1057 Steiner at Golden Gate. Chateau Tivoli.1890. Queen Anne/French Revival. William Armitage designed this massive twenty-two-room dwelling for Oregon lumber baron Daniel B. Jackson, who made it grander still by having his architect add the four adjacent party-wall houses to look like a continuation other 1057's façade around the corner along Golden Gate Avenue. You can even read its name, "Seattle Block," on the central gable. Unfortunately, the four houses are no longer painted to match.



The second owner, Ernestine Kraling, owner of the Tivoli Opera House, was followed in 1930 by a Yiddish school, which made it a cultural center for thirty years. By the time psychologist Rodney Karr and his partner Willard A. Gersbach bought it, the place had become a commune and a center for New Age groups. They found it run down and stripped of interior woodwork and columns.

Russell Epstein took eleven months to restore the exterior, from top to bottom, using color designs by the owners who were inspired by the pink fireplace tiles in the dining room.

Seventeen colors, plus gold leaf, were used on the exterior; frame green, deep river green, frieze pale green, Portland blue, aubergine, raisin brown, light turquoise, dark turquoise, light and dark clay, dusty rose body color, deep rose trim, duval rose, gray, white, moss, and hickory. The owners spent $6,000 on 23-karat gold leaf to give this magnificent building a paint job worthy of the architecture.

The Baroque top frieze, with musical notes and two designs, was stripped and remade on-site. Portions of it had to be built up and replastered. The classical English Adams relief frieze at cornice level had to be stripped, and in many places was restored by making new molds. Acanthus leaves and other decorations were worked on with dental tools.

Much of the relief had to be stripped and resurfaced. Wood trim had to be duplicated. The siding was extremely soft, so special care had to be taken with it. The entire façade had to be hand sanded after torch stripping. Balustrade spindles were removed for stripping.

The owners rededicated the house in celebration of the Harmonic Convergence in August 1987. The house is available for rent for special occasions. In June 1990. Chateau Tivoli will become [became] a bed-and-breakfast with six one- and two-bedroom suites decorated with faux finishes and Bradbury & Bradbury Art Wallpapers.

As a cultural center, the Tivoli will offer facilities for seminars and meetings and will also provide guests with the opportunity to attend musical and literary events in the grand style of the Victorian salons.




Pg.49 (Above). 1057 Steiner. This overview of the side shows the cresting restored to bring the only patterned shingled roof in San Francisco back into proportion. The cresting was fabricated by Bay Area Ironworks from Rodney Karr's designs and installed by the Barton Construction Company. The double entry and facing have been completely rebuilt, and the fence is new.

Pg. 49 (Right and below). 1057 Steiner. Entry-way. Aubergine high-gloss latex was used on the front columns, which resemble the columns at the Palace of Knossos on Crete.

Pg. 52 1057 Steiner. Front Parlor. The woodwork in the entryway and front two parlors had to be re-created in plaster and new wood. A century ago, Victorians used faux-grained plaster because it was cheaper and easier than wood. Redwood was also faux-grained and stained, especially for interiors where the look of oak was desired. The Wedgwood frieze echoes the Wedgwood tiling in the dining room. Lincrusta Walton was added and painted to go with the exterior Adamesque detailing. Lincrusta is a three-dimensional pressed linoleum or rubber like wall or ceiling covering that can be purchased in rolls and is still available in catalogs. It can be painted or stained to order.

Pomada, Elizabeth et. al., (November, 1989), The Painted Ladies Revisited, Published by E P Dutton ; ISBN (soft cover): 0525485082