Architecture Wednesday: San Francisco Oasis

I love San Francisco; I have lived in San Francisco. And if I had the coins I’d be living in this house in San Francisco; in this most remarkable modern oasis that is unlike any home. Located South of Market, and sited behind unassuming concrete walls and doors of steel is a most tranquil retreat.

When you walk through the doors you enter into your own never-before-seen private park, a haven of mature trees and lush botanicals. On the left is a set of oversized casement windows, with French doors that open to a dramatic foyer. Inside, soaring wooden ceilings unite adjacent rooms and skylights while three sets of large glass walls visually extend the living space to the verdant outdoors while floors of warm, polished concrete suggest the casual sophistication of urban living.

At centerstage lies the living room—accented by a large skylight and a fireplace. At one of the sets of glass casement windows, the dining area becomes al fresco with the opening of French doors. A bright, modern kitchen, with substantial countertops and storage, fuels entertaining lies just behind the living area. A large library or home office or secondary living area is sunlit by a skylight and a third set of large casement windows. At the front of the home sliding doors of frosted glass open to the ensuite bedroom with a fireplace & spa-like bathroom with dual vanities and a glass-enclosed shower. Plus, there is tandem off-street parking for three cars in an oasis in the midst of one of the greatest cities on Earth and at just $4.6M.

Now where did I put my checkbook?

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Before Stonewall There Was Compton's Cafeteria

In the LGBT+ community, Stonewall is often seen as the turning point in the fight for our rights but there was another riot, on the other coast, about three years earlier. It was known as the Compton's Cafeteria Riot and it occurred in the summer of 1966 in the Tenderloin district of San Francisco.

George Compton owned several cafeterias in San Francisco from the 40s through the 70s, but it was the Compton’s in the Tenderloin where many transgendered people would gather. In those days—the 40s, 50s, and 60s—transgendered people were unwelcome in gay bars, so they began to meet at other places throughout the city and since Compton’s was open 24-hours, it made the perfect meeting spot.

At that time, transgendered people were commonly referred to by themselves, other gays, and non-gays as Hair Fairies, and because cross-dressing was illegal at the time, police could use the mere presence of transgender people in a bar as a pretext for making a raid and closing the bar down. However, like Stonewall, this hot summer night in 1966 would prove to be the straw that broke the camel's back.

That night, police were called to Compton’s because, allegedly, a group of transgendered people were being especially boisterous. The management felt they needed to go and called the police. One officer, accustomed to manhandling transgendered people, attempted to arrest a transwoman and she was not having it; she threw her coffee in the officer's face and it was on. Dishes and food were thrown; furniture was upended. The large plate glass window that fronted Taylor Street was shattered. As police called for reinforcements, the riot spilled out into the street where a newsstand was set on fire and a police car had all its windows broken. Many were arrested that night, but like Stonewall, it wasn't over.

The next evening more transgendered people showed up at Compton’s, along with the L, G, and B’s in the gay community. Militant hustlers and street queens, members of Vanguard, the first known gay youth organization in the United States, which had been organized with the help of radical ministers at Glide Memorial Church, came along as well. A lesbian group of street people, the Street Orphans, also went to Compton’s that night.

It was a more civil demonstration that second night, with the community simply picketing the cafeteria whose new policy was not to allow transgendered people service. And, as happens, when it became apparent that their quiet march was getting them nowhere, the group, before disbanding, shattered the newly installed plate-glass windows of the cafeteria again.

The Compton Cafeteria riots were a big deal in San Francisco in the 60s but have been largely forgotten over these last forty years. It wasn't until a documentary, Screaming Queens: The Riot at Compton's Cafeteria, that the story was reborn, and retold. On June 22, 2006, a memorial plaque was placed in the sidewalk in front of the cafeteria site, which is now the Oshun Center, a free clinic for women.

It may not have been as big as Stonewall, but it was just as important, and may have lit that fuse in New York City three years later.

Architecture Wednesday: San Francisco Home With Guesthouse and Secret Garden

This is a special house in a very special city; a majestic home, a one-of-a-kind compound with two historic buildings set on a tree-lined block with its own private garden of towering palms, bamboo, flowering native plantings. With a powerful history from an earthquake shelter to a pipe organ factory to, well it is San Francisco, a bath house , there is a rich provenance in this property.

The two well-appointed dwellings offer a divine retreat from The City, potential for large scale entertaining and offering its occupants working space for artistic endeavors, collaboration, exchange of ideas and study.

In the main house, with soaring rugged beams and ceilings, is an expansive great room with tall windows facing the garden offering southern light. The open plan room features a living room with great fireplace, a dining area, and a professionally appointed kitchen, warmed by wide-plank flooring.

The main floor also includes a meditation-yoga space, one and one-half baths, a separate butler's pantry-catering kitchen as well as an additional full bath, clad in slate stone and ancient Indonesian wood, in the garage area for a post surf shower.

A mezzanine wraps the space and functions as an open studio space or lounge on one end, overlooking the main salon and providing access to the private sleeping quarters at the other; one is a sky-lit primary suite with en suite bath, as well as two additional bedrooms with luxurious shared bath, and private office.

Across the garden and up a flight of stairs is the charming one-bedroom guest cottage with classic turn-of-the-century detailing and a fresh modern finish; a combination living and dining area, a luminous lounge and deck overlooking the garden and its own private garage with storage, laundry, and workshop.

So much going for it: two homes in a total of 3475 square feet with five bedrooms and five full bathrooms for $4.8 million.

As always click to emBIGGERate …

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