As a building contractor in SF for the last 32 yrs I never get tired of looking at the houses here. All the detail work done without complicated power tools we have today..amazing. Not to mention all the quirks and modifications done over the years. You open a wall and there was a door there, or a window, or, sometimes stuff buried in the walls(whiskey bottles, a framers level, a childs dress)
Sorry, but I must point out a couple of things. The Colton mansion was not the house surrounded by the spite fence; that was the Nicholas Yung ( a German immigrant and undertaker) house. The Colton house was the former Collis P Huntington mansion (shown in your photos and looking like the spite fence is right behind it. Also you forgot the James Flood mansion which "survived" the earthquake/fire so that while the interiors were destroyed, the walls were so strong that they remained. It is now the Pacific Union Club at 1000 California Street (with a slightly shorter "tower" over the entrance. This aside a very enjoyable video.
@@amesavis I don't think he meant that the fence was hiding the mansion, but that he just put the name of the mansion's 2nd owner as the owner of the small house.
Leland Stanford Jr died from Typhoid, not a freak accident. "The Leland Stanford Junior University was founded in 1885 by Jane and Leland Stanford in memory of their only child, Leland Jr., who died of typhoid fever at 15. After his 1884 death, the Stanfords determined that they would use their wealth to do something for other people's children."
I am a San Francisco native, and love seeing old photos like this. Most of the destruction in 1906 came from the fire, not the earthquake. They also dynamited many buildings near Van Ness avenue to stop the fire from moving west. When I was a kid, we lived in a pre-quake victorian home. It was a quirky old place, not a mansion, bit it was torn down a few years after we left it for an apartment complex.
Wow, I’d have to have saved the Hopkins mansion, especially considering the gothic solarium. There are far too few examples of such fantasy like structures left today. There’s a reason these victorian buildings continue to evoke intrigue and mystery a century and a half on
The foundations of Hopkins' mansion are still visible underneath the new hotel (also called Mark Hopkins) and I believe Crocker's mansion lot was donated to become Grace Cathedral afterwards.
The Flood mansion (now the private Pacific-Union Club) and Fairmont Hotel both survived the earthquake and following fires. The neighborhood had been renamed Nob Hill years before the 1906 earthquake due to the facts the Big Four: Crocker, Stanford, Huntington and Hopkins all built mansions there and were nicknamed the ‘Nobs’.
Crocker Bank was very big on its own through the 1970s and 80s before being acquired by Wells Fargo. -In fact the song We’ve Only Just Begun by Karen Carpenter was originally a jingle for a Crocker Bank commercial.
I’ve been to San Francisco many many times, I know about Alcatraz, the bridges, a lot of the city and of course the 1906 earthquake but I really didn’t think about it prior to the earthquake. This is really interesting. Thank you.
I've lived in the SF Bay Area for over 50 years, about 20 mins from the City. It has such a fascinating history, and vibrant communities , no matter how many times you go, you always find out something new.
Ken, I would have to go with the incredible looking Hopkins Mansion! Not only because of the exterior but also the beautiful interior! So much was lost in that 1906 earthquake!
I first visited San Francisco in 1985 and left my heart 💖 and many fond memories there. Visited HansLillienthall house, saw Flood Mansion, MarkHopkins, and many other beautiful homes. These are so OTT magnificent, it would be hard to choose! Haven't been back 😕 for years. I'm told today's San Francisco is not as I remember it! 💔 .Thanks for sharing this gem. Now I have even more to revisit in my memories and dreams of MY city by the Bay and it's fantastic people. 🌉 .Especially one who I will see again in another Paradise. 💜 .👑. 🕊 🕊 🕊. 😎 ✨
Holy shit. Nearly every palace featured on this channel is no more. Blows my mind! Newport, RI still has a few palaces extant but I can't help but be gobsmacked by the excess and opulence that has utterly vanished off the face of the landscape. Do Gardo House in Salt Lake City sometime soon! Love the channel! Hope this is making it for you!
Thank you for doing these videos of older homes and their owners histories. I love and watch all of them...you might want to consider Millionaires Row in Helena,Montana...I lived there and it was beautiful and even the apartments on Rodney Street were beautiful and woodwork so exceptional!!
That is a fair point to make. Somehow it seems better to have lost them to an accident than for them to have been torn down intentionally, at least to me it does.
I agree. Even houses such as the ones in this video haven't lasted long in urban areas and not always as private home as intended. I think it was in the book "The Earth Shook, the Sky Burned" that it was mentioned that at least some of the house on Nob Hill were already in "...semi-public use" when the earthquake occurred.
While New York Land values skyrocketed so that the land was more valuable than the house, San Francisco did not have that same level of increased land values. Though still, you may have a point. Nob Hill where these houses are located in San Francisco is now occupied mainly by Hotels.
