Public Housing Comes Full Circle - Revision history

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2026-02-11T06:13:59Z

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	''Photo: San Francisco History Center, SF Public Library''		''Photo: San Francisco History Center, SF Public Library''

			[[Image:Ping-Yuen-Stockton-Street-w-pyramid 20250104 215154567.jpg]]

			'''Ping Yuen along Stockton Street, 2025.'''

			''Photo: Chris Carlsson''


	'''* NORTH BEACH PLACE''' by Ernest Born, associate of German architect Eric Mendelsohn, and Henry Gutterson, associate of Bernark Maybeck, 1952. Comparable in size and vintage to Ping Yuen, this project features low-key modern design, alternating interior courts for parking and recreation, and good surveillance from balconies of community courts.		'''* NORTH BEACH PLACE''' by Ernest Born, associate of German architect Eric Mendelsohn, and Henry Gutterson, associate of Bernark Maybeck, 1952. Comparable in size and vintage to Ping Yuen, this project features low-key modern design, alternating interior courts for parking and recreation, and good surveillance from balconies of community courts.

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2025-02-12T07:10:36Z

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← Older revision		Revision as of 00:10, 12 February 2025
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	'''Rosa Parks Senior Apartments'''		'''Rosa Parks Senior Apartments'''

	Walking toward her earlier rehab project—once the infamous "Pink Palace" on Turk and Scott streets—Dev speaks with pride of this building's transformation, from a deteriorated open-balconied family project vulnerable to outsiders, to a fully enclosed model senior mini-city with a pleasant backyard and garden.		Walking toward her earlier rehab project—once the [[Pink Palace Controversy\|infamous "Pink Palace"]] on Turk and Scott streets—Dev speaks with pride of this building's transformation, from a deteriorated open-balconied family project vulnerable to outsiders, to a fully enclosed model senior mini-city with a pleasant backyard and garden.

	[[Image:Pink Palace AAD-6127.jpg]]		[[Image:Pink Palace AAD-6127.jpg]]

Ccarlsson: added photo

2022-10-20T21:27:07Z

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← Older revision		Revision as of 14:27, 20 October 2022
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	''Photo: San Francisco History Center, SF Public Library''		''Photo: San Francisco History Center, SF Public Library''

			[[Image:Public housing western addition.jpg\|500px]]

			'''Pink Palace and nearby public housing, c. 1970s.'''

			''Photo: Tim Drescher''

	"The issue was how much shared space should there be," says Dev, a proponent of "building complexity into the environment to animate it." The ground floor mail area is a hub in which "you can be seen or avoid engagement," depending on the path you choose—into sunken lounge or around it, to library, sun room, garden court or elevators to apartments.		"The issue was how much shared space should there be," says Dev, a proponent of "building complexity into the environment to animate it." The ground floor mail area is a hub in which "you can be seen or avoid engagement," depending on the path you choose—into sunken lounge or around it, to library, sun room, garden court or elevators to apartments.

Ccarlsson: added new photos

2012-12-24T06:05:54Z

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← Older revision		Revision as of 23:05, 23 December 2012
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	'''* HOLLY COURTS''' by Arthur Brown Jr. who also designed Coit Tower and, with John Bakewell, City Hall, 118 units, 1- to 3-bedroom, 1940. Attached, blocky two-story, low-rise garden apartments near Holly Park have stepped, interior landscaped courts and play spaces, along with small backyards. Some entrances front on the street, connecting the complex to the neighborhood. "Within the site, units create a hierarchy of private and shared spaces," San Francisco architects Gita Dev and Lisa Gelfand have written.		'''* HOLLY COURTS''' by Arthur Brown Jr. who also designed Coit Tower and, with John Bakewell, City Hall, 118 units, 1- to 3-bedroom, 1940. Attached, blocky two-story, low-rise garden apartments near Holly Park have stepped, interior landscaped courts and play spaces, along with small backyards. Some entrances front on the street, connecting the complex to the neighborhood. "Within the site, units create a hierarchy of private and shared spaces," San Francisco architects Gita Dev and Lisa Gelfand have written.

