Liberty-Hill Historic District

"Liberty-Hill became a San Francisco Historic District in 1972. It is bounded by 20th Street, Mission Street, Dolores Street and 22nd Street. The district is an intact example of 19th century middle class housing. It is one of the earliest residential "suburbs" to be developed in San Francisco, with major development starting in the 1860s and continuing until the turn of the century. Because the fire following the 1906 earthquake was stopped at the 20th Street boundary of the district, it contains examples of all architectural styles prevalent during the developmental period. The houses range in size from the small workingman's cottages on Lexington and San Carlos Streets, with their uniform façades and setbacks, to the individually built houses on Liberty and Fair Oaks Streets, with varying architectural façades and setbacks. While there are only a few grand houses in the district, a number were designed by architects well known in the Bay Area, including Albert Pissis, the Newsom brothers, Charles Shaner, William H. Toepke, Charles Havens, and Charles J. Rousseau. The initial residents in the district included professionals, laborers and small scale entrepreneurs. Seventy percent of the buildings are Victorian, with forty-two percent being Italianate, twenty percent Stick and eight percent Queen Anne. Approximately one third are architect designed. 163 buildings (over half of all the buildings) contribute to the Victorian character of the district. 74 buildings are potentially contributing in that reversal of inappropriate alterations could restore their original character. The first two blocks of Liberty Street were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983."