@@andrewbrendan1579 Mark Hopkins died and his widow donated the Hopkins mansion to the San Francisco Art Institute. They used it as an art school for several years until it was destroyed by the earthquake and fire in 1906. The Stanfords had moved to Menlo Park and their house stood empty. The Huntington mansion was only used occasionally, since the owners actually lived in New York. The Crockers still lived in their house. The Flood family still lived in their house as well.
I have a low life alcoholic neighbor in my apartment building who lives for reporting people to the police, taking photos of cars who are parked in no parking zones, yells at teenagers practicing in the soccer stadium across the streets, runs around screaming, “that’s forbidden!!!!!” to everyone. Looks like there always have been idiotic neighbors who have to make the life of others miserable just because the have a miserable life themselves, or no life at all. I am bowing to the General.
Oh I love the crocker mansion so much. Wish I could have seen it. The design is so grand. As for the spite fence, I hate that, but one doesn't get rich being nice. This area must have been so splendid. Damned earthquate. It would have drawn huge crowds for a house museum.
Destroyed on purpose probably. Explained in some UA-cam vid. So the remains of the old World and its technologies would be lost forever so 'new' dirty energy will be introduced and widely accepted.
The writer, Shirley Jackson, was looking through various photos of old houses for inspiration, while working on her novel 'The Haunting of Hill House', when she came across one that seemed perfect to her. She wrote her mother in California to see what she could find about the place, and as it turned out, was (I believe) either the Crocker house or the over-the-top Victorian, and built by her own great-grandfather; the architect, Samuel Bugbee. :)
I thought she based it on a house where she lived in North Bennington, Vermont. But those San Francisco mansions look a lot more dramatically haunting!
I love Shirley Jackson's work! "...and whatever walked there walked alone". I've encountered various stories about the origin of Hill House. I've read that at least some inspiration for Hill House came from a house the Shirley Jackson got just a glimpse of in New York City, a place she found malevolent but could never locate again; maybe it was just how the house looked at a certain time under certain conditions. A California origin seems more likely though, to my surprise, in a books Walker Evans photos I saw a large 19th century house surrounded by hills and the name of the family that lived there was Crain, the same name as the original owners of the mansion in the novel. I also read a magazine article once about an historic home on the East Coast here inthe U.S. (I don't recall the name or location and I gave the article to another Jackson fan) and the house has a couryard with just a regular door and that seems to serve no purpose. That and maybe other features of the house made me wonder if Shirley Jackson got some ideas or inspiration from there for Hill House. In a biography I read of Shirley Jackson there was a photo of the floor plan she made for part of the mansion. I wouldn't be surprised if Hill House is a compostite of differnt houses but I also wouldn't be surprised if most of that inspiration is from the Crocker mansion. Have you ever read Shirley Jackson's story "Charles"?It's as funny as "...Hill House" is spooky! I hope I haven't gone on too long. I love mansions and I love Shirley Jackson's writing!
@@andrewbrendan1579 Yes, I've read everything she wrote. :) (And, trust me: I could go on about Jackson, for hours.) :) She's long been one of my two favorite 20th cent. writers - she, and Flannery O'Connor. 'Charles' is a hoot, as is the fact that she based it on her own eldest son. I, too, have seen photos of the drawings she made of 'Hill House', and of her seeing the burnt-out building in NYC. I agree; I sure there were many influences on her creation. I must admit, her being directly related to one of San Francisco's major 19th cent. architects is fun, and after seeing some of these houses; it's easy to see why she was 'spooked'. :)
Mrs Stanford lived in the house in SF till she was murdered while on vacation in Honolulu. Leland Jr's memorial window is in St Paul's Episcopal church in Sacramento CA
The reason why the famous Haas-Lilienthal house is still standing but the mansions in this video were destroyed is this: The fire in 1906 was stopped at Van Ness Avenue. There are still many Victorians in San Francisco but they were all West or South of the 1906 fire lines
Charles Crocker founded Crocker Bank, not "a bank that would soon become Wells Fargo". Wells Fargo was founded by Henry Wells and William Fargo. Crocker Bank was acquired by Wells Fargo in the 1980's.
The one building that did survive the 1906 earthquake was the Flood Mansion which sits across from the Fairmont Hotel. One of the main reasons why the Flood Mansion did not get destroyed is the Flood Mansion is made of stone while the of the millionaire mansions were made of wood.
Even without the earthquake and fire they wouldn't have survived. Nob Hill real estate was very valuable. And luxury hotels and apartment buildings were already being built there.
Stanford's massive granite and basalt wall survives on two sides of a block. Runs along the back & side of the Stanford Court & Mark Hopkins hotels on Powell & Pine Streets. Solid stuff. 🤗
I would definitely save the Hopkins mansion. So unique. A pipe organ suspended above the main staircase, wow! Wonder who played it? It must have been incredible hearing that as you go up the stairs. So original.
San Francisco was my birth home. Although, those gorgeous homes were demolished there still a few remaining mansion today within city proper. Thanks for sharing!