	'''* ~~[[Housing and Land-Use\|~~VALENCIA GARDENS]]''' by William Wurster and Harry Thomsen, landscape design by Thomas Church, 248 units, 1- to 3-bedroom, 1943. In recent years, the complex's [[Housing and Land-Use\|open entrance corner on 15th and Valencia streets]] with its cool expanse of lawn and trees has attracted the drug trade. Arcade-like passages leading from landscaped front courtyards to rear utility courts provide escape routes from police patrols, hence a plan for peripheral fencing.		'''* VALENCIA GARDENS''' by William Wurster and Harry Thomsen, landscape design by Thomas Church, 248 units, 1- to 3-bedroom, 1943. In recent years, the complex's [[Housing and Land-Use\|open entrance corner on 15th and Valencia streets]] with its cool expanse of lawn and trees has attracted the drug trade. Arcade-like passages leading from landscaped front courtyards to rear utility courts provide escape routes from police patrols, hence a plan for peripheral fencing.

	Yet siting, landscaping, and functional, modern design of private and shared spaces in the three-story development balance needs for community and privacy. An early critic focused praise on "intimate outdoor sitting places," atypical for war housing, where one might get to know one's neighbors; also praised were ingenious low-budget devices for "invoking an illusion of separateness"—from varied interior color schemes to visually separate, interlocking courtyards.		Yet siting, landscaping, and functional, modern design of private and shared spaces in the three-story development balance needs for community and privacy. An early critic focused praise on "intimate outdoor sitting places," atypical for war housing, where one might get to know one's neighbors; also praised were ingenious low-budget devices for "invoking an illusion of separateness"—from varied interior color schemes to visually separate, interlocking courtyards.

	Original communal craft rooms—havens for harried husbands—and vine-enclosed drying yards, complementing laundry rooms where wives conversed across shared wash-tubs, have since been modified to accommodate new shared-space needs: meetings, performances, basketball, youth and senior programs. Restoration of stone statues of animals designed for the site by WPA artist Beniamino Bufano is nearing completion.		Original communal craft rooms—havens for harried husbands—and vine-enclosed drying yards, complementing laundry rooms where wives conversed across shared wash-tubs, have since been modified to accommodate new shared-space needs: meetings, performances, basketball, youth and senior programs. Restoration of stone statues of animals designed for the site by WPA artist [[Beniamino Bufano on Public Art\|Beniamino Bufano]] is nearing completion.

	'''* PING YUEN ( "Tranquil Garden")''' by John Bolles and J. Francis Ward, 1- to 4-bedroom, 1952. A manager of this complex refused a routine request to visit lest residents' privacy be invaded; she said there were no unoccupied units that could be shown. The six-story midrise complex facing Pacific Street in Chinatown has tiered, pagodalike external balcony corridors, a style that architectural historian Gwendolyn Wright calls "Chinese regionalism superimposed over a functionalist design." Its 234 street-facing units, built at 89 units / acre—the highest density of any Bay Area family housing project—accommodate Chinese families and the elderly. Fenced rear court play space for youngsters appears cramped but protected. The project's reputation for undisturbed tranquility contradicts accepted wisdom that highrise public housing doesn't work for families.		'''* PING YUEN ( "Tranquil Garden")''' by John Bolles and J. Francis Ward, 1- to 4-bedroom, 1952. A manager of this complex refused a routine request to visit lest residents' privacy be invaded; she said there were no unoccupied units that could be shown. The six-story midrise complex facing Pacific Street in Chinatown has tiered, pagodalike external balcony corridors, a style that architectural historian Gwendolyn Wright calls "Chinese regionalism superimposed over a functionalist design." Its 234 street-facing units, built at 89 units / acre—the highest density of any Bay Area family housing project—accommodate Chinese families and the elderly. Fenced rear court play space for youngsters appears cramped but protected. The project's reputation for undisturbed tranquility contradicts accepted wisdom that highrise public housing doesn't work for families.

