Historic Walking Tour Guide: Telegraph Hill Landmark District

One-sheet walking tour of the Telegraph Hill Landmark District in San Francisco. Features eight stops: Phillip Brown House, Ross Cottage, Napier Lane, Malloch Apartment Building, "Duck House", Andrews House, Cooney House, 1254-1262 Montgomery Street. From introduction: "The Telegraph Hill Landmark District consists of two important types of buildings and some unique open spaces. The first type includes eleven 1850s structures on the east slope, as well as others built through 1870. These small early buildings were not designed by architects, but were built by tradesman. A second type of important buildings were constructed 1935-1941, including several structures known to have been designed by experimental architects, such as Richard Neutra. This second type resulted in a collection of innovative modernist designs out of which rose the Second Bay Tradition style of architecture. The setting of this district is defined by steep cliffs created by a nearby quarry. The quarried rock was used for ballast on outbound sailing ships and for filling in the Bay east of the Hill. Since the landscape was too steep for roads, wooden walkways and a hidden network of footpaths and gardens were built. From the Gold Rush to the Depression, the difficult access to the hillside and cliffs, above the City’s most active waterfront area, produced a community of waterfront workers housed in one-room shacks and tiny Gothic Revival cottages. These very early houses were modest in style and small in scale; however, they are among the few remaining of the earliest residential developments near San Francisco’s northeast waterfront. In the early 1930s, improved roads, retaining walls and the building of Coit Tower caused land values to soar and new owners built sleek modern houses and apartments. Today, Telegraph Hill hosts some of the best views of the waterfront." Funding for this project was provided in part through a 2010 Preserve America grant to the City of San Francisco (grant number 06-10-AP-5034) for the Market and Octavia Historic Resource Preservation Project. The grant was administered by the State, Tribal, and Local Plans and Grants Division, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. Preserve America is a federal initiative that encourages and supports community efforts to preserve and enjoy our priceless cultural and natural heritage. The goals of the program include a greater shared knowledge about the nation's past, strengthened regional identities and local pride, increased local participation in preserving the country's cultural and natural heritage assets, and support for the economic vitality of our communities.

Historic Walking Tour Guide: Telegraph Hill Landmark District

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