I'd keep whichever one could be the most useful to the public as a museum, housing, etc. It was actually pretty ridiculous to build these palaces for the benefit of relatively few people but on the other hand, the houses are works of art that probably wouldn't have existed if a bunch of rich people hadn't paid to bring to life. Structures like that should be shared with the public as much as possible.
This video is really interesting. Another neighborhood lost to the 1906 earthquake was the south of Market Street area that became commercial/industrial when rebuilt. There were fabulous Victorian mansions there, too. Also, please do a feature on all the Victorians lost when the Western Addition was torn down to build Japantown, spearheaded by the since disgraced Justin Herman.
my Grandfather was 10 years old at the time of the earthquake and the fire department used the family home as part of the firebreak, along with allllllllllllll the other homes on that side of the street. That's how the Woodd family got to Oakland, CA.
As tragic as it is to have these beautiful mansions leveled, I'm glad it was because of an earthquake and not some stupid bureaucratic bs. I would've loved to see these in person.
The property was too valuable for individual houses even then. The houses would have been demolished to make way for luxury hotels and apartment buildings.
Having lived in SF for 15 years, Thank you for making me feel like I still live there. I must admit, the Hopkins Mansion sounds like the one I’d save… you’ve inspired me to look at the architectural history in Houston where I live now. 😵😵😵😵❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
All the houses shown here are great in their way. I'll pick the Standord house as my favorite. I can see why General Colton didn't have a problem with the sun-blocking wall. Looking at the various photos we can see that the Colton house was getting lots of sunlight anyway. Is it possible there was another house on the other side of the wall seen at 1:10? Would that have been the actual site of the unwilling neighbor?
Indeed there was, a small home not suitable for the neighborhood (so the rich thought) The fence has become known as a spite fence. There are laws governing how large they can be now.
As another commentor pointed out, the spite fence actually surrounded a small house owned by a German immigrant and undertaker named Nicholas Yung. Crocker had wanted to buy the entire block but Yung wouldn't sell, and there are conflicting stories of who was a jerk to whom first. The dispute continued long after both men were dead, and only after the deaths of their widows was the Crocker family able to buy that parcel.
My heart bleeds when thinking of all these beautiful structures created by man and destroyed by nature. My personal favourite must be the fantastic second empire Crocker mansion.
I can't even begin to imagine the prices of those mansions if they still existed today, given San Francisco's high real estate rates and scarce land for sprawling properties.
I usually don’t know the answer to what happened to the house, before watching these videos. But this one was an exception for me since I am originally from Northern California. As I was watching, I was thinking to myself, “wow that place was a fools paradise”... mother nature didn’t care how rich they were.
The Stanford Home, my favorite...it has a "simplicity" of elegance of symmetry. The worst was the Hopkins mansion...way overdone! I'd get fat on that wedding cake! I'm a native San Franciscan and love the history of the city.
General Colton's home is the most appealing to me. I'm not a fan of the Victorian, nor Gothic. They are like a rich pastry, even a bite is too much sugar. I wonder if they expected a future for their houses. I believe in Capitalism with the necessary tools to keep it in check, but both Capitalism and Democracy require a free Press. We don't have one.
The James C. Flood townhouse is still standing and houses a private club. The site of the Hopkins mansion is currently occupied by the Mark Hopkins Hotel.
The homes likely stood due to being made of wood but, likely, badly damaged due to the earthquake. The fires that raged after the earthquake sealed the fate of most of San Francisco due to being constructed of…WOOD! I actually did some work at a building that was built in SF in 1904 and survived both events. (Don't ask me about parking nearby as it was nuts in 2007.)
The fire destroyed just about everything East of Van Ness, where buildings were dynamited to create a fire break. The West side was spared. I grew up in various victorians in the Western Addition. These buildings survived only to be destroyed by misguided redevelopment plans in the 1950s and 60s.
There is one mansion still standing on nob/california st. hill. The Flood mansion exists. Across the street from the Hopkins mansion and all the rest. I walk by it all the time.
Among the nation’s 53 largest metropolitan areas, San Francisco and Los Angeles rank 52nd and 53rd in birthrates. Since 2010, California’s median age has risen 50 percent faster than the rest of the nation’s.
Ambrose Bierce, newspaper editor and editorialist, called the Crocker House the ugliest building in America built with private funds and said that setting fire to it would be a service to the public. I believe his comments were influenced by his feelings towards the owner. ;)
The spite fence wasn’t on Colton’s property. It was on Crocker property. There was one owner who wouldn’t sell. He finally did. Colton had nothing to do with that squabble.
it's crazy to see mansions surrounded by nothing. no trees, no homes, nothing. LIke, they literally cut down the forests in SF before trying to make it a city or what?? Anyone know? because it is surrounded by redwoods below and above....