Ccarlsson: added new photos

2012-12-24T06:04:29Z

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← Older revision		Revision as of 23:04, 23 December 2012
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	'''* HOLLY COURTS''' by Arthur Brown Jr. who also designed Coit Tower and, with John Bakewell, City Hall, 118 units, 1- to 3-bedroom, 1940. Attached, blocky two-story, low-rise garden apartments near Holly Park have stepped, interior landscaped courts and play spaces, along with small backyards. Some entrances front on the street, connecting the complex to the neighborhood. "Within the site, units create a hierarchy of private and shared spaces," San Francisco architects Gita Dev and Lisa Gelfand have written.		'''* HOLLY COURTS''' by Arthur Brown Jr. who also designed Coit Tower and, with John Bakewell, City Hall, 118 units, 1- to 3-bedroom, 1940. Attached, blocky two-story, low-rise garden apartments near Holly Park have stepped, interior landscaped courts and play spaces, along with small backyards. Some entrances front on the street, connecting the complex to the neighborhood. "Within the site, units create a hierarchy of private and shared spaces," San Francisco architects Gita Dev and Lisa Gelfand have written.

	'''* VALENCIA GARDENS''' by William Wurster and Harry Thomsen, landscape design by Thomas Church, 248 units, 1- to 3-bedroom, 1943. In recent years, the complex's [[Housing and Land-Use\|open entrance corner on 15th and Valencia streets]] with its cool expanse of lawn and trees has attracted the drug trade. Arcade-like passages leading from landscaped front courtyards to rear utility courts provide escape routes from police patrols, hence a plan for peripheral fencing.		'''* [[Housing and Land-Use\|VALENCIA GARDENS]]''' by William Wurster and Harry Thomsen, landscape design by Thomas Church, 248 units, 1- to 3-bedroom, 1943. In recent years, the complex's [[Housing and Land-Use\|open entrance corner on 15th and Valencia streets]] with its cool expanse of lawn and trees has attracted the drug trade. Arcade-like passages leading from landscaped front courtyards to rear utility courts provide escape routes from police patrols, hence a plan for peripheral fencing.

	Yet siting, landscaping, and functional, modern design of private and shared spaces in the three-story development balance needs for community and privacy. An early critic focused praise on "intimate outdoor sitting places," atypical for war housing, where one might get to know one's neighbors; also praised were ingenious low-budget devices for "invoking an illusion of separateness"—from varied interior color schemes to visually separate, interlocking courtyards.		Yet siting, landscaping, and functional, modern design of private and shared spaces in the three-story development balance needs for community and privacy. An early critic focused praise on "intimate outdoor sitting places," atypical for war housing, where one might get to know one's neighbors; also praised were ingenious low-budget devices for "invoking an illusion of separateness"—from varied interior color schemes to visually separate, interlocking courtyards.

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2012-12-24T06:03:16Z

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	'''* 1750 McAllister''', northeast of the Panhandle, by Marquis and Stoller, studio and 1-bedroom, 1974. Sliding glass-doors, which open onto balconies, help reduce visual mass of this 11-story, 97-unit modern-style complex, as does stepped roofline and diagonal siting, angled to catch the sun better.		'''* 1750 McAllister''', northeast of the Panhandle, by Marquis and Stoller, studio and 1-bedroom, 1974. Sliding glass-doors, which open onto balconies, help reduce visual mass of this 11-story, 97-unit modern-style complex, as does stepped roofline and diagonal siting, angled to catch the sun better.

			[[Image:PUBHYSV2.GIF]]

			'''Hayes Valley public housing at Webster and Page streets, 1996.'''

			''Photo: Chris Carlsson''

			[[Image:PUBHAYSV.GIF]]

			'''Hayes Valley public housing at Webster and Page streets, 1996.'''

			''Photo: Chris Carlsson''

	<font size=4>A time-eroded vision of public housing</font>		<font size=4>A time-eroded vision of public housing</font>

Ccarlsson at 05:49, 15 September 2009

2009-09-15T05:49:29Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:49, 14 September 2009
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	[[Image:Block-431-housing-project-north-beach.jpg]]		[[Image:Block-431-housing-project-north-beach.jpg]]

	'''Block 431, North Beach Housing Project before Hope VI renovation~~, c. 1999~~.'''		'''Block 431, North Beach Housing Project before its demolition a few years ago as part of the Hope VI renovation.'''

