San Francisco’s historic Alamo Square has no shortage of pre-earthquake Victorian homes, but when one as grand and well-kept as 809 Scott Street comes up for sale it’s a red letter day. In the last 10 years, only 27 single-family homes in the neighborhood have sold, as reported by SFAR MLS, which makes it all the more exciting. And so, it is without surprise that one lucky buyer got this one under contract in less than one week on market.

Below, historic photos of Alamo Square below courtesy of San Francisco Public Library, US National Archives and Records Administration.

History of Alamo Square

By the mid 1850s, Alamo Square Park (then called “Alamo Hill”) had been mapped on the site of a livestock watering hole on the horseback trail from Mission Dolores to the Presidio. The arrival of cable and horse cars up Hayes and McAllister Streets in the 1880s contributed to a building boom that produced many of the area’s homes, including 809 Scott Street (built 1888), the iconic seven Painted Ladies of Postcard Row (710-720 Steiner Street, built 1892-1896), and the legendary William Westerfeld House (1198 Fulton Street, built 1889).

At the time, the neighborhood was an enclave for prosperous businessmen of primarily German, English, and Irish Catholic descent. Among the immigrant population was Charles W. Kenitzer (born 1836), architect of 809 Scott Street. Kenitzer had arrived from Germany as a child along with his mother and architect father. He followed in his father’s craft, eventually rising to Partner of prominent Kenitzer and Kollofrath Architects. Information about the original owner of this particular house is not readily available, however it’s reasonable to suspect that shared heritage played a role in Kenitzer landing this project.

In the 100 years subsequent, Alamo Square experienced major transitions that took it to the brink and back. Having narrowly escaped destruction by earthquake and the devastating fires of 1906, the neighborhood entered a more cosmopolitan era. Jewish, Russian, Japanese and Black populations came in waves through the first half of the 20th century. As suburban communities sprung up post-WWII and drew people from the city, the neighborhood took a turn toward decay. In the 1960s, the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency readied plans to raze its deteriorating structures.

Formation of the Alamo Square Neighborhood Association in 1963 can be credited with turning things around. Alongside the group’s procurement of federal loans to bring buildings up to code, preservation-minded San Franciscans and middle-class families took up the cause to save the area’s ornate “fixer uppers” while grander homes found new life as institutional centers, boarding houses, and hippie hangouts. (The Westerfeld House has an especially colorful history from this period with appearances by the Grateful Dead, Family Dog concert promoters, Church of Satan founder Anton LaVey, Merry Prankster member Paul Krassner, and experimental filmmaker Kenneth Anger.)

809 Scott Street

According to the listing agent of 809 Scott Street, the home has had only two owners in the past 55 years. In that time, this masterpiece example of San Francisco Stick Victorian architecture has not just been preserved — it’s been skillfully brought into the 21st century. The 4-bed/3.5-bath/4,274sqft home has too many notable features to enumerate here exhaustively, but to mention a few:

› New foundation, garage and elevator to all three levels of living space

 

› Newly refinished hardwood flooring

 

› Original crown molding, ceiling medallions and hardware

 

› Many original light fixtures

 

› Chef’s kitchen with SubZero, WOLF and Miele appliances

 

› Custom cabinetry throughout

 

› State-of-the-art audio/visual system

The home’s $5,300,000 list price represents a 47% mark-up from the November 2017 purchase price of $3,600,000. By any measure, that’s appreciation at breakneck speed for a largely apples-to-apples resale. And you can bet the soon-to-be new owner paid at least the full list price.