The tearing down of the San Francisco Fox Theater is one of the biggest disasters to happen in San Francisco, other that the Earthquake which the FOX could have withstood, yet it was torn down.
I was present (at age 12) at an entertaining “Protest” of the wrecking of the Fox theater - hosted by Al Collins… well known Disc Jockey with his “Purple Grotto” Jazz station. Turk Murphy Jazz Band played on the stage set up right next to the fence of the Fox half wrecked building… along with jazz Pianist, Big Tiny Little!
@@robertsmith1860 I know some people cared about saving the FOX, but the City of San Francisco officials seemed to delight in having the building torn down. By the way, the Theater Organ at the San Francisco Fox Theater has been restored and now at THE EGYPTIAN THEATER in Hollywood (formerly known as the PARAMOUNT). Thank goodness the original FOX PIPE ORGAN was saved, although at the time San Francisco Officials gave little time for the removal of the organ. We lost the San Francisco Fox and almost lost the San Francisco Fox Wurlitzer Pipe Organ.
It wasn’t the Colton Home. It was the home of a Chinese who wouldn’t sell. The spite fence cut off all of the sun. He finally sold and Crocker removed the fence. The Grace Cathedral is where the 2 Cocker homes once stood. The Colton house had nothing to do with it. It was later sold to Huntington. He had it when it was destroyed. A park is where it once stood.
It burned down after the earth quake. Grace cathedral ( Episcopal) is up there, the Crocker's who were members donated the site of their destroyed Mansion, the Stanford's were also members of the church
Check out San Francisco after the earthquake: ua-cam.com/video/DkW9My7AKo4/v-deo.html
Why wouldn't you show the one remaining house in the neighborhood...the Flood mansion? Seems a weird thing to do.
As a building contractor in SF for the last 32 yrs I never get tired of looking at the houses here. All the detail work done without complicated power tools we have today..amazing. Not to mention all the quirks and modifications done over the years. You open a wall and there was a door there, or a window, or, sometimes stuff buried in the walls(whiskey bottles, a framers level, a childs dress)
Sorry, but I must point out a couple of things. The Colton mansion was not the house surrounded by the spite fence; that was the Nicholas Yung ( a German immigrant and undertaker)
house. The Colton house was the former Collis P Huntington mansion (shown in your photos and looking like the spite fence is right behind it. Also you forgot the James Flood mansion which "survived" the earthquake/fire so that while the interiors were destroyed, the walls were so strong that they remained. It is now the Pacific Union Club at 1000 California Street (with a slightly shorter "tower" over the entrance. This aside a very enjoyable video.
yes i think this is right; i seem to recall that the fence hides a small house owned by an obstinate german, not the monumental mansion
@@amesavis I don't think he meant that the fence was hiding the mansion, but that he just put the name of the mansion's 2nd owner as the owner of the small house.
@@SymphonyBrahms That's what I said in my 1st post.
Leland Stanford Jr died from Typhoid, not a freak accident. "The Leland Stanford Junior University was founded in 1885 by Jane and Leland Stanford in memory of their only child, Leland Jr., who died of typhoid fever at 15. After his 1884 death, the Stanfords determined that they would use their wealth to do something for other people's children."
Yeah where the heck did freak accident come from? His typhoid death is pretty common knowledge.
What a noble way to grief.
I am a San Francisco native, and love seeing old photos like this. Most of the destruction in 1906 came from the fire, not the earthquake. They also dynamited many buildings near Van Ness avenue to stop the fire from moving west. When I was a kid, we lived in a pre-quake victorian home. It was a quirky old place, not a mansion, bit it was torn down a few years after we left it for an apartment complex.
Wow, I’d have to have saved the Hopkins mansion, especially considering the gothic solarium. There are far too few examples of such fantasy like structures left today. There’s a reason these victorian buildings continue to evoke intrigue and mystery a century and a half on
I saw the pictures and literally said "Oh my god". Amazing structure!
I'm with the Goths on this one.
The first thing I noticed was the AMAZING carriage portico. ❤️
The retaining wall of the mark Hopkins still exists. You can see it as you walk up Mason Street from Pine Street to California Avenue
I love Hopkins' gothic mansion the best, too. I would have saved that one!
Well the earthquake and fire of 1906 took care of that. It destroyed the Hopkins mansion and almost every other structure on Nob Hill.
The foundations of Hopkins' mansion are still visible underneath the new hotel (also called Mark Hopkins) and I believe Crocker's mansion lot was donated to become Grace Cathedral afterwards.
But if you must know, I liked Crocker's best!
Houses like these are artworks. So much of amazing details...So sad they were gone
The Flood mansion (now the private Pacific-Union Club) and Fairmont Hotel both survived the earthquake and following fires. The neighborhood had been renamed Nob Hill years before the 1906 earthquake due to the facts the Big Four: Crocker, Stanford, Huntington and Hopkins all built mansions there and were nicknamed the ‘Nobs’.
