Residence Parks in San Francisco, 1906-1940
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GARDENS IN THE CITY: SAN FRANCISCO RESIDENCE PARKS, 1906–1940 Historic Context Statement October 2016 Prepared by Richard Brandi and Denise Bradley Western Neighborhoods Project 4016 Geary Boulevard, Suite A San Francisco, CA 94121 Gardens in the City: San Francisco Residence Parks, 1906–1940 1 October 2016 Table of Contents Chapter 1 Project Description 3 Chapter 2 Methodology 7 Chapter 3 Historical Development: San Francisco and Residence Parks 10 Chapter 4 Influences on the Development of Residence Parks 18 Chapter 5 San Francisco Residence Parks: Eight Case Studies 27 Jordan Park 57 West Clay Park 66 Ingleside Terraces 73 Forest Hill and Forest Hill Extension 83 St. Francis Wood 98 Sea Cliff 109 Lincoln Manor 118 Balboa Terrace 125 Chapter 6 Evaluation Guidelines 132 Chapter 7 Recommendations 143 Chapter 8 Bibliography 145 Appendix A Selected Architect Biographies Earle Bertz 148 Mark R. Daniels 151 Henry H. Gutterson 158 Joseph A. Leonard 163 Masten & Hurd 169 Ida F. McCain 173 Harold G. Stoner 177 Appendix B West Clay Park builders and architects (compiled by Gary Goss) 182 Appendix C Residence Park subdivision maps 185 Gardens in the City: San Francisco Residence Parks, 1906–1940 2 October 2016 Chapter 1 Project Description Introduction The Western Neighborhoods Project created this historic context statement in order to provide a framework for informed evaluations of San Francisco residence parks constructed during the first half of the twentieth century. Influenced by nineteenth-century American suburban ideals and the City Beautiful movement, local developers created subdivisions of spacious and thoughtfully designed single-family houses surrounded by classically inspired landscaping—many to appeal to buyers from growing professional and managerial classes, with some designed specifically for middle-class incomes. Called “residence parks” to emphasize the park-like setting, they were also called “restricted parks” because of deed covenants that tightly controlled construction and use. Common examples of these restrictions include front setback requirements, defined minimum construction costs, landscaping guidelines, prohibition of commercial buildings, and excluding ownership or occupancy by minority races and ethnicities. The origins of residence parks can be found in earlier movements to create master-planned communities called “garden suburbs.” Independent, self-sufficient entities with shops and civic buildings, garden suburbs were planned communities with artistic and almost pastoral elements, residential retreats from cities, but connected to work in cities by train, streetcar, or automobile. Robert A. M. Stern, in his magisterial book, Paradise Planned, identified the existence of 954 garden suburbs in 35 countries. The early twentieth century saw the greatest popularity in creating these communities. Stern counts at least twenty garden suburbs built before 1900 in the United States, and 145 by 1920.1 San Francisco’s residence parks are what Stern calls “garden enclaves,” neighborhood versions of a garden suburb, sharing many of the same ideals and traits, but enclosed within city limits. The residence park is almost exclusively residential, with coordinated land-use planning, such as setbacks and landscaping.2 This historic context statement examines eight residence parks in San Francisco: Jordan Park (established 1906), West Clay Park (1910), Ingleside Terraces (1911), Forest Hill and Forest Hill Extension (1912), St. Francis Wood (1912), Lincoln Manor (1913), Sea Cliff (1913), and Balboa Terrace (1920). Of the many residence parks launched in the city during the early twentieth century—there were dozens of various size, scale, and ambition—this sample was selected to provide a range in size (a few dozen to several hundred houses), topography (hilly or flat), length of completion (3–5 years to 20–30 years), and developer experience, vision, and execution. 1 Communication with David Fishman, Robert A.M. Stern, June 13, 2014. 2 Robert A. M. Stern, David Fishman, Jacob Tilove, Paradise Planned: The Garden Suburb and the Modern City (New York: The Monacelli Press, 2013), 48. Gardens in the City: San Francisco Residence Parks, 1906–1940 3 October 2016 The San Francisco Mayor’s Office of Economic and Workplace Development funded the development of this context statement through an award by the Historic Preservation Fund Committee (HPFC) to the Western Neighborhoods Project. Richard Brandi, a director of the Western Neighborhoods Project, who meets the Secretary of the Interior’s Professional Qualifications Standards, is the lead author of this context statement. Denise Bradley, ASLA, who meets the Secretary of the Interior’s Professional Qualifications