San Francisco Van Ness Ave
As I mentioned in my last post I was in San Francisco for much of April. A city filled with many wonderful buildings, characters, stories and places. I being an architectural lover enjoyed seeing all the classic buildings that San Francisco is known for. While there I heard a short story about Van Ness Ave being a grand residential street. Today there is very little evidence that it ever was such. Large commercial style buildings line much of this street so what happened?
Well Van Ness was names after San Francisco's 7th mayor James Van Ness and one of the widest streets in SF being 125 ft wide. Starting mainly in the 1870s and 1880s sections of the street began to attract the wealthy and their large homes. In the 1870s, according to the planning department of SF, rows of Eucalyptus trees were planted on each side of avenue making it a grand boulevard of wealth and beauty. By the 1890s there were many a fine mansion and well known residents including the Spreckles family, Crocker family and the Giannini family. It's location was ideal being close to downtown and close to the cable cars. The street was lined with beautiful mansions, lush trees and gardens, the sounds of carriages on brick streets and a seemingly simpler time filled with extravagant beauty. First I want to share photos of many of the homes of Van Ness. I won't bother showing what is on the site now because frankly these houses are all gone, but I want you first to imagine this street as it was...
Residence of MR. HENRY E. BOTHIN, N. E. Cor. Van Ness Avenue and Jackson Streets
Residence of Mr. Charles Holbrook, N.W. Cor. Van Ness Avenue and Washington Sts
Residence of Mr. James B. Stetson, N.W. Cor. Van Ness and Clay St
Residence of Mr. R. P. ASHE, Cor. Van Ness Avenue and Washington Streets
Residence of J. H. Neustadter, Northwest Corner Van Ness Avenue and Sacramento St
Residence of Mr. David N. Walter, N. E. Cor. Sacramento St. and Van Ness Avenue
Residence of W. S. Hobart residence at Van Ness & Washington
Wenban residence located at 1920 Van Ness
Residence of Mr. F. A. Frank, Northwest Corner Van Ness Avenue and Jackson Street
And of course one of the grandest mansions, The Spreckles Mansion. See the photos below for AFTER
The avenue was at it's zenith when the famous shake and bake of 1906 happened. On April 18th at 5:14 am an estimated 7.9 earthquake struck. As the earth rumbled and streets shifted so did the gas lines throughout the city. Remember that at this time it was still very common to have your home lit with gas lighting. Thousands of homes had gas lines filling their walls, ceilings and all branching off the main street lines. With the shaking came breaking of these lines. No surprise fire soon started. With much of the city having been constructed from wood the fire had enough fuel to burn everything it touched. The city began to burn wildly out of control. While much of Van Ness was initially intact after the earthquake the fire was spreading quickly through downtown. It burned city hall, and the palace hotel and tried to burn the old mint, but the granite lady stood firm with the help of some brave men.
City hall in ruins.
The city was burning yet the water lines were broken under the street. What could be done to save the city? The officials decided to try to start a fire break. It was unsuccessful on the first attempt and so the decision was made to attack the widest street, Van Ness. So with the quick decision to use Van Ness as a firebreak it was time to remove and fuel for the fire and so all dynamite that could be found was brought to the street. Imagine if you will block after block, mansion after mansion, millionaires pride reduced to rocks and boards.
A story from the book Earthquake by Thomas and Witts in 1971 discusses a diary entry from James Stetson and his mansion on Van Ness (pictured above). It reads " At 2:00 in the morning, James B Stetson sat in a window of his mansion at 1801 Van Ness , alternatively watching the excitement down the avenue and recorded it in his makeshift diary. A pioneer of the gold rush, Stetson disapproved of the way the crisis was being handled and his disapproval increased steadily. The indiscriminate destruction of property by artillery fire and dynamite angered him particularly because the explosions set off the mansion's burglar alarm system. A squad of Funston's soldiers tried to evict him at bayonet point even when "it was clear that the fire was no danger to my property." He stood for a few moments on Van Ness and then sneaked back into his home, confident he could meet any reasonable fire threat. "I had buckets of water in the front and rear rooms with an improvised swab ready to put out any small fire which would be within my reach." Outside the flames were shooting high into the air on both sides of Van Ness. Silhouetted against them were groups of soldiers and firemen, who were showing little more control than the frightened refugees. As Stetson watched, a number a number of soldiers stopped outside a neighboring mansion - the home of millionaire Claus Spreckles.
