Duboce Park Landmark District Designation Report (Draft)

This Landmark Designation Report was prepared for the San Francisco Historic Preservation Commission, a seven‐member body that makes recommendations to the Board of Supervisors regarding the designation of landmark buildings and districts. From overview: "The Duboce Park Landmark District (district) is a three-block residential enclave in the Duboce Triangle neighborhood. The district is immediately adjacent to and shares a common development history with Duboce Park, a small civic park composed of open grassy areas, meandering paths, a playground, and recreation center. The district is significant for the unusual and contested history, and the litigation that resulted in the subdivision of interior block streets and the adjacent civic park. The district is comprised of 87 residential buildings and the stone steps and Serpentine rock retaining walls at the three interior block park entrances: Carmelita, Pierce, and Potomac Streets. The district and adjacent park are sited on a contested plot of land formerly known as the Public Reservation, Hospital Lot, and Marion Tract. Through a decades-long series of court battles, the tract was split nearly in half, with the City retaining title to what is now Duboce Park and the German Savings and Loan Association acquiring title to the adjacent land, which is what now encompasses the district. In the late 1890s, the German Savings and Loan subdivided the land and sold lots to builders who developed the residential portion of the former Marion Tract. The nearly 40-years of contested claims and litigation, the resultant delayed development of the residential buildings, and creation of the civic park are inextricably intertwined. One visible manifestation of this interrelated history is found in the lack of separation between the park and residential buildings – it is the best example in San Francisco of a civic of park that immediately abuts residential buildings, without any separation of a street or sidewalk. The district is also significant as an excellent example of mass-produced Victorian-era architecture designed for middle-class turn-of-the-century San Franciscans. Construction dates of contributing buildings within the district range from 1899 to 1911. Nearly two thirds of the buildings were constructed in 1899 and 1900. Most buildings in the district were constructed by two key builders: the prolific Victorian-era master builder Fernando Nelson, known for his lavishly applied ornamentation, and the smaller-scale partnership of George Moore and Charles Olinger. The short period of construction combined with the limited number of builders resulted in a remarkably uniform streetscape of houses and flats dominated by Victorian-era design influences, which include exuberant Queen Anne decorative elements, a profusion of shingled cladding, angled bay windows, and gabled or hipped roof forms. Likewise, the buildings’ similar massing, materials, and uniform front yard setbacks provide a cohesive streetscape of one and a half- to four-story residential buildings." Funding was provided in part by 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.

Duboce Park Landmark District Designation Report (Draft)

Collections