How San Francisco's Victorian Homes Went From Gray to Great

Discover the incredible transformation of San Francisco's Victorian homes from gray to great! Join Ken on this episode of 'ThisHouse' as we take a journey back in time to uncover the history behind the colorful Painted Ladies. From the 1906 earthquake that changed the city forever, to the rise of the colorist movement in the 1960s, you won't want to miss this fascinating look at the past and present of San Francisco's architecture.

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Gray paint has been everywhere for the last 10 years, but does it really belong on a Painted Lady?

Location: San Francisco, California

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Sources:
California Architects and Builders News. April 1885

Photo from: Google Earth
Public Domain Photos from: Library of Congress, Archer5054, Linnaea Mallette, Tyler Shores, Bernard Spragg. NZ,
Helena Lopes, Alex Borland, Bernadette Gatsby, Linnaea Mallette, Cristie Guevara, SF Library Archive, Halter Leo, USFWS, National Archives, USGS, NARA
Music from: Epidemic Sound
Assets from: Envato Elements

[lauraridge-cosby]

Native San Franciscan here! As a kid I remember going into my family's Victorian house. I can still remember the stair case pull you had to use at the top to allow guests in. You had to walk up steep stairs to a landing & turn to go up a short to the main hallway. I can still remember the smell of redwood or other hardwoods used throughout the home. My uncle restored many of these painted ladies in his career. I still have a special place in my heart for them on Diamond St & Square.

[kenziej]

Ken your passion to these historical homes is 1/2 of what makes these videos so entertaining 💛💕

[janetcarey]

Native SFer. Born, raised and lived in the city for 32 years until marriage. The city needs the colorful side! Miss SF as I don't get home as often to see family and friends.

[meteorical]

Great video! I live in San Francisco and while the last decade has seen a rise of monochromatic colors I’d say the majority of Victorians are still colorful. The last couple years I’ve also noticed more color reappearing- on my block alone this year 2 places have been painted from white to yellow and blue. The colorful houses are one of my favorite things about SF.

[prithivkrishnabpk]

I am so surprised, how you collect these much information and pictures, it's a great effort and your videos documents the forgotten life

[Street]

Another great video, Ken. This one was extremely informative and I had no idea about the surplus of grey paint due to the battleships. It makes perfect sense. I am now
all the wiser because of you. Thanks!
Darryl

[janedee]

This was very interesting. Love those houses in any color.

[karenholmes]

Lifelong Californian here, some of my ancestors lived in San Francisco. My family has been in California since the Gold Rush. Victorians were not that brightly painted originally. They were mostly white, yellow, green, and varying colors of reddish brown. Sure, that is a lot brighter than battleship gray, but it is far from the psychedelic palette that became popular in the 60s during the Hippie movement. Aniline dyes have been around since the mid 19th Century, but they were not ubiquitously applied to things like paint as far as I know. And black, or charcoal, was actually a color that was used at times in the Victorian period, although it was probably applied more as a trim than the entire body of the house.

Painted Ladies are definitely a mid 20th Century phenomena. I prefer San Franciscan houses to be painted bright Easter colors, but that doesn't mean a dark gray or muted earth tones would be inaccurate, or a complete departure for these homes, I would bet that a lot of the rich people that are snatching up these houses are going with olive greens, clay reds, and browns in the future, to be more in keeping with the original history of the houses and the era they were originally built in,

But back to the original question, am I worried that they're gonna paint the entire city gray? No, I am not. gray is becoming tired and old in the design community. Since the pandemic designers are really fascinated with maximalism. The things that are capturing attention and are chic are design concepts like Dark Academia and cottagecore. Color is also making a comeback. Saturated colors are really in style. So if you've got 8 million in your back pocket that you want to invest in property I am betting you're either gonna go with historic restoration motif or for saturation in your palette. I am not saying that no one will paint their houses gray, but it is considered off trend now.

[EarthREALTOR]

So beautiful! I love the old homes and so glad the gray is going away! NO not gray again!!!

[CherylSimser]

This was a fascinating story incorporating history, artistry, and beauty. Made me smile. :)

[davidd]

I always enjoy your videos. Thank you for your continued content! One thing to add about demolished Victorians in San Francisco, is that in the 50's and 60's in the guise of "urban renewal", a large part of a neighborhood known as the "Western Addition" was bulldozed. This area was a low income area, and many homes were in disrepair, as a result. The owners could not afford to update their properties, and as a result, it became a less desirable area to live, with much crime.

The city lawmakers decided to deal with this by bulldozing many square blocks of beautiful old Victorians, and building "modern" low income public housing units. Those that were spared became choice properties, that were spared "modernizing", leaving most of the original detailing was still intact, inside and out, some with original gas lighting. Many future owners bought and restored them to their original splendor.

[Alejoninla]

I love going to San Francisco around the first week of October... ✌

[crystalclear]

I lived in SF in the late 60's/70's.... the old Victorians were amazing, and unfortunately, still being torn down here & there. You could even find original stained glass windows in the construction dumpsters... sad that they weren't valued, except for those in the know.
How times have changed😌

[DramaMustRemainOnTheStage]

My mom was stationed in San Francisco during WWII. She was an officer and shared a place on Cole Drive with 5 other female officers. She was still in San Francisco when the war ended.

[duanelawrence]

Thanks Ken as always great video!!✌️🇺🇲

[dlbstl]

Thanks for your hard work. Loved your narration and video/pictures. 🤗

[jons.]

Ah, I've lived here over half of my life now and still love color and details on houses! San Jose tract houses started out with great and striking primary colors and by the 70s, 80s and 90s that drab "earth tone" trend dulled everything down and I'm sure here in San Francisco that was the case too, unfortunately! Even when you see reproductions of The Painted Ladies they usually brighten up the color scheme to more than what they actually look like in reality! I love this row of six gingerbread houses along Waller Street and Masonic near the All Saints Episcopal Church here! Way under appreciated!

[unconditionalfreedom]

As a designer I call this sad trend "Greige" beige and gray, the color of death

[franvarga]

Yes, unfortunately, "millennial gray" is everywhere, even in historic LA neighborhoods too. This trend, too, shall pass. In 5 years no one will want it (like brown granite and travertine bit the dust about 8 years ago). Hopefully, the next generation of home owners will come to their senses.

[jennycallaghan]

Funny thing! I moved to CT and was asked to join the "Seven Sisters Club". It was a small town and I lived across the street from the governor of CT.