Mid-Century Mash-Up

Tags:: Architecture; Wood

Although postwar California modernism is generally associated with Southern California, the Bay Area’s own tradition has begun in recent years to be more widely acknowledged, and its surviving treasures have gained an appreciative audience. San Francisco’s modernists were faced with the issue of building within a firmly established stylistic tradition—think bay windows and gingerbread. Henry Hill’s 1947 renovation of a 1908 Victorian tucked away on an alley in historic Russian Hill provides a remarkable response to the dilemma. — Sam Grawe

Farnham walks the couple’s Vizsla, Kasia, down the sloped alley upon which the house sits. Hill’s renovation maintains some Victorian character in the decorative eaves and scaling, but the home is largely an anomaly for San Francisco.

Photo by: Misha Gravenor

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