Adelphian Apartments, 820 O`Farrel St San Francisco, San Francisco County, CA
1915, designer William Wilde, 4 stories, stucco facade, marquee, marble steps." Although somewhat modified on the interior and, because of a fire, at the rear east wing, the building is basically intact as to location, design, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association. The Nomination form describes the District`s typical building in terms which apply directly to the Adelphian Apartments. "Compositionally the typical apartment or hotel is a two-part vertical block with prominent cornice, residential upper part, and differentiated base. ... It stands on the sidewalk line an usually occupies the entire lot width of 30 to 150 feet. Light courts open at side and rear. It may have bay windows. Sash in the earlier buildings is most often double-hung. ... Roofs are almost always flat and surrounded by parapet-firewalls, which provide compositional space for the decorative cornice" (Block 7). "Most designers chose to ornament their two-part vertical blocks with restrained references to a broadly Classical vocabulary" (p. 53). "Typically the apartment or hotel is entered a few steps up from the street. ... The entry opening, vestibule and front are as imposing as the budget permitted. One finds curvalinear and glass-fringed metal marquees. ... The lobby helped describe the social status of the residents and therefore became an important space" (p. 54). The subject building is a curious example of the social status-seeking norm in the District. While the building was designed for low-rent tenants, (single room apartments, narrow halls, tiny lobby, minimal interior ornamentation with inexpensive materials), it presents a luxurious face to the public. The well-proportioned entry opening appears of normal height for its style, but it actually rises considerably less then the full height of the main floor. Usually in the District, a vestibule or lobby steps up to the main floor in response to a hilly site, but here the site is flat. The steps have luxurious width and marble cladding. There is an unusually large number of steps ten which, along with the glass fringed, flat topped marquee and restricted opening, completely conceal the meager lobby and cramped quarters. The building`s design thus seems directed to tenants of severely limited means who wished to give an outward impression of respectability and prosperity.
Adelphian Apartments, 820 O`Farrel St San Francisco, San Francisco County, CA
1915, designer William Wilde, 4 stories, stucco facade, marquee, marble steps." Although somewhat modified on the interior and, because of a fire, at the rear east wing, the building is basically intact as to location, design, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association. The Nomination form describes the District`s typical building in terms which apply directly to the Adelphian Apartments. "Compositionally the typical apartment or hotel is a two-part vertical block with prominent cornice, residential upper part, and differentiated base. ... It stands on the sidewalk line an usually occupies the entire lot width of 30 to 150 feet. Light courts open at side and rear. It may have bay windows. Sash in the earlier buildings is most often double-hung. ... Roofs are almost always flat and surrounded by parapet-firewalls, which provide compositional space for the decorative cornice" (Block 7). "Most designers chose to ornament their two-part vertical blocks with restrained references to a broadly Classical vocabulary" (p. 53). "Typically the apartment or hotel is entered a few steps up from the street. ... The entry opening, vestibule and front are as imposing as the budget permitted. One finds curvalinear and glass-fringed metal marquees. ... The lobby helped describe the social status of the residents and therefore became an important space" (p. 54). The subject building is a curious example of the social status-seeking norm in the District. While the building was designed for low-rent tenants, (single room apartments, narrow halls, tiny lobby, minimal interior ornamentation with inexpensive materials), it presents a luxurious face to the public. The well-proportioned entry opening appears of normal height for its style, but it actually rises considerably less then the full height of the main floor. Usually in the District, a vestibule or lobby steps up to the main floor in response to a hilly site, but here the site is flat. The steps have luxurious width and marble cladding. There is an unusually large number of steps ten which, along with the glass fringed, flat topped marquee and restricted opening, completely conceal the meager lobby and cramped quarters. The building`s design thus seems directed to tenants of severely limited means who wished to give an outward impression of respectability and prosperity.
Posted Date
Sep 28, 2021
Source Name
Library of Congress