To be fair, the Fairmont hotel was barely finishing the construction. It had to be refurbished when the earthquake hit
Perhaps they should have called it CHHS HILL.
Just a thought 😉
The video is misleading because the Flood house survived. (I know the descendants.) But I don't know why it isn't seen in the photos shown.
ironic since the gentlemen of san fran are known to love nobs...
Crocker Bank was very big on its own through the 1970s and 80s before being acquired by Wells Fargo.
-In fact the song We’ve Only Just Begun by Karen Carpenter was originally a jingle for a Crocker Bank commercial.
I’ve been to San Francisco many many times, I know about Alcatraz, the bridges, a lot of the city and of course the 1906 earthquake but I really didn’t think about it prior to the earthquake. This is really interesting. Thank you.
The Mark Hopkins mansion is my favorite. It has a wildly over the top vibe that reminds me of the Winchester House. High Victorian anarchy!!
Wow! That photo near the end of the video showing all the empty lots where the once massive houses stood, gives me chill-bumps!
All of your “what happened to” videos are so good that I’m sad when they are over!!!!
I've lived in the SF Bay Area for over 50 years, about 20 mins from the City. It has such a fascinating history, and vibrant communities , no matter how many times you go, you always find out something new.
Ken, I would have to go with the incredible looking Hopkins Mansion! Not only because of the exterior but also the beautiful interior! So much was lost in that 1906 earthquake!
Great choice! His mansion was astounding!
🌟🌟🌟 ❤👍
Phil Liverpool UK 🇬🇧
I first visited San Francisco in 1985 and left my heart 💖 and many fond memories there. Visited HansLillienthall house, saw Flood Mansion, MarkHopkins, and many other beautiful homes. These are so OTT magnificent, it would be hard to choose! Haven't been back 😕 for years. I'm told today's San Francisco is not as I remember it! 💔 .Thanks for sharing this gem. Now I have even more to revisit in my memories and dreams of MY city by the Bay and it's fantastic people. 🌉 .Especially one who I will see again in another Paradise. 💜 .👑. 🕊 🕊 🕊. 😎 ✨
Hi! San Franciscan here! Despite everything, SF is still beyond beautiful.
Interesting, those homes seem so extravagant they almost seem old world to me!
Holy shit. Nearly every palace featured on this channel is no more. Blows my mind! Newport, RI still has a few palaces extant but I can't help but be gobsmacked by the excess and opulence that has utterly vanished off the face of the landscape. Do Gardo House in Salt Lake City sometime soon! Love the channel! Hope this is making it for you!
Most of this disappeared with the 1906 earthquake and subsequent massive fire,
I second the motion! The Gardo house in Salt Lake City was a remarkable place yet I've only learned of it in the past few years.
Thank you for doing these videos of older homes and their owners histories. I love and watch all of
them...you might want to consider Millionaires Row in
Helena,Montana...I lived there and it was beautiful and even the apartments on Rodney Street were beautiful and woodwork so exceptional!!
San Francisco is my favorite city! I never knew about California Hill! Thank you!
All such magnificent homes! Thank you for bringing these lost treasures to us….
I'm so glad you enjoyed seeing them! Cheers!
Enjoyed this very much! Wonderful video as always.
Glad you enjoyed it!
If the earthquake hadn't leveled them, they still would have been leveled by developers later in the 20th century.
That is a fair point to make. Somehow it seems better to have lost them to an accident than for them to have been torn down intentionally, at least to me it does.
I agree. Even houses such as the ones in this video haven't lasted long in urban areas and not always as private home as intended. I think it was in the book "The Earth Shook, the Sky Burned" that it was mentioned that at least some of the house on Nob Hill were already in "...semi-public use" when the earthquake occurred.
While New York Land values skyrocketed so that the land was more valuable than the house, San Francisco did not have that same level of increased land values. Though still, you may have a point. Nob Hill where these houses are located in San Francisco is now occupied mainly by Hotels.
@@StevenTorreyHotels and high rise apartment buildings.
@@andrewbrendan1579 Mark Hopkins died and his widow donated the Hopkins mansion to the San Francisco Art Institute. They used it as an art school for several years until it was destroyed by the earthquake and fire in 1906. The Stanfords had moved to Menlo Park and their house stood empty. The Huntington mansion was only used occasionally, since the owners actually lived in New York. The Crockers still lived in their house. The Flood family still lived in their house as well.
Great video, very interesting! I grew up in San Francisco near SF State college. I’d love to see more about old homes in SF.
Thank you for the tour. 👍 My favorite home was the Hopkins mansion, I love the architectural design of this home. 😍
I have a low life alcoholic neighbor in my apartment building who lives for reporting people to the police, taking photos of cars who are parked in no parking zones, yells at teenagers practicing in the soccer stadium across the streets, runs around screaming, “that’s forbidden!!!!!” to everyone. Looks like there always have been idiotic neighbors who have to make the life of others miserable just because the have a miserable life themselves, or no life at all. I am bowing to the General.
