1366 Guerrero St
San Francisco, CA 94110, USA

Frank G. Edwards House - National Register of Historic Places

Statement of Significance:

Designed by early San Francisco architect Joseph Gosling and constructed by pioneer carpenter-builder-contractor Florence Crowley, this two-story, flat fronted Italianate residence was built in 1883 for Frank G. Edwards, an Englishman who came to San Francisco in 1852. Trained as a decorator in England, Edwards opened his own business in San Francisco in 1859, and imported carpets, wallpapers and other furnishings from England; "in 1868, he was awarded a silver medal and diploma for the first wall paper printed on the Pacific Coast". (The Exempt Firemen of San Francisco.) His Guerrero Street residence, a show place for his wares, still contains the original parlor rug woven in Scotland, ceiling and wallpaper imported from England in the 1850's as well as the original fireplace, ceiling medallion, gilt mirror and moldings. Edwards' most significant contribution, however, was the founding of Edwards' Abstract from Records, a daily listing "setting forth the facts of real estate sales, mortgages, releases, deeds of trust, building contracts, probate matters, and all decisions and actions in the courts affecting real and personal property". (The Pioneer.) Established circa 1893, Edwards' Abstract was published by the family until 1907 when it was absorbed by the Recorder which continues to publish it daily.

Frank G. Edwards was born in Dorking, England, near Oxford, in 1822. After completing an English "country" education, Edwards left home at age 15 to seek adventure and employment in London. His efforts to become a machinist apprentice failed. Instead, his mother bound him over to a master decorator and painter for three years. Following his apprenticeship, he worked in England for several years before emigrating to the United States in 1845. Between 1845 and 1852, he worked as a decorator in New York, Sai*t Louis and New Orleans, visited seventeen states, and developed a life-long interest in firefighting. When the California Gold Rush hit, Edwards departed for California via the Straits of Magellan eventually arriving in San Francisco in 1852 as second mate aboard the Clipper Ship Eureka. By 1854, he had satisfied his lust for gold and returned to San Francisco where he became a paper hanger and was subsequently employed in that capacity by J. C. Bell Company.

Upon his return to San Francisco, and perhaps due to the fact that he was earning the magnificent sum of $25 per day as a Batchelor, Frank Edwards immediately involved himself in the City's cultural and political life. Family records indicate that he was "one of the original charter members of the Mechanics Institute, his name being third on the list" while another account says that he was the second member and in the early 1870's was the oldest living member of that institution which was founded in 1855. A certificate retained by the family attests to Mr. Edwards' participation in the Vigilance Committee of 1856.

Prior to that, however, in 1855, Edwards had joined the Pennsylvania Fire Company #12, organized in September 1852 and considered by many to be the most prestigious and social of the volunteer companies. In addition to fighting San Francisco's numerous fires, the volunteer companies provided their members with a primary social focus, much as our clubs do today. In between fires, there was considerable drinking and boisterous partying with each company attempting to out-do the others. Competition was also keen with respect to the grandeur of the fire houses and equipment, the Pennsylvania out-spending the others. In 1858, the Pennsylvania Fire Company #12 established a Board of Directors naming Edwards President, a title he held from time to time; in 1859, he became foreman of the company.

By the end of 1858, alcoholism was rampant in the volunteer companies. This led to formation of the Dashaway Society on January 1, 1859, by 17 members of the Howard Volunteer Engine Company #3 who pledged "to forever 'dash away' from their lips the cup that intoxicates". (San Francisco Examiner, Saturday, November 23, 1889.) Members were encouraged "to seek out their friends in the city and vicinity and bring them to meetings" and "to assist those members who are in need to obtain employment and aid, and encourage the poor and needy as far as lays in their power." (Dashaway Society Minutes, January 1859.) Instead of gathering to drink together, the Dashaways gathered for food and song. San Francisco had a new and welcome social focus, one for which the populace had been yearning, and the Dashaway Society became an immediate success not only in San Francisco but also in the mining towns and in Sacramento where branches of the organization were founded. As the Dashaways became part of San Francisco's social fabric, "wealth poured into their coffers". (Idwal Jones.) Soon, they purchased a sandlot on Post Street for $6,000 and built an auditorium seating 1,000 persons. Proceeds from their concerts, dramatic presentations and dances which introduced the Cotillion, a contemporary San Francisco tradition, went to operate its Home for the Care of Inebriates. Frank Edwards' association with the Dashaways began in 1863, and continued until the Society's demise in 1883. During that time, he served as President of the organization for 10 years; for many years he was also Treasurer, and in 1868, President of the Home for the Care of Inebriates.

In 1865, San Francisco abolished its volunteer fire companies in favor of paid fire fighters, thus ending Edwards' direct involvement with the Fire Department for the ensuing 13 years. At that time, however, he was one of the organizers of the Exempt Fire Company which was established by the Laws of 1865-1866, and which exempted its members from military and jury duty based on their voluntary service to the City. According to family records, the Exempt Fire Company instituted a Charitable Fund with Edwards serving as Treasurer for 14 years.

Meanwhile, in 1859, Edwards had established his own firm specializing at first in paper hangings, and gradually expanding as an importer into carpets, fabrics, oil cloth, window shades and other furnishing fixtures, particularly from England.

He then began designing and manufacturing his own wallpapers, and in 1868, was awarded a silver medal and diploma from the Mechanics Institute for being the first and only manufacturer "of paper hangings west of the Rocky Mountains" (Edwards File, Society of California Pioneers), and on the Pacific Coast. By the early 1870's, his firm was considered the oldest and largest retail house dealing in window shades, ‘carpets, oil cloths and paper hangings on the Pacific Coast," and occupied four buildings on Clay Street between Montgomery and Kearny Streets, at that time the City's retail center.

