St. Francis Wood - Revision history

Ccarlsson at 06:22, 10 September 2020

2020-09-10T06:22:58Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:22, 9 September 2020
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	''Photo: Chris Carlsson''		''Photo: Chris Carlsson''

	[[Image:~~Fountain~~-at-st-~~francis~~-~~wood 4437~~.jpg]]		[[Image:St-francis-wood-nov-07-7213.jpg]]

	'''~~Fountain in 2015.~~'''		'''Similar view, 2007'''

	''Photo: Chris Carlsson''		''Photo: Chris Carlsson''

	[[Image:St-francis-wood~~-nov-07-7213~~.jpg]]		[[Image:Fountain-at-st-francis-wood 4437.jpg]]

	'''~~Similar view, 2007~~'''		'''Fountain in 2015.'''

	''Photo: Chris Carlsson''		''Photo: Chris Carlsson''

Ccarlsson: added photos and categories

2020-09-10T06:22:01Z

added photos and categories

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:22, 9 September 2020
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	'''Similar view, 1996'''		'''Similar view, 1996'''

			''Photo: Chris Carlsson''

			[[Image:Fountain-at-st-francis-wood 4437.jpg]]

			'''Fountain in 2015.'''

	''Photo: Chris Carlsson''		''Photo: Chris Carlsson''
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	''Photo: originally published in ''The Argonaut'', Volume 5, No. 2, Fall 1994, courtesy of Mason-McDuffie Real Estate Inc.		''Photo: originally published in ''The Argonaut'', Volume 5, No. 2, Fall 1994, courtesy of Mason-McDuffie Real Estate Inc.

			[[Image:St-francis-wood 4438.jpg]]

			'''Another view of the neighborhood.'''

			''Photo: Chris Carlsson''


	[[Twin Peaks\|Prev. Document]] [[West Portal \|Next Document]]		[[Twin Peaks\|Prev. Document]] [[West Portal \|Next Document]]

	[[category:Sunset]] [[category:1920s]] [[category:1990s]] [[category:real estate]] [[category:The Argonaut]]		[[category:Sunset]] [[category:1920s]] [[category:1990s]] [[category:real estate]] [[category:The Argonaut]] [[category:2010s]]

Ccarlsson: fixed photo attribution

2013-06-10T03:37:31Z

fixed photo attribution

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:37, 9 June 2013
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	'''Fountain in St. Francis Wood early 1920s.'''		'''Fountain in St. Francis Wood early 1920s.'''

	''Photo: ~~Greg Gaar Collection~~, ~~San Francisco, CA~~''		''Photo: courtesy Mason-McDuffie, Inc.''

	[[Image:St-francis-wood-1996.jpg]]		[[Image:St-francis-wood-1996.jpg]]

Lisaruth at 00:16, 29 June 2012

2012-06-29T00:16:18Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:16, 28 June 2012
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	'''Entrance to St Francis Wood, early 1920s.'''		'''Entrance to St Francis Wood, early 1920s.'''

	''Photo: originally published in ''The Argonaut'', Volume 5, No. 2, Fall 1994, ~~printed~~ courtesy of Mason-McDuffie Real Estate Inc.		''Photo: originally published in ''The Argonaut'', Volume 5, No. 2, Fall 1994, courtesy of Mason-McDuffie Real Estate Inc.

Lisaruth: changed photo credit on final photo per Christina Moretta, photo curator at SF Library History Center

2012-06-29T00:12:16Z

changed photo credit on final photo per Christina Moretta, photo curator at SF Library History Center

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:12, 28 June 2012
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	'''Entrance to St Francis Wood, early 1920s.'''		'''Entrance to St Francis Wood, early 1920s.'''

	''Photo: ~~San Francisco History Center~~, ~~SF Public Library~~		''Photo: originally published in ''The Argonaut'', Volume 5, No. 2, Fall 1994, printed courtesy of Mason-McDuffie Real Estate Inc.

Ccarlsson: added new category The Argonaut

2010-12-28T03:39:58Z

added new category The Argonaut

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:39, 27 December 2010
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	''by Mark A. Wilson''		''by Mark A. Wilson''

			--excerpted from "Mason·McDuffie And The Creation Of St. Francis Wood," originally published in ''The Argonaut'', Volume 5, No. 2, Fall 1994

