What we’re about
San Francisco Victorian Architecture and Mansion Tours, as well as Berkeley. Architectural and point of interest walks and hikes/walks on Mt.Tamalpais.
All photos are either taken by me, or members, or are paid for through Adobe Stock, on a monthly payment basis.
Do not post or message other members with unsolicited messages. Meetup.com has a Connect feature that can be used within 24 hrs. after an event to mutually contact a member you met on the Event. Use this feature, do not direct message or comment unsolicitedly, directly to another member.
A conversation is needed about Meetup "No Show" issues! The rule of thumb for most Meetup groups is a 50% rate of RSVP no shows. My goal is to handle the No Show issue in a positive way. And conversation is a positive way to find solutions.
There are many causes/reasons for no show behavior. Here are a couple.
Using Meetup RSVPs for shortlisting ones calendar down to a final choice? In other words RSVPing for several interesting Events for a given day. Then when the morning arrives picking the most interesting Event and blowing off the other RSVPs. (Please don't do that.)
There may be a need for Cognitive Behavior Therapy for last minute, "Emotional Reasoning" ie. I don't feel like it, therefore I shouldn't do it, or just going negative about the Event outcome. Seek specific therapy, for getting over ER and negativity, getting over these makes life better.
Here is an important request.
If you are not 100% sure you will attend, DON'T RSVP until you are sure. For those who are indecisive by nature, do the very best you can.
Lastly I think when members attend and are witness to an Event that had 28 RSVPs, that sees 10 actually show up is not a great way for the Event to get started. I know it is initially dis-heartening for me and not a very nice way to get started. Let's talk under the Discussions Tab and seek solutions together.
Note: Your Meetup name should have a least one character that makes it singular to you.
Note: You can control all the emails you receive from this group. Click "You're a Member", go to "Group Notifications", you can opt out of all emails or select types you want to receive. (Taking yourself out of the loop can have drawbacks. Especially when there are late changes to an Event.)
You can bring up a monthly calendar of all the Group's events by month. Go to the Events Tab and click Calendar.
We'll identify these basics about some of the houses; the architect, year built, name of first owner, builder's name, architectural style and maybe a human interest story from the house's history.
Videos of past hikes are available here, We'll be walking in very nice areas, 3 to 4 miles. We'll walk in the shade if too hot and in the sun if chilly. Try to find the fog when the temps rise. Have lunch with a spectacular view and out of the wind. Hopefully with picnic tables and restrooms.
Safety is always my #1 priority. I will be as aware as I can of any danger. But I can't be responsible for your safety. As adults you are responsible for your own personal safety and what you decide to do.
Liability Disclaimer: All participants agree to assume 100% responsibility for their own safety, conduct, and well-being and recognize that possible hazards exist while participating in outdoor activities, and agree to participate solely at their own risk. If you RSVP “Yes” and/or attend any event, it shall be conclusively presumed that you understand and agree to this policy.
Look at some of the over 6000 photos and picture yourself right there. Stay in shape and look ahead to fun days, sign-up for some hikes in the future while on-line here.
The group is for walkers and hikers who love to be immersed in the gorgeous, special places California offers. And while in that immersion, connect not only emotionally to these places, but learn about the natural science and human history of the locations. And to do this with kindness, patience and open heartedly. And best of all to make friends with those we get to know.
But the reality of managing a Meetup group is hard work. It has to be done carefully. Good judgement and basic people managing skills are needed. About roughly, 50% of those signing up for an Event, will actually show up.
I tell frequent no-showers to not bother to RSVP anymore and just show-up and surprise us! But some are RSVPing to whatever is interesting and then choose as the weekend approaches. I call it short-listing. I guess it's nice to make the short-lists.
When you compare Meetup to the social clubs of the past. Ski Clubs, Swim Clubs, Yachting Clubs, Country Clubs, Sierra Club, American Youth Hostels etc. Meetup is just Club Lite. Committing in a very personal relationship is a challenge for many. Is the same thing happening here in broader social relationships? Maybe keeping it lite is a way of compartmentalizing, keeping safe emotional boundaries. If friendships develop it will happen over the long term when an amount of certainty has developed?
If your work or life situation is totally stressing you out look for the Forest Bathing moments and Ocean Bathing (at Duxbury Reef) on the hikes that have as a goal reaching a meditative state of mind.
I love doing architectural tours of the Victorian and Mansion areas of San Francisco. Also Berkeley as fascinating residential architecture and the history to go with it as well.
These are very doable hikes for everyone who can hike. If you can manage walking up some very steep hills, can maintain your balance on very rocky, root covered uneven surfaces and have the stamina to walk about five miles you'll do fine. I think the best thing is to have a routine where you are walking everyday including going on these hikes. I've been leading hikes on Mt.Tam since 1995, less so now. So I know the areas very well. And also what to look for and when. let me know if I can answer any questions, as far as getting started?
