A Visit to the House on Jackson Street ....... October 4, 2023

Photograph taken by Lester Hayes in 1907. From the King Album.

 

The exterior of the Jackson Street home. Pictures taken October 4, 2023 by Patti Alden.

   Way back on August 15, 2021 I posted several pictures of a home that my Great Great Grandfather Charles J. King built in San Francisco in 1907.  The photographs were in a family album embossed with the name Mrs. C.J. King.  You can read about the journey to find the home and its location by clicking the link Jackson Street House on the right.  Since then I have been in contact with the new owner of the home off and on, waiting for an exterior renovation to be completed so that we could visit the home in person.  That day came in early October of this year! The weather was a beautiful 84 degrees in San Francisco and the sun was shining.  It was a great day for a quick trip to the coast. 

   

Crossing the Golden Gate Bridge!

     A  little visual history first.....

The home in 1907 during the initial construction.  You can see the three stories with the top window framed in and the large bay window underneath that had been started.  The home was built as two separate family dwellings with access to the top two stories via a staircase that ran up the right side of the home. 

A 2021 Google Image.  At an unknown date the exterior of the home was simplified and many decorative details were left off after a thick layer of stucco was added.  A garage was also added underneath the bottom story some time ago when the street levels were lowered. 

   The Jackson Street House after exterior renovations by the current owners.  Note the exterior lighting and new landscaping.  It has a fresh, modern look that is well balanced with the addition of molding that mimics the original. The roof railing at the top was not added back as a part of the renovation, primarily due to the additional cost. The next door neighbors look like they are in the middle of exterior renovations also. Shared by the owner September of 2022.

  The home on the left was there when C.J. King built this home. 

 

 You can see the back portion of the home. 

    The beautiful bay windows. They are exquisite!

Looking up! The smooth texture of the stucco gives the home a modern look.  This looks very similar to the finish that was on the original home. 

The staircase and stairwell leading up to the top floor apartment.  There is also access to the second story apartment from here. The owners also added a small elevator to the home.  The first floor apartment is accessed by the second front door, and is currently being  rented out and was not available to look at. 

A closeup of the lattice on the landing. The owner believes it is original to the home.

I had shared a digital copy of our original photograph with the owner several months ago.  Their print is proudly displayed at the top of the stairs to tell the story of the home. 

The owner of the home led us up to her top story apartment and balcony.  This is the view from the balcony.  We have driven over the Golden Gate Bridge many, many times not even knowing that we could see this house from there!

Mom (Margaret) enjoying the view from the top floor balcony. Of course, her Great Grandfather would not have had this view of the bridge as it wasn't completed until 1937. Solar panels were a thing of the future too!  The owners installed solar panels on this home, and drive an electric car that is charged with the electricity generated by the solar panels.  As an engineer, I think Charles would find it all very fascinating!

An interior archway in the upstairs apartment.  At the time the home was built, the family servant may have lived up here.  The space has since been renovated with an updated kitchen, bath and laundry area  as well as extra living space extending out onto a new balcony.  You can still find original details here and there!

A close up of the archway molding detail. 

The curved vestibule leading to two similar bedrooms.  The floor is original. 

 Closeups of the floor and curving floor molding.  

Detail of the hallway molding....

Original windows in the small  hallway leading to the back portion of the apartment. There was lots of storage space in this section of the top story, and may have been where the household helpers kept the family linens or other items.  There is now a large updated bathroom at the end of this walk thru that serves as the master bathroom.  

Down on the second level is the owner's son's apartment and living quarters.  We were able to take a peak at some of the original elements in the rooms.  This room may have been a dining room at one point, but has been remade as a master bedroom.  The ceiling molding is absolutely beautiful!

Close up of the beautiful plaster work.

Mom (Margaret) admiring the plaster work ceiling molding in this bedroom.  

   Before we left, the owner showed us down to the basement/ garage area (we used the elevator!) and showed us where the little Airbnb apartment was in the back (yes, you can rent it out!!).  It was an amazing tour and we were so appreciative of the time she took to show us around her home and share her family's story.  She and her family have kept the look and feel of the original home while adding modern updates as most older homes in the area have done.  They have been a part of  preserving the valuable history of this beautiful city.  We certainly felt a tangible and physical connection to the past in this home, and a connection to Charles King especially.  He was known as a master carpenter and woodworker and we could see the craftsmanship and attention to detail in this home.   I am so thankful that his work has been preserved for many more generations to come. 

