Buying0:58 video
Spot the Victorian
Shopping for a Victorian in San Francisco? Here’s how to tell three styles apart, starting with the bay window.
In writing
Three Victorian styles, told apart by the bay window. Italianate, about 1865 to 1885: a straight roofline, a bracketed cornice, and a slanted bay that rises right into it. Stick, about 1880 to 1900: the bay goes square, with long brackets at the cornice and decorative stickwork. Queen Anne, about 1885 to 1910: gables face the street, the shapes turn asymmetrical, and some get a tower.
Why so many in Pacific Heights and the Western Addition? In 1906, Van Ness became the fire’s western line (except between Clay and Sutter, where the fire reached Franklin Street), and the neighborhoods beyond it were largely saved.
You can tour a Queen Anne at the Haas-Lilienthal House, 2007 Franklin Street. Tours run on select dates through SF Heritage; regular tours are paused Oct. 16 to 31, 2026, so check sfheritage.org for dates.
The transcript
Word for word, as narrated in the video.
Shopping for a Victorian in San Francisco? Here’s how to tell three styles apart, starting with the bay window.
Italianate, about 1865 to 1885. A straight roofline, a bracketed cornice, and a slanted bay that rises right into it. Stick, about 1880 to 1900. The bay goes square, with long brackets at the cornice and decorative stickwork. Queen Anne, about 1885 to 1910. Gables face the street, the shapes turn asymmetrical, and some get a tower.
Why so many in Pacific Heights and the Western Addition? In 1906, firefighters made Van Ness the fire’s western line, and the neighborhoods beyond it were largely saved.
You can tour a Queen Anne at the Haas-Lilienthal House on Franklin Street.
Sources
Where each date and figure comes from.
- SF Planning, Preservation Bulletin 18 (dates and features)
- Liberty Street Historic District, National Register nomination (bay shapes)
- Earthquake History Committee, 1906 fire paths
- Haas-Lilienthal House
- SF Heritage, events (checked Oct. 15, 2026)
Images in the video
Italianate: Dllu, CC BY-SA 4.0. Stick-Eastlake: Dale Cruse, CC BY 2.0. Haas-Lilienthal House (two): Daderot, CC0. All via Wikimedia Commons, cropped.
The drawings are simplified illustrations, not specific houses. The fire map is a simplified diagram.