	[[Image:sunset$st-francis-wood-fountain-1920s.jpg]]		[[Image:sunset$st-francis-wood-fountain-1920s.jpg]]
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	To design and build an ideal community with complete aesthetic harmony has been the dream of every great architect and city planner. In the United States, this desire crystallized into a concept known as the "[[New City Hall \|City Beautiful]]" movement at the turn of the century. First displayed in the design of the Beaux-Arts buildings and classically-ordered fairgrounds of the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893, this movement was brought to San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake by Chicago architect [[Burnham Plan 1905\|Daniel Burnham]]. The monumental Civic Center complex, with its centerpiece of City Hall and the broad plaza and fountain in front of it, was the first public manifestation of the City Beautiful movement in the Bay Area. But it was in the private development of the community of St. Francis Wood, at the eastern edge of San Francisco's Sunset District, that the City Beautiful concept was first successfully applied to residential planning.		To design and build an ideal community with complete aesthetic harmony has been the dream of every great architect and city planner. In the United States, this desire crystallized into a concept known as the "[[New City Hall \|City Beautiful]]" movement at the turn of the century. First displayed in the design of the Beaux-Arts buildings and classically-ordered fairgrounds of the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893, this movement was brought to San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake by Chicago architect [[Burnham Plan 1905\|Daniel Burnham]]. The monumental Civic Center complex, with its centerpiece of City Hall and the broad plaza and fountain in front of it, was the first public manifestation of the City Beautiful movement in the Bay Area. But it was in the private development of the community of St. Francis Wood, at the eastern edge of San Francisco's Sunset District, that the City Beautiful concept was first successfully applied to residential planning.

	In the early years of this century, the area of San Francisco west of Twin Peaks remained Largely undeveloped, awaiting an engineering breakthrough to allow easy access from the heavily populated sections to the north. That breakthrough came with the construction of the [[West Portal ~~view~~ \|Twin Peaks trolley car tunnel]]. The planning for this tunnel began several years before its completion in 1917, and developers could foresee the potential it presented for residential subdivisions. Mason-McDuffie was the first real estate company to take advantage of this opportunity when it began planning a new residential park in 1912 along the western slope of [[Mt Davidson \| Mt. Davidson]]. This new community was named St. Francis Wood, to emphasize the neighborhood's planned harmony with its natural setting.		In the early years of this century, the area of San Francisco west of Twin Peaks remained Largely undeveloped, awaiting an engineering breakthrough to allow easy access from the heavily populated sections to the north. That breakthrough came with the construction of the [[West Portal\|Twin Peaks trolley car tunnel]]. The planning for this tunnel began several years before its completion in 1917, and developers could foresee the potential it presented for residential subdivisions. Mason-McDuffie was the first real estate company to take advantage of this opportunity when it began planning a new residential park in 1912 along the western slope of [[Mt Davidson \| Mt. Davidson]]. This new community was named St. Francis Wood, to emphasize the neighborhood's planned harmony with its natural setting.

	In order to insure that the street plan for St. Francis Wood would strike a perfect balance with the preservation of large areas of open parkland, Duncan McDuffie hired the nationally renowned landscape architecture firm of Olmsted Brothers from Brookline, Massachusetts. The patriarch of this illustrious family, Frederick Law Olmsted, Sr., had been the creative force behind the landscape design of such famous public sites as Central Park in New York and Yosemite National Park. The younger Olmsted Brothers were employed by Mason-McDuffie for several of their earlier developments, and now they put their energies into making St. Francis Wood one of the finest residential parks in the nation. In accordance with Duncan's stipulations, all electric and telephone wires were placed underground, and St. Francis Park was created at the eastern end of St. Francis Boulevard. All the streets were laid out to conform to the tract's natural topography. These plans were carefully integrated with the work of supervising architect John Galen Howard, who designed the graceful Beaux-Arts style entrance portals at the mouth of St. Francis Boulevard and the monumental fountain and terraced plaza at its terminus. From the upper steps of this plaza, residents and visitors can still observe a sweeping vista down the broad tree-lined boulevard to the Farallones on the Pacific horizon.		In order to insure that the street plan for St. Francis Wood would strike a perfect balance with the preservation of large areas of open parkland, Duncan McDuffie hired the nationally renowned landscape architecture firm of Olmsted Brothers from Brookline, Massachusetts. The patriarch of this illustrious family, Frederick Law Olmsted, Sr., had been the creative force behind the landscape design of such famous public sites as Central Park in New York and Yosemite National Park. The younger Olmsted Brothers were employed by Mason-McDuffie for several of their earlier developments, and now they put their energies into making St. Francis Wood one of the finest residential parks in the nation. In accordance with Duncan's stipulations, all electric and telephone wires were placed underground, and St. Francis Park was created at the eastern end of St. Francis Boulevard. All the streets were laid out to conform to the tract's natural topography. These plans were carefully integrated with the work of supervising architect John Galen Howard, who designed the graceful Beaux-Arts style entrance portals at the mouth of St. Francis Boulevard and the monumental fountain and terraced plaza at its terminus. From the upper steps of this plaza, residents and visitors can still observe a sweeping vista down the broad tree-lined boulevard to the Farallones on the Pacific horizon.
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	The outbreak of the first World War in 1914 occurred just as the first residential lots in St. Francis Wood were opened up for sale. For the next five years, the real estate market in San Francisco remained depressed, jeopardizing the survival of the entire project. In 1919, however, the market began to improve again, and construction in St. Francis Wood resumed at a healthy pace. Here, as in the Claremont Park development, firm restrictions on the type and quality of construction were strictly enforced. No "apartment houses, groceries, laundries, saloons, stables, or undertaking establishments" were allowed, and any balconies or overhanging extensions which blocked a neighbor's view or sunlight were prohibited. Each home had to sit at least fifteen feet back from the sidewalk, and a minimum construction cost of $6,000 was mandated to guarantee a high caliber of house design. After Howard stepped down as supervising architect, Henry Gutterson, a student and protege of Bernard Maybeck, succeeded him. Gutterson designed many of the finest homes in St. Francis Wood during his twenty-year tenure, as well as the circle fountain near the main entrance. By 1925, 500 families lived in St. Francis Wood, and it was being used as a model for residential parks as far away as Kansas City, where developer J.J. Nichols incorporated many of Mason-McDuffie's ideas into his subdivisions. Its reputation was even known in Europe. Dr. Werner Hegemann, the top city planner in Germany, came to study St. Francis Wood and afterwards described it as "...the most distinguished residential suburb not alone in California, but in America."		The outbreak of the first World War in 1914 occurred just as the first residential lots in St. Francis Wood were opened up for sale. For the next five years, the real estate market in San Francisco remained depressed, jeopardizing the survival of the entire project. In 1919, however, the market began to improve again, and construction in St. Francis Wood resumed at a healthy pace. Here, as in the Claremont Park development, firm restrictions on the type and quality of construction were strictly enforced. No "apartment houses, groceries, laundries, saloons, stables, or undertaking establishments" were allowed, and any balconies or overhanging extensions which blocked a neighbor's view or sunlight were prohibited. Each home had to sit at least fifteen feet back from the sidewalk, and a minimum construction cost of $6,000 was mandated to guarantee a high caliber of house design. After Howard stepped down as supervising architect, Henry Gutterson, a student and protege of Bernard Maybeck, succeeded him. Gutterson designed many of the finest homes in St. Francis Wood during his twenty-year tenure, as well as the circle fountain near the main entrance. By 1925, 500 families lived in St. Francis Wood, and it was being used as a model for residential parks as far away as Kansas City, where developer J.J. Nichols incorporated many of Mason-McDuffie's ideas into his subdivisions. Its reputation was even known in Europe. Dr. Werner Hegemann, the top city planner in Germany, came to study St. Francis Wood and afterwards described it as "...the most distinguished residential suburb not alone in California, but in America."