Sorry about that, going through a rough time lol
Yep and its funny that he cofounded Wells Fargo out of all the shady monetary institutions..
I love these types of architecture/house stories. This is a really great channel. Keep up the good work!
Oh I love the crocker mansion so much. Wish I could have seen it. The design is so grand. As for the spite fence, I hate that, but one doesn't get rich being nice. This area must have been so splendid. Damned earthquate. It would have drawn huge crowds for a house museum.
So many lost great mansions of yesteryear. Such art and craftsmanship destroyed over the years. Very sad.
Destroyed on purpose probably. Explained in some UA-cam vid. So the remains of the old World and its technologies would be lost forever so 'new' dirty energy will be introduced and widely accepted.
Love your channel-I’ve learned so much and it’s always interesting!
Wow, such bizarre and sad history. A spite fence! Goodness... Thanks, Ken!
Now that is a gorgeous building you should do one on ethnic people who are architects there is an interesting story there
The writer, Shirley Jackson, was looking through various photos of old houses for inspiration, while working on her novel 'The Haunting of Hill House', when she came across one that seemed perfect to her. She wrote her mother in California to see what she could find about the place, and as it turned out, was (I believe) either the Crocker house or the over-the-top Victorian, and built by her own great-grandfather; the architect, Samuel Bugbee. :)
I thought she based it on a house where she lived in North Bennington, Vermont. But those San Francisco mansions look a lot more dramatically haunting!
@@TiaCatR I'm drawing this from one of her lectures, although from what friends of the family said; her house might easily have served. :)
I love Shirley Jackson's work! "...and whatever walked there walked alone". I've encountered various stories about the origin of Hill House. I've read that at least some inspiration for Hill House came from a house the Shirley Jackson got just a glimpse of in New York City, a place she found malevolent but could never locate again; maybe it was just how the house looked at a certain time under certain conditions. A California origin seems more likely though, to my surprise, in a books Walker Evans photos I saw a large 19th century house surrounded by hills and the name of the family that lived there was Crain, the same name as the original owners of the mansion in the novel. I also read a magazine article once about an historic home on the East Coast here inthe U.S. (I don't recall the name or location and I gave the article to another Jackson fan) and the house has a couryard with just a regular door and that seems to serve no purpose. That and maybe other features of the house made me wonder if Shirley Jackson got some ideas or inspiration from there for Hill House. In a biography I read of Shirley Jackson there was a photo of the floor plan she made for part of the mansion. I wouldn't be surprised if Hill House is a compostite of differnt houses but I also wouldn't be surprised if most of that inspiration is from the Crocker mansion. Have you ever read Shirley Jackson's story "Charles"?It's as funny as "...Hill House" is spooky! I hope I haven't gone on too long. I love mansions and I love Shirley Jackson's writing!
@@andrewbrendan1579 Yes, I've read everything she wrote. :) (And, trust me: I could go on about Jackson, for hours.) :) She's long been one of my two favorite 20th cent. writers - she, and Flannery O'Connor. 'Charles' is a hoot, as is the fact that she based it on her own eldest son. I, too, have seen photos of the drawings she made of 'Hill House', and of her seeing the burnt-out building in NYC. I agree; I sure there were many influences on her creation. I must admit, her being directly related to one of San Francisco's major 19th cent. architects is fun, and after seeing some of these houses; it's easy to see why she was 'spooked'. :)
I live one block away. The Flood mansion is still there.
Great video. Be safe in this dangerous weather.
Interesting story. Fascinated with SF history.
Thanks for sharing another fascinating story!!! It's a shame that this neighborhood was destroyed!!! 👍👍🙂
Yeah, shame on mother nature, right? Lol
Mrs Stanford lived in the house in SF till she was murdered while on vacation in Honolulu. Leland Jr's memorial window is in St Paul's Episcopal church in Sacramento CA
I've read that the Stanfords never returned to their Nob Hill mansion after their son's death, but lived instead in a large mansion in Menlo Park.
You might find the Los Angeles Neighborhood of Bunker Hill's history to be very interesting. There is also Heritage Sq museum in Los Angeles.
The reason why the famous Haas-Lilienthal house is still standing but the mansions in this video were destroyed is this: The fire in 1906 was stopped at Van Ness Avenue. There are still many Victorians in San Francisco but they were all West or South of the 1906 fire lines
Beautiful! thank you for this lovely video!
Charles Crocker founded Crocker Bank, not "a bank that would soon become Wells Fargo". Wells Fargo was founded by Henry Wells and William Fargo. Crocker Bank was acquired by Wells Fargo in the 1980's.
Almost to 100k! Incredible. Keep up the good videos Ken!