Standards, wrote the culture landscape sections for each park. Woody LaBounty did the editing, layout, graphics, and assisted with research. Nicole Meldahl wrote the extensive biographies of the tract architects. Thanks go to Western Neighborhoods Project members Dennis Kelly, who researched the political attitudes of residents, John Freeman, who provided useful information about Jordan Park, and Inge Horton, who commented on an early draft. Review was done by the Historic Preservation Fund Committee and the San Francisco Planning Department. Period Justification The period 1906–1940 was chosen because it covers the primary era of residence park development in San Francisco. Nearly all construction in city residence parks occurred between 1910 and 1940, with peak building during the 1920s. Major factors that influenced the design and construction of residence parks during this period included reconstruction after the 1906 earthquake and fire; regional rivalry with suburban growth in the East Bay and Peninsula; the creation of the Municipal Railway in 1912; the construction and opening of the Twin Peaks streetcar tunnel from 1914–1917; the mass adoption of personal automobiles; and widespread municipal street improvements during the 1910s and 1920s. Residence Park Boundaries (Maps and detailed locality descriptions of the residence parks are listed in Chapter 5 and Appendix C.) Balboa Terrace: Junipero Serra Boulevard, Monterey Boulevard, San Benito Way, and Ocean Avenue. Forest Hill and Forest Hill Extension: 7th Avenue, Laguna Honda and Dewey Boulevards, Taraval Street, and, on the west, a north-south line running between the junctions of 8th Avenue and Linares and 9th Avenue and Pacheco Street. Forest Hill Extension: Dewey, Kensington, Vazquez, Garcia, Laguna Honda Boulevard. Ingleside Terraces: Junipero Serra Boulevard, Ocean Avenue, Ashton Avenue, and Holloway Avenue. Jordan Park: Geary Boulevard, California Street, Palm Avenue, and Parker Avenue. Lincoln Manor: Geary Boulevard, 38th Avenue, Clement Street, 36th Avenue. St. Francis Wood: Monterey and Junipero Serra Boulevards, Portola Drive, San Pablo Avenue, Yerba Buena Avenue, and San Jacinto Way. Gardens in the City: San Francisco Residence Parks, 1906–1940 4 October 2016 Sea Cliff: 28th through 32nd Avenues, California Street, 25th, 26th and 27th Avenues north of El Camino del Mar; Lincoln Park, the Presidio, and the Golden Gate. West Clay Park: 22nd to 24th Avenues between Lake Street and the Presidio. Historic Context Statements A context statement documents the development history of a neighborhood, identifies key builders and architects, documents the primary architectural styles and character-defining features, and provides a guide for the evaluation of buildings. This residence park context statement links a specific property type—the single-family house—to themes, geographic patterns, and time periods. It provides a detailed discussion of significance, criteria considerations, and integrity thresholds. The context statement can be used to assist historic-resource evaluation determinations in other residence park tracts. The content and organization of the context statement is consistent with federal, state, and local guidelines that have been adopted for developing historic contexts. Numerous National Park Service publications were consulted to inform the organization and evaluative frameworks for the context statement, including: National Register Bulletin No. 15 (“How to Apply the National Register Criteria for Evaluation”), Bulletin No. 16B (“How to Complete the National Register Multiple Property Documentation Form”), and “Historic Residential Suburbs, Guidelines for the Evaluation and Documentation for the National Register of Historic Places.” Objectives and Scope At present, there is very little historical documentation or scholarly research focused on San Francisco’s residence parks. The context statement is intended to provide the necessary historic context to identify, document, and evaluate not only the eight selected residence parks, but also other contemporaneous residence parks in San Francisco. Objectives of the context statement: 1. Identify and document the planning themes and building types associated with residence parks builders (1906–1940); 2. Identify character-defining features of the common architectural styles of residence parks (1906–1940); 3. Provide a framework for the identification and evaluation of residence parks houses (1906–1940), including significance and integrity thresholds; 4. Provide recommendations for future efforts to aid in the identification, rehabilitation, and recognition of significant historic resources. Gardens in the City: San Francisco Residence Parks, 1906–1940 5 October 2016 Eight Residence Parks studied for this context statement. Gardens