While continuing his various fire-related civic endeavors, Frank Edwards was one of the founders of the British Benevolent Society which was established in 1865 "for the purpose of affording relief to sick and destitute members and persons who were subjects of Great Britain at the time of their birth, and of promoting the social and intellectual improvement of its members". (Lloyd, Lights and Shades in San Francisco.) In 1876, it had 1,300 members and distributed approximately $5,000 per year. Edwards also joined the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals one month after its founding in April 1868, and was elected to its Board of Trustees in July 1869. In 1874, Edwards represented the local chapter at the International Congress of the SPCA in London, and continued to be active in the organization until April 1880 when he resigned, possibly because he had been appointed Fire Commissioner in 1879, and no longer had time to devote to these Board meetings.

Mr. Edwards was a member of the Fire Commission, a highly political job, from his appointment in 1879 until 1890, and then from 1892 until 1900. He was President of the Commission from 1882 to 1890, and again in 1895. Commissioners were appointed by the Mayor and the Board of Supervisors, and it was the Fire Commissioners who hired every member of the Fire Department, firemen as well as clerks, making the position an extremely influential one. During Edwards' tenure, discipline became very stringent particularly with respect to drunkenness, not surprising considering Edwards' strong advocacy for temperance. It was also during Edwards' term that many of the City's architecturally significant fire houses were constructed; as its inhabitants moved further South and West the demand for fire protection mushroomed. It was the Fire Commissioners who determined what property would be purchased from whom, and who would receive the contracts to design and build these facilities.

Prior to 1883, Edwards acquired the Guerrero Street property, which at that time had a frontage of 169.1 feet and a depth of 125 feet, and commissioned architect Joseph Gosling to design a residence for him which would be a showcase for his interior furnishings business. There is no information about Gosling prior to his arrival in San Francisco in 1864-65, at which time he had offices in the Mercantile Library Building. He was, however, a prolific designer until his death in 1885, soon after completion of the Edwards House. Although he designed a number of buildings downtown and in the Mission District, most of his construction took place in the Western Addition. Unfortunately, many of his works were destroyed during the 1906 earthquake and subsequent fire while others were demolished for more recent redevelopment projects. Of those remaining, the Edwards House is certainly the most notable example of Gosling's work in San Francisco.

The actual construction of the Edwards House was undertaken by pioneer carpenter builder Florence Crowley who came to San Francisco as a carpenter in 1858; by 1871, he was listed in the City Directories as a contractor. Crowley, too, died soon after completion of the Edwards House — in 1886.

Gosling's design for the Edwards House is significant in that it is clearly early Italianate in style, a reminder of the 1879's rather than the early-to-mid^l880*s, and because it is built in a cruciform pattern, not particularly common in San Francisco, but seemingly a trademark of Gosling's. This floor plan which has not been altered allows for a completely separate parlor which may be closed off entirely from the central hall, and for two additional large public rooms side-by-side behind the parlor.

Today, the most important feature of the house which has a largely intact interior, is the parlor which is still decorated exactly as it was when the Edwards family moved in in 1883-84. The ceiling paper is artistically placed, an impressive combination of floral and geometric patterns while the wallpaper is a William Morris style floral pattern, very different from the ceiling paper but highly compatible. Also in place is the original Brussels-weave carpet with yet another floral pattern which Edwards imported from James Templeton & Co. in Scotland. The whole is enhanced by a white Italian marble fireplace and mantel over which hangs a six-foot tall gilded mirror, also part of the original interior furnishings. The library, with its mahogany bookshelves and its many windows, and the dining room, with its grey marble fireplace, and large, highly-articulated mahogany mirror is also intact.

Also significant is the fact that the large parcel of land, including not only the house but also several outbuildings which were later rented, remained in the Edwards family until 1949, approximately sixty-seven years, even though Frank G. Edwards had died in 1900. Further, Edwards Abstract from Title was printed and published from the property following the 1906 Earthquake and Fire.

In 1890, Edwards' furnishings business failed due to "diminished trade" (Edwards File, Society of California Pioneers.), and, some say, the failure of numerous large creditors as well as employee theft. In 1893, after several years in real estate, Edwards founded Edwards Publishing Company, Inc. for which he was Publisher and Proprietor. He was ably assisted by his wife, the former Ellen J. Carter whom he had married in 1861, and by his son F. Ernest. That first year, they published Edwards Criterion, a monthly, but by 1894, the family was publishing Edwards' Abstract from Records for San Francisco, a daily publication which set forth "the facts of real estate sales, mortgages, releases, deeds of trust, building contracts, probate matters and all decisions and actions in the courts affecting real and personal property". (The Pioneer.) With Mrs. Edwards acting first as business manager and then as Treasurer, and with son F. Ernest as Secretary and Reporter, the company continued to expand and to provide similar services to Alameda (Edwards Transcript), Marin (Edwards Breviate of Records), and San Mateo (Edwards Epitome of Records).

When Frank G. Edwards died in May, 1900, Mrs. Edwards became President of the firm and continued to operate the business with assistance of her son who became Secretary and Manager and his wife who was Vice-President and later Treasurer. The 1906 disaster destroyed their offices which were then moved to the Guerrero Street residence for a time. Shortly thereafter, Edwards Abstract from Records was absorbed by The Recorder following a brief but bitter battle which resulted in Mrs. Frank G. Edwards remaining with the merged company until February, 1914. She died three years later at the age of almost 75. It is significant that Edwards Abstract from Records continues to be published daily by The Recorder.