San Francisco - Nob Hill

[CiNYC]

Well done man, very well done.

Despite the stunning architecture (including Dunn's Chambord building, one of my top five favorites in the city) the lack of action up there has taken a toll on those grand hotels.

It's a quiet residential enclave with very litle commercial activity and the old guard are determined to make it more so. (See Livenation's recent struggle to get more shows at the Masonic Center or the Fairmont's denied proposal for a new tower for example.)

It is a breathtaking neighborhood (and I love hanging at Huntington Park when I'm too lazy to go to Dolores), but I wonder what its future will be with such resistance to any and all non-residential activity.

[geomorph]

CiNYC, I think this neighborhood will continue to get a little quieter as a few of the hotels may transition to a more residential nature, but will always seem livelier because of the several institutions that will not go anywhere else as well as the proximity to the other lively areas a few blocks away.

[sfdandies]

Originally Posted by hauntedheadnc

Utterly lovely! Thanks so much for taking the time to post all of this...

I notice you keep mentioning how this or that replaced so-and-so's mansion. Why was that? Generally, people who have mansions are loathe to give them up, so why did a mansion district turn into a dense district of hotels and apartment buildings? Did it redevelop that way after the earthquake, perhaps? Or did it redevelop after another neighborhood suddenly become the place that all the rich people simply had to be?

1906 earthquake & fire destroyed all Nob Hill mansions but one, the Flood Mansion & even there, only the walls were left standing (it was rebuilt afterwards). The then-new Fairmont Hotel was also gutted & rebuilt. The wealthy had begun building in other parts of the city by 1915 anyway, & the disaster prompted most of the remainder to do the same.

[Rooted Arborial]

I had no idea.

I found myself laughing at how seriously and vainly ostentatious so much of this is.
I especially sputtered laughingly at the Masonic building which is like a Disney cartoon!

Yes, yes, everything is SO lovely and phony!

[Cirrus]

Originally Posted by sfdandies

1906 earthquake & fire destroyed all Nob Hill mansions but one...

I need to know what prompted you to register on the forum and post your first ever reply to answer a 13 year old question, LOL

[dktshb]

Originally Posted by Cirrus

I need to know what prompted you to register on the forum and post your first ever reply to answer a 13 year old question, LOL

LOL, glad he did because nob hill is a lovely beautiful neighborhood that was captured well in these photographs.

[Murphy de la Sucre]

Love the nobil

[Murphy de la Sucre]

the first pic i bet 70% of the watchers would say it was somewhere in mideast

[geomorph]

Originally Posted by Murphy de la Sucre

the first pic i bet 70% of the watchers would say it was somewhere in mideast

Interesting observation, I can imagine that it does!

I can't believe how blurry many of my pictures look in this thread, they were taken at the end of life for a camera I had!