The Soldiers were a dynamite squad, one of a dozen who had been roaming the length of Van Ness since midnight looking for likely targets to demolish. For the moment they had run out of supplies. Then car dealer Alan Clayton's runabout arrived with a load of explosives. Clayton remembers his horror when he saw that the soldiers intended to demolish the Spreckles mansion, long regarded as one of the most elegant on Van Ness. "As I started to unload the dynamitea soldier suddenly said it wasn't needed. The mansion was on fire."
Just how the Spreckles mansion caught fire is a mystery. At that moment the wind was blowing the flames away from the house. "
So the the great stone structure burned and here are the photos of the burnt out shell.
Gladly the structure was rebuilt after the fire.
Sadly the home then only lasted until 1927 when 2 large apartment buildings were built which still stand today. Here is a photo of the demolition of the home.
After the mansions were blown up everyone waited to see if they had destroyed one of the finest streets in San Francisco in vain. The firemen and explosive teams were successful as the fire stopped at Van Ness after 4 days since the earthquake had passed. . This is why if you visit San Francisco anything past Van Ness is mostly the pre 1906 buildings. However Van Ness was left with little more than ruins of buildings as the photos show:
After the quake and shake many businesses relocated onto Van Ness considering that downtown had been burned to the ground, it was the next location. By 1909 however downtown was once again rebuilt and thriving. Van Ness was still used as a mix of commercial and residential dwellings. In the 1920s apartment buildings began to spring up on the street and the number of automotive dealers on the street had slowly grown. After World War 2 the street was designated as a highway and became a main traffic thoroughfare. This precipitated the explosion of Van Ness being as the place to go shopping for a car. Car dealerships, theaters and restaurants were all here on this busy commercial street. Here are a few photos showing how drastically the street changed by the 1920s
Van Ness in the 1920s showing mix of old houses and new businesses.
As the 1970s and 80s came around many dealerships were moving away from the strip like so many other cities across america. Today Van Ness is a mix of housing complexes, restaurants , shops, car dealerships and opportunities for new development A street that has seen many days and a street that sacrificed its former grandeur to preserve the rest of this beautiful city.
Photos from the San Francisco Public Library
If you like what you read and want to see this blog and projects keep going PLEASE feel free to donate something, even if it's only a little bit. Every little bit helps on this restoration project. Thanks again!
Well Van Ness was names after San Francisco's 7th mayor James Van Ness and one of the widest streets in SF being 125 ft wide. Starting mainly in the 1870s and 1880s sections of the street began to attract the wealthy and their large homes. In the 1870s, according to the planning department of SF, rows of Eucalyptus trees were planted on each side of avenue making it a grand boulevard of wealth and beauty. By the 1890s there were many a fine mansion and well known residents including the Spreckles family, Crocker family and the Giannini family. It's location was ideal being close to downtown and close to the cable cars. The street was lined with beautiful mansions, lush trees and gardens, the sounds of carriages on brick streets and a seemingly simpler time filled with extravagant beauty. First I want to share photos of many of the homes of Van Ness. I won't bother showing what is on the site now because frankly these houses are all gone, but I want you first to imagine this street as it was...
Wenban residence located at 1920 Van Ness
The avenue was at it's zenith when the famous shake and bake of 1906 happened. On April 18th at 5:14 am an estimated 7.9 earthquake struck. As the earth rumbled and streets shifted so did the gas lines throughout the city. Remember that at this time it was still very common to have your home lit with gas lighting. Thousands of homes had gas lines filling their walls, ceilings and all branching off the main street lines. With the shaking came breaking of these lines. No surprise fire soon started. With much of the city having been constructed from wood the fire had enough fuel to burn everything it touched. The city began to burn wildly out of control. While much of Van Ness was initially intact after the earthquake the fire was spreading quickly through downtown. It burned city hall, and the palace hotel and tried to burn the old mint, but the granite lady stood firm with the help of some brave men.
The city was burning yet the water lines were broken under the street. What could be done to save the city? The officials decided to try to start a fire break. It was unsuccessful on the first attempt and so the decision was made to attack the widest street, Van Ness. So with the quick decision to use Van Ness as a firebreak it was time to remove and fuel for the fire and so all dynamite that could be found was brought to the street. Imagine if you will block after block, mansion after mansion, millionaires pride reduced to rocks and boards.