The one building that did survive the 1906 earthquake was the Flood Mansion which sits across from the Fairmont Hotel. One of the main reasons why the Flood Mansion did not get destroyed is the Flood Mansion is made of stone while the of the millionaire mansions were made of wood.
What beautiful mansions! If only they survived.
Even without the earthquake and fire they wouldn't have survived. Nob Hill real estate was very valuable. And luxury hotels and apartment buildings were already being built there.
Stanford's massive granite and basalt wall survives on two sides of a block. Runs along the back & side of the Stanford Court & Mark Hopkins hotels on Powell & Pine Streets. Solid stuff. 🤗
This is fantastic!.........All these have nothing over my SRO apt in the Tenderloin!
Superb segment. Thank you.🙂
I would definitely save the Hopkins mansion. So unique. A pipe organ suspended above the main staircase, wow! Wonder who played it? It must have been incredible hearing that as you go up the stairs. So original.
San Francisco was my birth home. Although, those gorgeous homes were demolished there still a few remaining mansion today within city proper. Thanks for sharing!
They were all beautiful! Wow, all being reduced to rubble is unfortunate
Hopkins is absolutely stunning!!!
I'd keep whichever one could be the most useful to the public as a museum, housing, etc. It was actually pretty ridiculous to build these palaces for the benefit of relatively few people but on the other hand, the houses are works of art that probably wouldn't have existed if a bunch of rich people hadn't paid to bring to life. Structures like that should be shared with the public as much as possible.
Most of them were destroyed in the earthquake and fire of 1906.
1:36 - since something like 30% of those who contracted typhoid fever would ultimately die from it, i hardly think it can be called a freak accident…
This video is really interesting. Another neighborhood lost to the 1906 earthquake was the south of Market Street area that became commercial/industrial when rebuilt. There were fabulous Victorian mansions there, too. Also, please do a feature on all the Victorians lost when the Western Addition was torn down to build Japantown, spearheaded by the since disgraced Justin Herman.
my Grandfather was 10 years old at the time of the earthquake and the fire department used the family home as part of the firebreak, along with allllllllllllll the other homes on that side of the street. That's how the Woodd family got to Oakland, CA.
As tragic as it is to have these beautiful mansions leveled, I'm glad it was because of an earthquake and not some stupid bureaucratic bs. I would've loved to see these in person.
The property was too valuable for individual houses even then. The houses would have been demolished to make way for luxury hotels and apartment buildings.
Also, the black and white photos will forever not let see the true colors of those extraordinary mansions.
Having lived in SF for 15 years, Thank you for making me feel like I still live there. I must admit, the Hopkins Mansion sounds like the one I’d save… you’ve inspired me to look at the architectural history in Houston where I live now. 😵😵😵😵❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
All the houses shown here are great in their way. I'll pick the Standord house as my favorite. I can see why General Colton didn't have a problem with the sun-blocking wall. Looking at the various photos we can see that the Colton house was getting lots of sunlight anyway. Is it possible there was another house on the other side of the wall seen at 1:10? Would that have been the actual site of the unwilling neighbor?
Indeed there was, a small home not suitable for the neighborhood (so the rich thought) The fence has become known as a spite fence. There are laws governing how large they can be now.
Me too! The rest were the nob snobs!
As another commentor pointed out, the spite fence actually surrounded a small house owned by a German immigrant and undertaker named Nicholas Yung. Crocker had wanted to buy the entire block but Yung wouldn't sell, and there are conflicting stories of who was a jerk to whom first.
The dispute continued long after both men were dead, and only after the deaths of their widows was the Crocker family able to buy that parcel.
If only for spite… the General’s mansion is the one who I’d like to see still standing. Thanks for the video.
My heart bleeds when thinking of all these beautiful structures created by man and destroyed by nature. My personal favourite must be the fantastic second empire Crocker mansion.
I can't even begin to imagine the prices of those mansions if they still existed today, given San Francisco's high real estate rates and scarce land for sprawling properties.
Thanks for another San Francisco video!
I usually don’t know the answer to what happened to the house, before watching these videos. But this one was an exception for me since I am originally from Northern California. As I was watching, I was thinking to myself, “wow that place was a fools paradise”... mother nature didn’t care how rich they were.
wow im born and raised in the city and ive never heard of such a place!
The Stanford Home, my favorite...it has a "simplicity" of elegance of symmetry. The worst was the Hopkins mansion...way overdone! I'd get fat on that wedding cake! I'm a native San Franciscan and love the history of the city.
Those buildings were built in the Tartarian way and was found by those residents, not built by them. Those houses generated their own energy.
Total crap. Grow up and reject that Tartarian fiction.
Great show!
Glad you enjoyed it!
I would save the square one at 3:03 I like symmetry
General Colton's home is the most appealing to me. I'm not a fan of the Victorian, nor Gothic. They are like a rich pastry, even a bite is too much sugar.
I wonder if they expected a future for their houses.
