twin Victorians

Around the corner from yesterday's mural are these two Victorian houses.  Although they are now duplexes, they retain their classical features and elegant lines.  They both need refurbishing but are still beautiful pieces of turn of the century architecture.  Oakland continues to have a huge number of Victorian-era houses still in use.

Victorian detail

This is a detail from an idiosyncratically painted Victorian house in East Oakland.  To my eye this is a 1950s color combination but likely painted fairly recently.  But it gets your attention.

yesterday and today

A downtown scene with the California State Building in the background.  Despite the proliferation of tall buildings downtown, Oakland remains an incredible repository for Victorian-era buildings citywide.

The Pardee House

Welcome to the Pardee Home and museum.  Enoch Pardee came to California for the Gold Rush and ultimately served in the state legislature.  His son George served as governor and was particularly well respected due to his leadership after the 1906 earthquake.  The family home, built in the late 1860s, is considered to be one of the finest preserved Italianate homes in the state.  Lucky for us, Oakland is rich is Italianate architecture.  George's wife was a collector extraordinaire of many things including Chinese altars, Alaskan scrimshaw, and Mexican rosaries, which are displayed in the home along with many of the original furnishings.  In the 1970s the home was slated for destruction for the building of the 980 freeway.  Oaklanders rose up in protest and ultimately had it declared an historical landmark, thereby preserving it and its furnishings.  Though saved from the wrecking ball, it is now cloistered in a less than beautiful part of downtown where two freeways converge.  You can actually see it from the freeway where it glows despite its surroundings.

painted ladies

There is an astonishing number of Victorian houses, especially in East and West Oakland, that continue to exist---if not thrive.  Here are two in East Oakland on the corner of 15th Avenue and Foothill that obviously show the care and love of their owners.  They are so cheerful that I had to stop and take a snap.

FYI:  I'm on a 3-week trip and my wi-fi isn't cooperating much with either posting or leaving comments.  Sorry.

another Victorian era home

Another well preserved Italianate home in the San Antonio district of East Oakland on East 17th Street.  As I drive around the neighborhood, I'm astonished at the number of Victorian era structures still in use.  Although once a large family home, this one is now divided up into seven apartments.  I think the wrought iron fence is original to the property circa 1880, as is the giant magnolia tree that shades the south side of the house.  Isn't it graceful looking?

another Oakland Victorian

This large Victorian Italianate building still holds court on International Blvd. and 13th Avenue.  This style was popular between the 1860s through the 1890s.  It's hard to tell whether or not this was originally a single family dwelling.  It now functions as a retail store with apartments above.  If you look carefully, you can see a little boy looking out the corner window.  This is one of hundreds of Victorian era structures still in use in Oakland.

Queen Anne on International Blvd.

International Blvd. runs from downtown Oakland southeast through both San Leandro and Hayward.  Many still call it by it's original name:  E. 14th St.  A decade or so ago, local politicos wanted to honor the diverse cultures that live in East Oakland as well as burnish the tarnished image of this section of the city, so renamed the street.  A drive down this thoroughfare and around its various neighborhoods reveals a treasure trove of pre-1906 buildings.  They survived the big SF quake and are still in use today.  This grand Queen Anne house is now the home of a Vietnamese real estate agency in the San Antonio neighborhood.