If the above concerns you let me say this. You have to start somewhere. Walking is very gentle. Come do as much as you can and then come again and do a little more. If you have to stop and go back to your car, just be aware of the return route. There is so much to gain, don't let negative concerns stop you.
The cost of living in the Bay Area is very high. We all have to work, or have had to work, very hard, to afford to live here. One of the mitigating factors is the openness to diversity found here. One aspect of life here we can control is how we access one of the most beautiful outdoor recreation areas in the whole country. Not only the beautiful lands, the Bay and bio-diversity but the weather to allow us to get outside 24/365.
With the above said, utilize our amazing outdoors to forget about work and worries or the ravages of age and everyday cares and achieve a relaxed state of mind and body to the greatest extent you can. That's the goal of this Meetup and has been my personal goal for over twenty-seven years of spending as much time outdoors as I can. I'm never disappointed by this local outdoor experience. As well as the socializing, potential new friends met. Resulting in fulfillment of another vital need, maintaining our emotional well being and staying mentally healthy as well.
The bang for the effort put in, outweighs the driving time effort and the trade-offs, versus something else I could be doing.
It seems many have the impression that to have a fulfilling outdoor experience something very special must be experienced, via thrill seeking. The lure of a waterfall, spectacular views, sunsets, the full moonrise, the very peak of the wildflower bloom, some sort of special outdoor event, an unusual snowfall here, the height of fall foliage, mushrooms in profusion or some other unusual or rare occurrence must be sought to get the bang the effort requires.
Don't get me wrong the above are all fabulous. But they do not result in your having a sustainable, regular program for good health, well being, relaxation and fitness. And the great fallacy is, yes the above are great, but a plain, old regular hike or walk, once or twice a week is so fulfilling all by itself. Not just hit or miss thrill seeking, but a way of life that results in sustainable, ongoing happiness and health.
Liability Disclaimer:
By signing up for this event you agree to assume all responsibility for your own safety, health consequences, conduct and well-being, and you hereby release its organizers, hosts and participants from any and all liability, claims, demands or causes of action that you now have, or may have in the future, for illness, injuries, damages, and/or economic loss of any kind or nature, arising in whole or in part out of the activities, advice, or information contained herein. You are also acknowledging that you are aware and have made your guests aware of the risks, dangers and hazards associated with this type of outdoor activity and freely accept and fully assume all such risks, dangers and hazards.
Upcoming events (4+)
See all- Mrs.Doubtfire-Father's Day Tour,Mansions/Victorians-SF Arch.Tour-PacificHeights.Gino's Grocery Co, San Francisco, CA
Please note: This tour is designed to accommodate, like any good dad would, to make a wider group happy. Here's how it works! By having the tour work for those who want either a 1.5 hour outing. Or those who want a deeper dive and can do a 3.0 hour tour. The possibility of a brunch, afterward, at La Mediterranee or Janes on Fillmore is something I like to do so join for that if you like.
The event is called the Mrs. Doubtfire Tour in honor of Dads, especially the ones who weren't cut-out for the role as perfectly as some would prefer. (Also in-memorial to Robin Williams.)
There is available free parking around the neighborhood and no restriction on weekends. There is parking around Alta Plaza Park between Steiner & Pierce, on Jackson St.
My go-to spot is on Pierce St. between Jackson St. & Pacific. It is very steep there, but the parking is at 90 degrees. (Don't park by a meter, like those on Fillmore.)About midway we'll stop for a break at Lafayette Park. Restrooms and view the surrounding houses from the atop the park. There we'll talk about one of the strangest real estate/housing situations in SF history, that went on for forty years. The Samuel Holladay matter.
Pacific Heights is best known for being one of the most affluent neighborhoods in San Francisco. This tour highlights not only the architecture, but also the people who built, occupied and maintained these grand properties. About 20 of which will be on our tour with a few sentences of information about each property.
The walking tour is about 2.5 miles for the shorter group and 4.0 miles for the deeper dive group. We'll go as far west and north as Scott & Vallejo Sts. and to the south, Lafayette Park
Here's a simple link that will allow you to support the Meetup and add a thank you. During the tour, I'll just pass the hat and offer a Venmo link. Either way, please help support, Walking With a Guide.
I think it's fun to learn about San Francisco's Victorians, here's the dope.
San Francisco has generally, five styles of Victorians. Information about these five styles is below:1. Flat front Italianate- (earliest Victorians in SF), 1860s.