I believe in Capitalism with the necessary tools to keep it in check, but both Capitalism and Democracy require a free Press. We don't have one.
A free press criticizes crooked politicians and wealthy thieves. And it's doing that right now in many places in the U.S.
Houses come and go. I've seen this happen again and again.
The James C. Flood townhouse is still standing and houses a private club. The site of the Hopkins mansion is currently occupied by the Mark Hopkins Hotel.
Fantastic video!!!
I'm from SF and grew up in a Victorian flat. The Hopkins mansion 💜💜💜
Awesome thanks!!
Kevin this is fascinating!!! Do you have more like this?
Our next video will be similar, covering another lost neighborhood. Stay tuned, cheers!
I love this channel.
The homes likely stood due to being made of wood but, likely, badly damaged due to the earthquake. The fires that raged after the earthquake sealed the fate of most of San Francisco due to being constructed of…WOOD!
I actually did some work at a building that was built in SF in 1904 and survived both events. (Don't ask me about parking nearby as it was nuts in 2007.)
The fire destroyed just about everything East of Van Ness, where buildings were dynamited to create a fire break. The West side was spared. I grew up in various victorians in the Western Addition. These buildings survived only to be destroyed by misguided redevelopment plans in the 1950s and 60s.
@@kirahastings9900 Yeah, the Fillmore transformations were for sh*t.
"Progress" led to the Embarcadero Freeway monstrosity.
I would have chosen the Hopkins mansion, for it's ornamental grand scale and the solarium and those incredible turrets.
Hawkins Mansion, just magnificent.
Hopkins, not Hawkins.
Interesting. Been to Nob Hill many times. Thanks for posting.
There is one house left. The Flood mansion. It’s now The Pacific Union Club, an exclusive male social club
I'd save the gothic one with the solarium. Looks like Adam's family kinda house.
Hey! The Flood Mansion is still there!
Well, for a change, at least these mansions are not gone because of neglect or the neighborhood going bad.
California house all those beautiful homes what a shame we have an earthquake's
I love the Hopkins mansion, but prefer country houses over those built on smaller lots in town - Cragside is my favorite.
2:08 This is an amazing structure it's sort of surreal like a fantasy.
There is one mansion still standing on nob/california st. hill. The Flood mansion exists. Across the street from the Hopkins mansion and all the rest. I walk by it all the time.
One house is left, the Flood mansion, across the street from the Fairmont Hotel on California Street.
Among the nation’s 53 largest metropolitan areas, San Francisco and Los Angeles rank 52nd and 53rd in birthrates. Since 2010, California’s median age has risen 50 percent faster than the rest of the nation’s.
Ambrose Bierce, newspaper editor and editorialist, called the Crocker House the ugliest building in America built with private funds and said that setting fire to it would be a service to the public.
I believe his comments were influenced by his feelings towards the owner. ;)
That sounds very Ambrose Bierce! I like his stories but I think he would have been hard to live with as a person.
The spite fence wasn’t on Colton’s property. It was on Crocker property. There was one owner who wouldn’t sell. He finally did. Colton had nothing to do with that squabble.
it's crazy to see mansions surrounded by nothing. no trees, no homes, nothing. LIke, they literally cut down the forests in SF before trying to make it a city or what?? Anyone know? because it is surrounded by redwoods below and above....
The tearing down of the San Francisco Fox Theater is one of the biggest disasters to happen in San Francisco, other that the Earthquake which the FOX could have withstood, yet it was torn down.
I was present (at age 12) at an entertaining “Protest” of the wrecking of the Fox theater - hosted by Al Collins… well known Disc Jockey with his “Purple Grotto” Jazz station. Turk Murphy Jazz Band played on the stage set up right next to the fence of the Fox half wrecked building… along with jazz Pianist, Big Tiny Little!
@@robertsmith1860 I know some people cared about saving the FOX, but the City of San Francisco officials seemed to delight in having the building torn down. By the way, the Theater Organ at the San Francisco Fox Theater has been restored and now at THE EGYPTIAN THEATER in Hollywood (formerly known as the PARAMOUNT).
Thank goodness the original FOX PIPE ORGAN was saved, although at the time San Francisco Officials gave little time for the removal of the organ. We lost the San Francisco Fox and almost lost the San Francisco Fox Wurlitzer Pipe Organ.
fascinating!
The 1906 quake happened. Luckily the Flood mansion was the only one made of limestone and not wood; it survived.
It wasn’t the Colton Home. It was the home of a Chinese who wouldn’t sell. The spite fence cut off all of the sun. He finally sold and Crocker removed the fence. The Grace Cathedral is where the 2 Cocker homes once stood. The Colton house had nothing to do with it. It was later sold to Huntington. He had it when it was destroyed. A park is where it once stood.
It burned down after the earth quake. Grace cathedral ( Episcopal) is up there, the Crocker's who were members donated the site of their destroyed Mansion, the Stanford's were also members of the church