A Victorian house in the Western Addition neighborhood of San Francisco may be the Zelig of the city's social history. From middle class professionals, to working class earthquake refugees, to Japanese entrepreneurs, to jazz mecca; it's seen it all.
"Few people who pass the violet-painted house at 1712 Fillmore St. give it a second look. It's another Victorian in a city full of them," writes Gary Kamiya. "But this building is different. Perhaps no other structure in San Francisco has such an extraordinary story. If its walls could talk, they would relate virtually the entire history of the city."
Kamiya explores the building's life story, from its construction in 1895, as a single-family home for middle class professionals, to its most recent brush with cataclysm - the urban renewal efforts of the 1960s that saw the Western Addition gutted, 2,500 Victorians torn down, and 20,000 to 30,000 residents displaced.
"Two living neighborhoods are gone. Yet the Queen Anne still stands. The ghosts of Nippon Drugs and Vout City and Jimbo's Bop City, of Hatsuto Yamada and John Coltrane and Charles Sullivan, still have somewhere to call home. That is as much of a happy ending as this story can have."
FULL STORY: S.F. building escaped rampant demolition
Savannah: A City of Planning Contrasts
From a human-scales, plaza-anchored grid to suburban sprawl, the oldest planned city in the United States has seen wildly different development patterns.
‘Reconnecting Communities’ Could Fund Highway Expansions
Applications to the program reveal a pattern of state agencies requesting funds for projects that perpetuate car-centric development with only nominal equity components.
Boston's New Mayor Wants to End Old Urban Renewal Districts
Michelle Wu, Boston's new mayor, is ready to finally end the government powers that displaced communities in the mid-20th century.
Depopulation Patterns Get Weird
A recent ranking of “declining” cities heavily features some of the most expensive cities in the country — including New York City and a half-dozen in the San Francisco Bay Area.
California Exodus: Population Drops Below 39 Million
Never mind the 40 million that demographers predicted the Golden State would reach by 2018. The state's population dipped below 39 million to 38.965 million last July, according to Census data released in March, the lowest since 2015.
Chicago to Turn High-Rise Offices into Housing
Four commercial buildings in the Chicago Loop have been approved for redevelopment into housing in a bid to revitalize the city’s downtown post-pandemic.
New Park Opens in the Santa Clarita Valley
The City of Santa Clarita just celebrated the grand opening of its 38th park, the 10.5-acre Skyline Ranch Park.
U.S. Supreme Court: California's Impact Fees May Violate Takings Clause
A California property owner took El Dorado County to state court after paying a traffic impact fee he felt was exorbitant. He lost in trial court, appellate court, and the California Supreme Court denied review. Then the U.S. Supreme Court acted.
How Urban Form Impacts Housing Affordability
The way we design cities affects housing costs differently than you might think.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
Town of Zionsville
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
