5 unique HISTORIC HOMES to visit

276 HAAS-LILIENTHAL HOUSE

2007 Franklin Street

Pacific Heights ➀

+1 415 441 3000 sfheritage.org/haaslilienthal-house

277 Mcelroy

OCTAGON HOUSE

2645 Gough Street

Marina/

Cow Hollow ➀

+1 415 441 7512 nscda-ca.org/ octagon-house

If you’re wondering what life was like for a middle-class family in a grand Victorian at the turn of the 19th century, visit this home. It’s filled with original furnishings, clothing and even a giant antique train set. You can sign up for a tour of the house or a walking tour of the neighborhood.

During the 19th century some believed a house of this shape was a more efficient use of space, energy and cost than a typical square kind. That was short lived and this is one of three remaining octagon homes in the city. A historic landmark, it is now a museum of period arts, craft and furniture.

278

Spreckels Mansion

2080 Washington St

Pacific Heights ➀

This impressive chateau was built for sugar tycoon Adolph Spreckels and his wife, Alma. A love story of a rich, older man and a poor, younger woman who lived in the finest home in the city. It sits on an entire half block in the city and has its own crooked road.

279 Abner Phelps House

1111 Oak Street

Haight-Ashbury ➃

This is the oldest house in SF and it was constructed around 1850 for Abner Phelps, a colonel in the MexicanAmerican War and lawyer in the city. Where it was first built (before it was reassembled) remains a mystery. The house is pushed much further back from its neighbors, enabling Abner to build stores on nearby Divisadero Street.

280 Tobin House

1969 California St

Pacific Heights ➀

What appears as a half completed home was meant to be two. Michael De Young (founder of the San Francisco Chronicle) intended for his daughters to occupy two mirroring houses. One was happy to live there; the other was not. The second house was never built, which explains the abruptly ending archway.