A story from the book Earthquake by Thomas and Witts in 1971 discusses a diary entry from James Stetson and his mansion on Van Ness (pictured above). It reads " At 2:00 in the morning, James B Stetson sat in a window of his mansion at 1801 Van Ness , alternatively watching the excitement down the avenue and recorded it in his makeshift diary. A pioneer of the gold rush, Stetson disapproved of the way the crisis was being handled and his disapproval increased steadily. The indiscriminate destruction of property by artillery fire and dynamite angered him particularly because the explosions set off the mansion's burglar alarm system. A squad of Funston's soldiers tried to evict him at bayonet point even when "it was clear that the fire was no danger to my property." He stood for a few moments on Van Ness and then sneaked back into his home, confident he could meet any reasonable fire threat. "I had buckets of water in the front and rear rooms with an improvised swab ready to put out any small fire which would be within my reach." Outside the flames were shooting high into the air on both sides of Van Ness. Silhouetted against them were groups of soldiers and firemen, who were showing little more control than the frightened refugees. As Stetson watched, a number a number of soldiers stopped outside a neighboring mansion - the home of millionaire Claus Spreckles.
The Soldiers were a dynamite squad, one of a dozen who had been roaming the length of Van Ness since midnight looking for likely targets to demolish. For the moment they had run out of supplies. Then car dealer Alan Clayton's runabout arrived with a load of explosives. Clayton remembers his horror when he saw that the soldiers intended to demolish the Spreckles mansion, long regarded as one of the most elegant on Van Ness. "As I started to unload the dynamitea soldier suddenly said it wasn't needed. The mansion was on fire."
Just how the Spreckles mansion caught fire is a mystery. At that moment the wind was blowing the flames away from the house. "
So the the great stone structure burned and here are the photos of the burnt out shell.
Gladly the structure was rebuilt after the fire.
Sadly the home then only lasted until 1927 when 2 large apartment buildings were built which still stand today. Here is a photo of the demolition of the home.
After the mansions were blown up everyone waited to see if they had destroyed one of the finest streets in San Francisco in vain. The firemen and explosive teams were successful as the fire stopped at Van Ness after 4 days since the earthquake had passed. . This is why if you visit San Francisco anything past Van Ness is mostly the pre 1906 buildings. However Van Ness was left with little more than ruins of buildings as the photos show:
After the quake and shake many businesses relocated onto Van Ness considering that downtown had been burned to the ground, it was the next location. By 1909 however downtown was once again rebuilt and thriving. Van Ness was still used as a mix of commercial and residential dwellings. In the 1920s apartment buildings began to spring up on the street and the number of automotive dealers on the street had slowly grown. After World War 2 the street was designated as a highway and became a main traffic thoroughfare. This precipitated the explosion of Van Ness being as the place to go shopping for a car. Car dealerships, theaters and restaurants were all here on this busy commercial street. Here are a few photos showing how drastically the street changed by the 1920s
As the 1970s and 80s came around many dealerships were moving away from the strip like so many other cities across america. Today Van Ness is a mix of housing complexes, restaurants , shops, car dealerships and opportunities for new development A street that has seen many days and a street that sacrificed its former grandeur to preserve the rest of this beautiful city.
Photos from the San Francisco Public Library
If you like what you read and want to see this blog and projects keep going PLEASE feel free to donate something, even if it's only a little bit. Every little bit helps on this restoration project. Thanks again!
Dynamiting the eastern side of Van Ness didn't really accomplish much, the fire did in fact jump over to the other side, but the wind changed and the fire turned north and east.
ReplyDeleteWho knows what would have happened if they had not blown up the houses. Perhaps more of Van Ness would have survived, although unlikely given perhaps its commercial nature of the early automobile years.
DeleteBRILLIANT! - Thank You!
ReplyDeleteGod - I can understand why they did it but what a loss, those houses are mouth-watering.
ReplyDeleteI've lived in one of the buildings that replaced the Spreckles mansion @ Van Ness & Clay for 15yrs.
ReplyDeleteSomebody just brought it for $25 mil 2 yrs ago.
It has 48 units & 6 floors
The lobby is gorgeous & each room has the faces of children in the corners