Margaret (Hansen) Boothby, Stephanie (Boothby) Efstratis, Patti (Boothby) Alden October 4 2023.

Jackson Street House, front steps. 

Heading home across the Golden Gate Bridge......

  Relationship Reference:  Me->Margaret Hansen Boothby->Margaret Elizabeth Hayes Hansen->Emma King Hayes Van Duzer->Charles and Anna King from St. Austell, Cornwall, England. 

Views of a Trip to Cliff House....Updated!

   What a difference a week makes.....

  If you have read previous posts relating to San Francisco, you know how much I love to use social media to connect with other people interested in the history of the area.  It has helped tremendously with my genealogy research, and has even brought about exciting connections (August 15, 2021 The Jackson Street House).

   Last week I posted a picture of Emma King (my great grandmother) and her father Charles J. King taking a walk on Ocean Beach with Cliff House in the far distance. It was one of three pictures from the King Album that were taken at this location and was probably taken around 1903-1905. After posting, I thought that the above picture would be a good one to share on social media, also. 

   I shared this picture on the FaceBook group San Francisco History to the 1920's to specifically point out the detail of the  Lurline Pier in the middle ground, as I thought the history of the pipeline was interesting and that not many people would know about it.  The post received almost 600 likes and lots of interesting comments.  One member soberly commented that her great grandfather, a grocer on Sutter Street, drowned off the Olympic Pier (the other name for the Lurline Pier) after one of his regular weekly swims in 1907.  It seems he would go out for two to three hours every Friday afternoon and was considered one of the best swimmers in the area. He sadly did not make it back on that day.  Others commented that they too had family pictures taken around the same location. Others had memories of getting splinters from the pier (it was taken down in 1967) or of swimming in one of the several salt water pools the pipeline delivered water to in town.  But the biggest surprise of all was when I got a private message from Gary S.    .........

  In my last post I recommended going to the website cliffhouseproject.com for more  in-depth information on Cliff House history.  Well, as it turns out, Gary is the creator of the website!  He said he loved the photo and asked if I would  consider letting him include the photograph on his website. So, after several back and forth emails and sharing of information, the King Album with the three pictures is now a part of the website.  He was very interested in the middle picture...as he has been trying to figure out what the stand/pavilion to the left of the picture was there for.  This picture was one of the few that he had seen of an up close view.   He said that he works with about a dozen local San Francisco historians and said they love to "deep dive" into photographs like these.  They still don't know what was going on at the pavilion! 

  Here is the full link to the website and to the King Album, which is now a shared part of collective San Francisco history, thanks to social media. 

                                              http://www.cliffhouseproject.com/albums/KingAlbum/album.htm

*********************

  

    And, I have more information on this picture as well.  After conversations with Mom (Margaret) and her dive into the trunk that holds some of the original glass plates that belonged to Lester F. Hayes, we determined that he did indeed take the picture.  To me it initially looked like a souvenir photograph that had been tinted as were so many postcards and pictures taken at the time. But, he had etched his name "L. Hayes" on the glass negative and then probably developed and tinted it on his own.  He was an aspiring photographer and had a studio on 22nd Street.   Either Nana or Granna added the colored pencil details later on.  That makes this picture even more special. 

  I also updated last week's post and with the help of my daughter added the YouTube video from 1903 taken on Ocean Beach. You are now one click away from being on the same beach as Emma and Charles at around the same time.  The video can also be found under "films" on the Cliff House Project website. 

   

The next big project is to get all the glass negatives scanned and reproduced. There are a few earthquake pictures that will be interesting to explore, as well as several of Nana (Emma) that I have not seen before.  Saving family history is a family effort, but well worth it! Thank you all. 

Relationship Reference:  Me->Margaret Hansen Boothby->Margaret Elizabeth Hayes Hansen->Emma King Hayes Van Duzer->Charles and Ann King

Friday's Featured Photograph (s) The King Album......Views of A Trip To Cliff House

   This is a tinted picture of the famous Cliff House in San Francisco.  It is in the King Family Album, and is one of three pictures in the album taken of the landmark.  The pictures can be dated to some time before September 7th, 1907, as the structure burned down on that date after having survived the 1906 San Francisco Great Earthquake and Fire.  

