San Francisco’s Victorians Are Going Grey—to the Dismay of Many
San Francisco’s homes were bathed in color long before the Internet came along. From the Painted Ladies of Alamo Square to the psychedelic houses of Haight-Ashbury, the town’s Edwardian and Victorian homes have only increased their visual significance.
But San Francisco’s color cacophony could fade in favor of trendy, muted neutrals, which some consider depressingly frumpy. “I walk around the neighborhood every day and see all these gray houses,” Richard Segovia, a longtime missionary whose mural-covered house has attracted cash offers of up to $ 2.5 million, recently told The Guardian. “It’s like a cemetery.”
Granted, the bright moldings and whimsical painted doors that helped define the city’s residential architecture often clash with the true history of painting Victorian homes. “When these Victorians started out, they didn’t have that many color options – usually white or gray, lead-colored,” gray house architect and resident David Baker told The Guardian.
“I think we shouldn’t take it seriously,” said Baker. “It’s just color.” But don’t try to tell some locals that this point of civic pride is all about color. For long-time residents and color advocates, eye-catching colors are a window into the diverse personalities of the city.
“[The] The beauty of San Francisco lies in the Victorians and Edwardians and the contrast of the houses and the curves and the details, ”said Fred Messbarger, a resident of the Mission, whose Italian house from the 1870s mixes several shades of blue with a neon green door, among other things. “One house could have completely different colors than the others.”
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The trend towards subdued monochromatism is admittedly popular in other parts of the country. “I think the main reason is because it’s a trend toward simplicity and modernity,” said Bob Buckter, a longtime color consultant who has worked on an estimated 18,500 living buildings in the Bay Area. “They are fed up with the polychrome look, some of these people. This trend has been noticed by others and some people just ride the wave of this trend. “
Whatever the reason for the creeping advance of neutrals in San Francisco, one could certainly argue that the great color debate is a focal point in a broader dispute over the city’s gentrification. But considering how much real estate costs in San Francisco these days, one could also argue that anyone lucky enough to live there should be able to paint their home any color (or rainbow colors) that he wants.