	Highrise housing on tight lots has proliferated for elders over the years. More generous unit cost limits have increased amenities; creative siting and scaled-back massing soften their interface with smaller-scaled neighborhood residences. Two striking examples:		Highrise housing on tight lots has proliferated for elders over the years. More generous unit cost limits have increased amenities; creative siting and scaled-back massing soften their interface with smaller-scaled neighborhood residences. Two striking examples:

Ccarlsson: swapped photos

2009-09-15T05:48:13Z

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← Older revision		Revision as of 22:48, 14 September 2009
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	''Photo: San Francisco History Center, SF Public Library''		''Photo: San Francisco History Center, SF Public Library''

	~~[[Image:Mural pingyuen~~.~~jpg]]~~		'''* NORTH BEACH PLACE''' by Ernest Born, associate of German architect Eric Mendelsohn, and Henry Gutterson, associate of Bernark Maybeck, 1952. Comparable in size and vintage to Ping Yuen, this project features low-key modern design, alternating interior courts for parking and recreation, and good surveillance from balconies of community courts.

	~~'''Mural on Ping Yuen building~~.~~'''~~		[[Image:Block-431-housing-project-north-beach.jpg]]

	''~~Photo: Chris Carlsson~~''		'''Block 431, North Beach Housing Project before Hope VI renovation, c. 1999.'''

	~~'''* NORTH BEACH PLACE''' by Ernest Born~~, ~~associate of German architect Eric Mendelsohn~~, ~~and Henry Gutterson, associate of Bernark Maybeck, 1952~~. Comparable in size and vintage to Ping Yuen, this project features low-key modern design, alternating interior courts for parking and recreation, and good surveillance from balconies of community courts.

	Highrise housing on tight lots has proliferated for elders over the years. More generous unit cost limits have increased amenities; creative siting and scaled-back massing soften their interface with smaller-scaled neighborhood residences. Two striking examples:		Highrise housing on tight lots has proliferated for elders over the years. More generous unit cost limits have increased amenities; creative siting and scaled-back massing soften their interface with smaller-scaled neighborhood residences. Two striking examples:

Ccarlsson at 05:56, 24 May 2009

2009-05-24T05:56:35Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:56, 23 May 2009
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	Original communal craft rooms—havens for harried husbands—and vine-enclosed drying yards, complementing laundry rooms where wives conversed across shared wash-tubs, have since been modified to accommodate new shared-space needs: meetings, performances, basketball, youth and senior programs. Restoration of stone statues of animals designed for the site by WPA artist Beniamino Bufano is nearing completion.		Original communal craft rooms—havens for harried husbands—and vine-enclosed drying yards, complementing laundry rooms where wives conversed across shared wash-tubs, have since been modified to accommodate new shared-space needs: meetings, performances, basketball, youth and senior programs. Restoration of stone statues of animals designed for the site by WPA artist Beniamino Bufano is nearing completion.

	* PING YUEN ( "Tranquil Garden" ) by John Bolles and J. Francis Ward, 1- to 4-bedroom, 1952. A manager of this complex refused a routine request to visit lest residents' privacy be invaded; she said there were no unoccupied units that could be shown. The six-story midrise complex facing Pacific Street in Chinatown has tiered, pagodalike external balcony corridors, a style that architectural historian Gwendolyn Wright calls "Chinese regionalism superimposed over a functionalist design." Its 234 street-facing units, built at 89 units / acre—the highest density of any Bay Area family housing project—accommodate Chinese families and the elderly. Fenced rear court play space for youngsters appears cramped but protected. The project's reputation for undisturbed tranquility contradicts accepted wisdom that highrise public housing doesn't work for families.		'''* PING YUEN ( "Tranquil Garden")''' by John Bolles and J. Francis Ward, 1- to 4-bedroom, 1952. A manager of this complex refused a routine request to visit lest residents' privacy be invaded; she said there were no unoccupied units that could be shown. The six-story midrise complex facing Pacific Street in Chinatown has tiered, pagodalike external balcony corridors, a style that architectural historian Gwendolyn Wright calls "Chinese regionalism superimposed over a functionalist design." Its 234 street-facing units, built at 89 units / acre—the highest density of any Bay Area family housing project—accommodate Chinese families and the elderly. Fenced rear court play space for youngsters appears cramped but protected. The project's reputation for undisturbed tranquility contradicts accepted wisdom that highrise public housing doesn't work for families.