    This picture was printed on a heavier card stock than the rest of the photographs in the album and very well could have been a souvenir photograph that was tinted.   It is 10" by 6 1/2".  If you look closely, you can see hints of yellow, blue and pink on the horizon and in the sky, done in colored pencil by someone at a later date.  Perhaps Emma, or maybe her mother Anna made the pencil additions while remembering the visit to Cliff House.  An intriguing mystery! 

The same photograph, enlarged to show the detail of the building and cliff. You can see the pencil additions to the sky. They do not detract from the photograph, but add another layer to the story. 

 

The entrance to the Cliff House.  It looks like you could perhaps purchase souvenirs at the shaded booth on the left.  

 

An enlarged view of the same photograph.  The house was a beautiful structure, built after the first Cliff House burned down in 1894.  This is Cliff House number 2, rebuilt by Adolph Sutro for the grand sum of $75,000.  It was fashioned after a French Chateau. It burned down in the span of two hours. 

  

  I have shared this picture previously, but I will share it again, as it was taken at the same time as the above picture. You can see the Lurline or Olympic Pier in the background.  The pier  was built to protect the intake pipe that provided sea water to the Lurline Baths on Bush and Larkin streets.  Members of the public could rent a bathing suit and swim in either heated or cold pools for 30 cents.  (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lurline_Baths).

   This must have been a lovely excursion to the seaside, with a long walk down Ocean  Beach. Perhaps it was taken on a Sunday afternoon.  The day looks bright and sunny.  My Great Grandmother, Emma King, is on the left with her father Charles J. King on the right. This picture certainly gives us a sense of place and time.  It is wonderful that we can still go back and revisit this trip to the seaside by opening the album and turning the pages. 

   I would date this excursion at around 1903-04.  Emma looks like she might be around 15-16 years of age, and Charles is wearing a bowler hat typically seen around this time. The King family had previously been living in Grass Valley, California, and had moved to San Francisco around these dates.   They were living on Golden Gate Avenue at the time of the earthquake in 1906. 

Below is a YouTube video entitled Panorama of Ocean Beach and Cliff House (1903) H. J. Miles.  If you look closely in the beginning of the video, you can see windmills in the background.  And lots of bowler hats!

 For more information on Cliff House history, please take a look at https://cliffhouse.com/history/

Relationship Reference:  Me->Margaret Hansen Boothby->Margaret Elizabeth Hayes Hansen->Emma Lavinia King Hayes Van Duzer->Charles J. King

52Ancestors52Weeks Week 36 Theme: Working........Frank Brondolo Was a Master Welder in San Francisco

Francesco Brondolo

b. April 3 1900 Vesime, Italy

d. October 24 1985 San Francisco, California

Enlarged from lower photograph. 

Taken around the late 1900's.  A welding/auto shop in San Francisco, California. Uncle Frank is posing in the middle of the group. This was possibly taken at the service shop for the L. H. Rose-Chalmers Co. which sold cars on Van Ness Ave. 

Taken around the late 1900's.  Enlarged from the lower photograph.  Note the welding glasses!

 

A welding shop in San Francisco, California.  Uncle Frank in on the right. 

     Labor Day pays tribute to the contributions and achievements of  American workers.  It became an official federal holiday in 1894, just several years before my Great Uncle Frank was born in the small little village of Vesime Italy.  Uncle Frank came to America at the age of 13  to live in the the growing metropolis of San Francisco and entered the labor force as an apprentice welder at the age of 16.  The pictures shown above are in the Boothby family collection and are a priceless window into his early career.  

  These next excerpts are from Uncle Frank's memorial service held on Sunday, November 3, 1985 in San Francisco.  These memories are from my Dad, Dale Boothby, and Kent Boothby, his brother, as well as Terry Brondolo Boothby, their mother (my Grandmother "Nino").  Nino was Uncle Frank's youngest sister.  

  "The remarks I am about to make are a compilation of remembrances from my brother and me, and from our families.  We have been asked to speak of Uncle Frank as we remember him so you might know him as we did."..........

  "Uncle Frank was born Francesco Brondolo in Vesime, Italy on April 3, 1900.  He was one of four brothers and two sisters who came to America a few at a time...'on the installment plan' as my mother says.  Uncle Frank's turn to immigrate came when he was 13.  He started working at odd jobs when he arrived here and went to work full-time at 16, learning the welding trade. He became a master welder and worked at that exacting trade until his later years when his eyesight would not allow him to continue.  He seemed to have a natural instinct for metals and their varying properties and, indeed, taught his craft to many workers in San Francisco who eventually opened up their own shops.  He was proud of his ability to troubleshoot problems in various welding shops, staying until he got a shop straightened out and working up to his standards.  He was a hard worker, one who took immense pride in his abilities.  He liked a neat and orderly shop and expected those who worked with him to do the same."

