of original architect, Augustus Laver. That building took 20 years to complete, but, when the earthquake of April 18, 1906 shook it apart, was found to have been very badly constructed. In 1878 Hamilton traveled back east, but returned again to San Francisco in 1879. He joined fellow Maine native, George W. Percy, in partnership in January 1880.

Percy was Hamilton’s senior by four years, having been born in 1847, in Bath, Maine. He apprenticed with prominent Portland, Maine architect, Francis H. Fassett, from 1866 until 1870, when he came out to California to work in Stockton for two years. In April 1872 he relocated to Chicago to work on the rebuilding of that city following the great fire of October 1871. Percy made his final move out to San Francisco in September 1875, opening his own office in the City until the partnership with Hamilton was formed in 1880. Theirs was one of the city’s most highly regarded Victorian architecture partnership.

Alamo Square

 Posted by on August 7, 2011
Aug 072011
 
Alamo Square – San Francisco
Alamo Square is surrounded by Victorian Houses, and the famous “painted ladies” photograph that is quintessentially San Francisco, to say nothing of the fact that it’s image is probably the number one selling postcard.  I see no point in posting that picture, you have seen it.  I even hesitate to discuss victorians on this blog, because frankly there are so many experts and so many people out there that know so much more than I that I feel completely inadequate in even approaching this subject.
One of my dearest and oldest friends Beach Alexander has written the ultimate book San Francisco,  Building the Dream City  It took Beach well over 20 years to finish the book, only about 5 years before he passed away.  This is why I hesitate to even begin this subject here.
I am doing this because I want you to know that the entire area is filled with wonderful old victorians, not just those 5 in the postcard, and should you get to our fair city, and have the time to do more than drive by and point and shoot, I encourage you to park the car, get off the bus, get out of the taxi, and stroll, stroll, stroll.
Chateau Tivoli Bed and Breakfast

Mission District – Public Post

 Posted by on June 5, 2011
Jun 052011
 
Valencia Street Between 16th and 19th, Mission District, San Francisco
Valencia Street Post by Michael Arcega
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Crafted out of steel and aluminum and painted with a durable urethane alkyd enamel, the ornamental crowns are sort of Victorian architecture that is intended to recall the neighborhood’s past history. The Department of Public Works added a decorative paving design based on Victorian wallpaper to the sidewalk surrounding the poles. These are meant to be community bulletin boards, and believe me, they are covered with postings. It is nice to have the city admit that phone polls like this are coated everyday with notices, why not produce something artistic and functional.

Michael received his BFA at the San Francisco Art Institute and his MFA at Stanford University. He is currently a Visiting Faculty at Virginia Commonwealth University.

You can see by the photos that they are in a very vibrant part of town and fit perfectly with their surroundings.

According to Michael’s website he is is an interdisciplinary artist working primarily in sculpture and installation. Though visual, his art revolves largely around language. Directly informed by Historic events, material significance, and the format of jokes, his subject matter deals with sociopolitical circumstances where power relations are unbalanced.As a naturalized American, there is a geographic dimension to Michael’s investigation of cultural markers. These markers are embedded in objects, food, architecture, visual lexicons, and vernacular languages. For instance, vernacular Tagalog, is infused with Spanish and English words, lending itself to verbal mutation. This malleability result in wordplay and jokes that transform words like Persuading to First wedding, Tenacious to Tennis Shoes, Devastation to The Bus Station, and Masturbation to Mass Starvation. His practice draws from the sensibility of both insider and outsider- subtly jumbling signifier, material, linguistics, and site.

Michael was born in Manila, Philippines, and migrated to the Los Angeles area at ten years of age. He relocated to San Francisco to attend the San Francisco Art Institute where he received a BFA. And later, he attended Stanford University for his MFA. He currently lives and works in San Francisco, California.

The decorative sidewalks

This project was funded by the San Francisco Art Commission for $52,000.

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