	~~--excerpted from "Mason·McDuffie And The Creation Of St. Francis Wood" by Mark A. Wilson, originally published in ''The Argonaut'', Volume 5, No. 2, Fall 1994~~

	[[Image:sunset$st-francis-wood-early.jpg]]		[[Image:sunset$st-francis-wood-early.jpg]]
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	[[Twin Peaks\|Prev. Document]] [[West Portal \|Next Document]]		[[Twin Peaks\|Prev. Document]] [[West Portal \|Next Document]]

	[[category:Sunset]] [[category:1920s]] [[category:1990s]] [[category:real estate]]		[[category:Sunset]] [[category:1920s]] [[category:1990s]] [[category:real estate]] [[category:The Argonaut]]

Ccarlsson: Protected "St. Francis Wood": excerpted essay [edit=sysop:move=sysop]

2009-01-16T10:26:18Z

Protected "St. Francis Wood": excerpted essay [edit=sysop:move=sysop]

← Older revision	Revision as of 03:26, 16 January 2009
(No difference)

Ccarlsson: PC and protected

2009-01-16T10:26:08Z

PC and protected

← Older revision		Revision as of 03:26, 16 January 2009
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			'''<font face = Papyrus> <font color = maroon> <font size = 4>Historical Essay</font></font> </font>'''

			''by Mark A. Wilson''

	[[Image:sunset$st-francis-wood-fountain-1920s.jpg]]		[[Image:sunset$st-francis-wood-fountain-1920s.jpg]]

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	'''Entrance to St Francis Wood, early 1920s.'''		'''Entrance to St Francis Wood, early 1920s.'''

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

Ccarlsson: linked to inserted "West Portal" page

2008-12-01T05:22:02Z

linked to inserted "West Portal" page

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:22, 30 November 2008
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	[[Twin Peaks\|Prev. Document]] [[West Portal ~~view~~ \|Next Document]]		[[Twin Peaks\|Prev. Document]] [[West Portal \|Next Document]]

	[[category:Sunset]] [[category:1920s]] [[category:1990s]] [[category:real estate]]		[[category:Sunset]] [[category:1920s]] [[category:1990s]] [[category:real estate]]

Ccarlsson at 08:48, 23 August 2008

2008-08-23T08:48:53Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:48, 23 August 2008
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	'''Similar view, 1996'''		'''Similar view, 1996'''

			''Photo: Chris Carlsson''

			[[Image:St-francis-wood-nov-07-7213.jpg]]

			'''Similar view, 2007'''

	''Photo: Chris Carlsson''		''Photo: Chris Carlsson''