Painted ladies
Encyclopedia
"Painted ladies" is a term used for Victorian
and Edwardian houses and buildings painted in three or more colors that embellish or enhance their architectural details. The term was first used for San Francisco Victorian houses by writers Elizabeth Pomada and Michael Larsen in their 1978 book Painted Ladies - San Francisco's Resplendent Victorians. Since then the term has also been used to describe groups of colorful Victorian houses in other American cities, such as the Charles Village
neighborhood in Baltimore
, Lafayette Square
in St. Louis, Missouri
, the greater San Francisco and New Orleans areas, Columbia-Tusculum
in Cincinnati and the city of Cape May, New Jersey
.
Some preservationists use the term polychrome for the style.
About 48,000 houses in the Victorian and Edwardian styles were built in San Francisco between 1849 and 1915 (with the change from Victorian to Edwardian occurring on the death of Queen Victoria in 1901), and many were painted in bright colors. As one newspaper critic noted in 1885, "...red, yellow, chocolate, orange, everything that is loud is in fashion...if the upper stories are not of red or blue... they are painted up into uncouth panels of yellow and brown..." While many of the mansions of Nob Hill were destroyed by the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake
, thousands of the mass-produced, more modest houses survived in the western and southern neighborhoods of the city.
During World War I and World War II, many of these houses were battleship gray with war-surplus Navy paint. Another sixteen thousand were demolished, and many others had the Victorian decor stripped off or covered with tarpaper, brick, stucco, or aluminum siding.
In 1963, San Francisco artist Butch Kardum began combining intense blues and greens on the exterior of his Italianate
-style Victorian House. His house was criticized by some, but other neighbors began to copy the bright colors on their own houses. Kardum became a color designer, and he and other artists / colorists such as Tony Cataletich, Bob Buckner, and Jazon Wonders began to transform dozens of gray houses into Painted Ladies. By the 1970s, the colorist movement, as it was called, had changed entire streets and neighborhoods. This process continues to this day.
One of the best-known groups of "Painted Ladies" is the row of Victorian houses at 710–720 Steiner Street, across from Alamo Square
park, in San Francisco. It is sometimes known as "Postcard Row." The houses were built between 1892 and 1896 by developer Matthew Kavanaugh, who lived next door in the 1892 mansion at 722 Steiner
Street. This block appears very frequently in media and mass-market photographs of the city and its tourist attractions and have appeared in an estimated 70 movies, TV programs, and ads, including in the opening credits
of the television series Full House
.
Victorian house
In the United Kingdom, and former British colonies, a Victorian house generally means any house built during the reign of Queen Victoria...
and Edwardian houses and buildings painted in three or more colors that embellish or enhance their architectural details. The term was first used for San Francisco Victorian houses by writers Elizabeth Pomada and Michael Larsen in their 1978 book Painted Ladies - San Francisco's Resplendent Victorians. Since then the term has also been used to describe groups of colorful Victorian houses in other American cities, such as the Charles Village
Charles Village, Baltimore
Charles Village is a neighborhood located in the north-central area of Baltimore, Maryland, USA. It is a middle-class area with many single-family homes that is in proximity to many of Baltimore's urban amenities. The neighborhood began in 1869 when of land were purchased for development...
neighborhood in Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
, Lafayette Square
Lafayette Square, St. Louis
Lafayette Square is a neighborhood in St. Louis, Missouri that is bounded on the north by Chouteau Avenue, on the south by Interstate 44, on the east by Truman Parkway and on the west by South Jefferson Avenue. It surrounds Lafayette Park, which is the city's oldest public park, created by...
in St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, the greater San Francisco and New Orleans areas, Columbia-Tusculum
Columbia-Tusculum, Cincinnati
Columbia-Tusculum is the oldest neighborhood in Cincinnati, Ohio and is located on the East Side of the city. According to CincinnatiHome.org, as of 1997, the population of Columbia-Tusculum was 2,619. 90.3 percent of the population is white and 42.9 percent are between 25 and 44 years old...
in Cincinnati and the city of Cape May, New Jersey
Cape May Historic District
The Cape May Historic District is an area of with over 600 buildings in the resort town of Cape May, New Jersey. The city claims to be America's first seaside resort and has numerous buildings in the Late Victorian style, including the Eclectic, Stick, and Shingle styles, as well as the later...
.
Some preservationists use the term polychrome for the style.
San Francisco's Painted Ladies
1906 San Francisco earthquake
The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 was a major earthquake that struck San Francisco, California, and the coast of Northern California at 5:12 a.m. on Wednesday, April 18, 1906. The most widely accepted estimate for the magnitude of the earthquake is a moment magnitude of 7.9; however, other...
, thousands of the mass-produced, more modest houses survived in the western and southern neighborhoods of the city.
In 1963, San Francisco artist Butch Kardum began combining intense blues and greens on the exterior of his Italianate
Italianate architecture
The Italianate style of architecture was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. In the Italianate style, the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian Renaissance architecture, which had served as inspiration for both Palladianism and...
-style Victorian House. His house was criticized by some, but other neighbors began to copy the bright colors on their own houses. Kardum became a color designer, and he and other artists / colorists such as Tony Cataletich, Bob Buckner, and Jazon Wonders began to transform dozens of gray houses into Painted Ladies. By the 1970s, the colorist movement, as it was called, had changed entire streets and neighborhoods. This process continues to this day.
One of the best-known groups of "Painted Ladies" is the row of Victorian houses at 710–720 Steiner Street, across from Alamo Square
Alamo Square
Alamo Square is a residential neighborhood and park in San Francisco, California, in the Western Addition, a district of the city's fifth Supervisorial district, and are served by several Muni bus lines including the 5, 21, 22, and 24...
park, in San Francisco. It is sometimes known as "Postcard Row." The houses were built between 1892 and 1896 by developer Matthew Kavanaugh, who lived next door in the 1892 mansion at 722 Steiner
Street. This block appears very frequently in media and mass-market photographs of the city and its tourist attractions and have appeared in an estimated 70 movies, TV programs, and ads, including in the opening credits
Opening credits
In a motion picture, television program, or video game, the opening credits are shown at the very beginning and list the most important members of the production. They are now usually shown as text superimposed on a blank screen or static pictures, or sometimes on top of action in the show. There...
of the television series Full House
Full House
Full House is an American sitcom television series. Set in San Francisco, the show chronicles widowed father Danny Tanner, who, after the death of his wife, enlists his best friend Joey Gladstone and his brother-in-law Jesse Katsopolis to help raise his three daughters, D.J., Stephanie, and...
.
Further reading
- Michael Larsen and Elizabeth Pomada, Painted Ladies- San Francisco's Resplendent Victorians E.P. Dutton, New York, 1978
- Michael Larsen and Elizabeth Pomada, Daughters of Painted Ladies, E.P. Dutton, New York, 1987
- Michael Larsen and Elizabeth Pomada, The Painted Ladies Guide to Victorian California E.P. Dutton, New York
- Michael Larsen and Elizabeth Pomada, America's Painted Ladies, E.P. Dutton, New York, 1992
- Terry Way, "Victorian Homes Of San Francisco", Schiffer, PA 2009
- John Clarke Mills, "Restoration of an 1890's San Francisco Victorian", Blog, 2008