“Discolandia Despedida” (2013)
For those who are interested, I have started documenting other parts of the City besides the Tenderloin, mid-Market and Sixth Street in a new blog I call Through Unsealed Eyes. Check it out, especially if you like nice, large photos.
Filed under Messages
“Hotel Metropolis” (2009)
(340/4) 2-16 Turk Street; Glenn Hotel, State Hotel, Oxford Hotel, Hotel Metropolis. Hotel with 122-rooms and 115 baths – one bath per room or suite. 9B stories; steel frame with brick-clad concrete walls; rams heads, galvanized iron cornice; three-part vertical composition; Renaissance/Baroque ornamentation; lobby: desk and lounge with stenciled, bracketed beamed ceiling and decorative iron staircase, walls refinished. Alterations: ground floor remodeled. Original owners: St. Francis Realty Company 1911, Elizabeth House 1923. Architect: William H. Weeks. 1911.
Source: San Francisco History Center, SF Public Library (Photo: Tom Gray)
Sam’s Original Brauhaus, 1964. Sam’s was a very popular hofbrau, comparable to Tommy’s Joynt at Van Ness and Geary.
Postcard, circa 1945.
Filed under Tenderloin
“Antonia Manor” (2007)
(339/11A) 180-194 Turk Street; Hotel Governor, Antonia Manor (1983). Mid-priced hotel with 145 rooms and 134 baths. 10B stories; reinforced concrete structure with stucco facade; galvanized iron cornice, corner marquee from 1930s and entry marquee from 1950s; three-part vertical composition; mix of Gothic and Renaissance/Baroque ornamentation; lobby: decorative columns and beamed ceiling. Alterations: double-hung aluminum sash. Original owner: Catherine S. Blair. Architect: Creston H. Jensen. 1925.
Nicely renovated by the Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation, the Antonia is home to Mimi’s Manor House restaurant, one of my long-time favorite Tenderloin eateries. The portions are huge and the prices unbelievably low, plus I am completely infatuated with Mimi herself, a real gem in this or any other neighborhood. The entrance to the restaurant is on Jones Street (bottom left in the photo).
Filed under Tenderloin
“Golden Era” (2007 Survey)
(318/12) 570-572 O’Farrell Street; Hotel Stratton, Sweden House Hotel (2007). Rooming house with forty-two-rooms and ten baths. 3B stories; brick structure; terra cotta trim, quoins, galvanized iron brackets, beltcourse and cornice; two-part commercial composition; Renaissance/Baroque ornamentation; vestibule: arched entry with keystone. Alterations: security gate and grilles, balcony removed, storefronts. Original owner: Ernest Brand. Builder: J.D. Harmer Construction Company. 1907.
(318/9) 550-560 O’Farrell Street; Abbey Garage. 2B stories; reinforced concrete structure; stucco facade, gargoyles, buttress piers, decorative frieze, balcony; Gothic ornamentation. Alterations: aluminum windows. Original owner: Mt. Olivet Cemetery Association. Architect: W.H. Crim, Jr. 1924.
(318/8) 540 O’Farrell Street; Farallone Apartments. Apartment building with thirty-six two- and three-room units. 6B stories; reinforced concrete structure; stucco facade, griffins-supported balcony, five-story bay windows, decorative friezes, crenellated cornice; three-part vertical composition; Gothic ornamentation; vestibule: pointed arch, marble steps, scored walls, hanging lamp. Alterations: security gate. Original owner: Carl H. Peterson, contractor. Architect: August G. Headman. 1922.
(318/7) 502-530 O’Farrell Street; Hotel Shawmut, Marymount Hotel (1913), Coast Hotel (2007). Stores and mid-priced hotel with 140 rooms and eighty-three baths. 6B stories; brick structure; terra cotta trim, rusticated second level with decorative brick bands and arches, iron balconies and cornice; three-part vertical composition; Renaissance/Baroque ornamentation; vestibule: bracketed marquee; storefronts: some with decorative iron muntins. Alterations: security grilles, vestibule, corner storefront. Original owner: Mrs. Alice Pease, widow Nelson L. Pease of Central Pacific Railroad. Architect: L.B. Dutton. 1912.
The name of the vegetarian restaurant in the lower level of the Sweden House Hotel is also an apt name for the time in San Francisco history during which the Tenderloin was entirely rebuilt.
Filed under Tenderloin
