The Painted Ladies

The city lovingly refers to the more than 14,000 Victorian houses spread throughout San Francisco as “Painted Ladies.” Erected in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many of these structures are made of redwood. The city’s oldest Victorian homes were destroyed when the earthquake and fire of 1906 hit downtown San Francisco.

There are three main styles of San Francisco’s Victorian homes, though these styles were often blended during renovations by later owners. The Italianite style was inspired by Renaissance Italy and is known for having slanted bay windows and Corinthian columns. The Stick style uses wood strips rather than patterns for ornamentation and squared-off bay windows. The Queen Anne style is characterized by extravagant details like lacy ornamentation and rounded shingles.

A popular pictorial representation of San Francisco in TV shows, posters and movies is the strand of Victorian houses in the Alamo Square Historic District. This row of houses is surrounded by Golden Gate Avenue on the North, Fell Street on the South, Webster Street on the East and Divisadero Street on the West. For the best view of this collection of Painted Ladies, head to the heart of historic Alamo Square at Fulton and Steiner Streets and look east. You will enjoy how the soft colors of the Painted Ladies are offset by the jarring sky scrapers dotting the background of the city’s skyline.