2. Italianate with slanted or square bay windows, 1870s.
3. San Francisco Stick and Stick-Eastlake, 1880s. (see photo below)
4. Queen Anne Row House, most common in SF, late 1880s on.
5. Queen Anne Tower House, one of the most majestic styles, especially when situated on a corner property, late 1880s until the style stopped around 1910, in San Francisco. (stopped earlier elsewhere).
(We'll find at least one of each on the tour.)
Details and Gingerbread, what to look for-
Type of Entry & Doorway(maybe a rounded Moongate entry)-Decorative Ironwork- fencing or high above, at the roof-line
Floral Decor-Garlands (one of many types of decorations known as *"Gingerbread")
Fish scale&Diamond shingles among many other shapes.
Tower & Witch's Cap, on the Queen Ann Tower House.
Stained Glass, Beveled Glass, Leaded Glass.
Carvings/Molded Plaques of Grotesque faces. (see image below)
Sunbursts- often painted gold in color
Gables in a variety of material- (mainly redwood)
Newel Posts, Balusters and Finials on Tower tops and roof peaks.
Development of woodworking mills South of Market provided the ornaments with which to add the "gingerbread" to the Victorian houses. There was an Old English custom of using fancy cutouts of gingerbread to decorate wedding cakes. The term gingerbread was subsequently used to describe the decorating of Victorian houses.
1860 - 1870s Italianate: Buildings were vertical in emphasis with rounded classical detail. Earliest had flat windows & flat roofs with false roof fronts.
1880s Stick Style (also called Eastlake): The early buildings in this genre relied heavily on plane vertical board decorations. Squared off bay windows appear. (see photo below)
Late 1880s and 1890s Queen Anne : Sloping roofs appear, not hidden behind a high false front. Queen Ann Row Houses are the most seen of the five Victorian styles in SF.
In Queen Ann surfaces are covered in a variety of patterns with fish scale and diamond shingles, lap siding and masonry, sometimes all in the same building.
Rooflines in the Queen Anne were irregular, combining the witches hat roof on a rounded or octagonal tower, sometimes decorated with spool work and gable braces. Frieze bands of foliated patterns wrapped around towers.
The style popular after Victorians, 1895 to 1910 Edwardian and Colonial Revival: The continued elaboration of Victorian ornamentation and facade shapes reached its height in the early 1890s.
After that and into the 1900s there was a gradual move towards simplicity and away from excess and toward, order. As these two styles, Edwardian and Colonial Revival, shared characteristics that were distinguished by the restrained use of classical ornament, flat planes and facades which were square or rectangular and were topped by either a hip roof or a flat roof with a heavy cornice.
The brash individuality of the late Victorians subsided into reticence and good manners of the Edwardian style. Victorian eccentricity gave way to strict conventions, quiet lines and understated quality materials. Money now made understatement its chief method of display. Style was no longer measured in pounds of gingerbread ornament per square foot, but in elegant proportions and an air of sophistication.
After the 06' earthquake apartments in substantial buildings became popular with well-to-do San Franciscans. Take a look at one of these.
If you would like a look at a full floor condo/coop apartment, here is a link to an interior tour of 1940 Broadway, 8th floor. - Mission District(Southeast), Victorian Architecture and a Brief HistoryHaus Coffee, San Francisco, CA
(Photo above: an Omnibus Co. horse drawn streetcar, runs on Howard Street, in front of grand homes, 1886. Horse drawn street cars started running in the Mission in the 1850s.)
Enjoy a Victorian heritage, architectural walking tour, for the Southeast Mission District. Locations from between 24rd & 26th, from Shotwell to Harrison. This is a very interesting neighborhood that will be fun to explore and discover the ins and outs, nooks and crannies and architectural pathways. All and all by the time the first round is done we'll have found thirteen different tours in the Southeast Mission. Don't miss the first one.
Having grown up on the East Coast in Philadelphia, I lived, worked in and visited the well known, large and small, famous historic districts: most well known, Beacon Hill in Boston, Greenwich Village in NYC, Georgetown in D.C., Society Hill in Philadelphia (I lived there for twelve years.). Unfortunately San Francisco lost its most historic areas in the 1906 Earthquake & Fire. But a large portion of the other side of town survived. Thus the Mission, SF's oldest neighborhood becomes San Francisco's most historic neighborhood, which is borne out from what I've seen. I'll have to do a little research to find out if the SF Planning Dept. agrees?What do the Victorian houses look like out there? In every neighborhood in SF the Victorians differ.
The SF Planning Dept., has done extensive studies of the history, buildings and architecture of several City neighborhoods. For example, the Bayview Hunters Point Area B Historic Context statement is a 182 page study with many photographs and building listings documenting this area.
An excellent Historic Context statement exists for the Mission districts which will add greatly to knowledge of this area. For a deep dive, into detailed SF neighborhood history, click the link.