Uncle Frank's WWI Registration Card from 1917-18.   He was living on Bannam Place (with another brother) and was working as a serviceman for L. H. Rose-Chalmers at 1230 Van Ness Ave.  In the late 1900's Van Ness was considered "Automobile Row".  

After some sleuthing I found this advertisement for the Rose-Chalmers Co. where Uncle Frank worked around 1917-18.  He would have been around 18 years of age. 

San Francisco Call Vol. 104 No. 113 13 Nov. 1918.  

A San Francisco Directory for 1918..Uncle Frank worked as an apprentice, and lived at 1015b Golden Gate Avenue when this directory came out. 

A photograph of a very handsome Uncle Frank, probably taken around the early 1920's. It was taken in the Boussum Studios on Geary Street.  Boussum was a leading photographer in  northern California in the 1920's.  

Uncle Frank's WW II Registration Card (1940's).  He was working at the Link Belt Co. at 400 Paul Ave. in San Francisco. He was most likely working as a welder.  This address is currently the site of a large power-shell data center bringing next-generation technologies to the San Francisco Bay Area/Silicon Valley.  (fifteenfortyseven Critical Systems Realty)

    Uncle Frank's work ethic continued in his home....

  "His home and his wife were the center of Uncle Frank's life.  He took meticulous care of his home, always fixing things or making an improvement.  He built a large concrete block wall around their back yard.  He took pride in his garden, flowers and trees.  In the basement of their home he had a well-equipped shop where he made many things.  He could always see an easier way to do something.  One result was a piping system in the backyard by which the whole yard could be watered with one flick of the wrist.  Finding his mother's pasta machine too much to trouble to crank by hand, he electrified it complete with belts and pulleys so that it turns out pasta faster and with less effort.  My brother and his wife used it recently and ended up with pasta all over the house!"

Dad (Dale Boothby) in front of a fireplace screen that Uncle Frank welded (possibly the San Carlos house?)

Uncle Frank welded the fireplace screen for the Mainhart Drive house in Grass Valley.  He also welded the fireplace screen for his home with Aunt Dena on 20th Avenue in San Francisco.  They were works of art and a labor of love. 

 (photo of Margaret Hansen Boothby with me, 1962.)

The fireplace screen is still in place!  This is from a recent real estate listing for the 481 20th Avenue home of Uncle Frank and Aunt Dena. 

Uncle Frank (middle) with Nino (Terry) on left and Aunt Dena on the right. 1937. His favorite girls! 

From the photo album of Frank and Dena Brondolo.

  
"When his bathtub and shower were being installed (in the 20th Ave. house) Uncle Frank was not content with the standard installation and made the plumbers put the shower head at the opposite end of the tub from the controls so that Aunt Dena would not get her hair wet when she turned on the shower."

The bathroom at 481 20th Avenue. The shower head is still at the opposite end of the tub today. 

  Uncle Frank's ingenuity carried on into many family members' lives also....

  "He invented many items and enjoyed making them for family members to enjoy, too.  He put together a barbeque grill that would raise and lower with a crank; He made everyone his own version of a step trash can; he crafted a fireplace set for our home in Grass Valley."  As a young girl visiting Nino in Sonoma or Aunt Dena in San Francisco I loved using those trash cans and watching how the mechanism worked as you stepped on the little metal foot pedal at the bottom of the can.   Sometimes I wish we had kept at least one!  

  The last bit of his memorial summed up his life beautifully....

  "Pablo Cassals has said that 'Art is a product of labor' and by that definition Uncle Frank's life was a work of art.  He labored at his craft, he gave of his time at home and with his family, he lived a good, long life and today we must say goodbye."

    Uncle Frank worked in his later years at the St. Francis Hotel at Union Square in San Francisco where he did maintenance work and washed their coins.  His career as a welder was over, due to deteriorating eye sight.  And, there is still much more to say about his life, but I will save that for more posts.  On this Labor Day 2021 I am remembering his skills, career and contributions to his new home in the city of San Francisco, and to his family.  He is still very fondly remembered by many family members even after we said our goodbyes so many years ago.   

  

  Relationship Reference:  Me->Dale Boothby-> (Nino) Tersilla  Brondolo Boothby->sister to Frank Brondolo.