	[[Image:Ping Yuen 1964 AAB-6986.jpg]]		[[Image:Ping Yuen 1964 AAB-6986.jpg]]
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	'''* 1750 McAllister''', northeast of the Panhandle, by Marquis and Stoller, studio and 1-bedroom, 1974. Sliding glass-doors, which open onto balconies, help reduce visual mass of this 11-story, 97-unit modern-style complex, as does stepped roofline and diagonal siting, angled to catch the sun better.		'''* 1750 McAllister''', northeast of the Panhandle, by Marquis and Stoller, studio and 1-bedroom, 1974. Sliding glass-doors, which open onto balconies, help reduce visual mass of this 11-story, 97-unit modern-style complex, as does stepped roofline and diagonal siting, angled to catch the sun better.

	<~~fontsize~~=4>A time-eroded vision of public housing</font>		<font size=4>A time-eroded vision of public housing</font>

	Ambivalence toward public housing is hardly a new phenomenon; it has dogged government efforts to house the poor and homeless since the Depression. Amid widespread mortgage foreclosures and a building slump, home builders and bankers opposed government "competition" with private home production. But the need for government intervention was clear: "The primary cause of the "housing problem,' " observed housing activist Catherine Bauer, "is a simple economic fact: ordinary private enterprise is unable to provide adequate new housing at a rental or sale price that families in the lower or middle income group can pay. The situation is permanent."		Ambivalence toward public housing is hardly a new phenomenon; it has dogged government efforts to house the poor and homeless since the Depression. Amid widespread mortgage foreclosures and a building slump, home builders and bankers opposed government "competition" with private home production. But the need for government intervention was clear: "The primary cause of the "housing problem,' " observed housing activist Catherine Bauer, "is a simple economic fact: ordinary private enterprise is unable to provide adequate new housing at a rental or sale price that families in the lower or middle income group can pay. The situation is permanent."

Ccarlsson at 05:55, 24 May 2009

2009-05-24T05:55:42Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:55, 23 May 2009
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	[[Remembrance of Geneva Towers\|Demolition]] carries a high profile these days. It was virtually banned until just 18 months ago, when a requirement to rebuild an equivalent number of replacement units on site was lifted—contingent on off-site relocation assurances.		[[Remembrance of Geneva Towers\|Demolition]] carries a high profile these days. It was virtually banned until just 18 months ago, when a requirement to rebuild an equivalent number of replacement units on site was lifted—contingent on off-site relocation assurances.

	~~ROBERT B. PITTS PLAZA~~

	San Francisco's much-praised prototype for public housing demolition and redesign is Robert B. Pitts, the neo-Victorian townhouse complex at Turk and Scott streets in the Western Addition, built in 1991 and designed by ED2 of San Francisco and Community Design Center of Oakland. The downscaled 203-unit (2- to 4-bedroom) complex replaced 332 apartments of its highrise predecessor, Yerba Buena Plaza West.		San Francisco's much-praised prototype for public housing demolition and redesign is Robert B. Pitts, the neo-Victorian townhouse complex at Turk and Scott streets in the Western Addition, built in 1991 and designed by ED2 of San Francisco and Community Design Center of Oakland. The downscaled 203-unit (2- to 4-bedroom) complex replaced 332 apartments of its highrise predecessor, Yerba Buena Plaza West.
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	Clearly, limited resources and competing needs can upset the best-laid plans.		Clearly, limited resources and competing needs can upset the best-laid plans.

	<~~fontsize~~=4>Features of early projects withstand test of time</font>		<font size=4>Features of early projects withstand test of time</font>

	Not all public housing needs to be destroyed to be saved. Even a cursory look at some of the buildings and complexes that constitute San Francisco's public housing inventory shows that many have withstood the test of time as sound designs.		Not all public housing needs to be destroyed to be saved. Even a cursory look at some of the buildings and complexes that constitute San Francisco's public housing inventory shows that many have withstood the test of time as sound designs.