Category: Art

Saving Sunnyside Conservatory

Featured Sunnyside History2 Comments

By Amy O’Hair

Now a cherished local landmark, Sunnyside Conservatory narrowly avoided being completely demolished in the late 1970s. Saved by vigilant neighbors at that crisis point, it languished nonetheless with little support from the City for years before the persistent efforts of local residents brought about two phases of renovation. The last one in 2009 produced the remarkable small public park and truly unique event venue that stands today.

It has been fifty years since Sunnyside Conservatory became San Francisco City Landmark No.78 in 1975. The story of its salvation and renovations is all about the power of local activism, on the part of both individuals and organized groups. Over more than three decades, and in numerous stages, many people saw historic value and community potential in preserving the old structure and the special garden that surrounded it, and in various ways pursued that shared vision until it became a reality. It is a long and at times dramatic story.

Sunnyside Conservatory, 2025. Photo: Amy O'Hair, Sunnyside History Project
Sunnyside Conservatory, 2025. Photo: Amy O’Hair, Sunnyside History Project

The Beginnings 

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Fazekas, Ever Fazekas: A few more items by a perennial favorite

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By Amy O’Hair

All things Fazekas can be found linked on this page, including information on restoration.

Although this site is dedicated to hyperlocal histories of my neighborhood, Sunnyside, I have written stories from all over the city and further afield. One such subject spanning the wider swath of Bay Area history has proven itself persistently popular, year after year, since my first post about him in 2020—the San Francisco-based sculptor, inventor, and manufacturer Anton Fazekas (1878–1966).

Well-preserved example of the Classic unit. By Anton Fazekas, American Art Metal Works, San Francisco.
Well-preserved example of the Classic unit. By Anton Fazekas, American Art Metal Works, San Francisco.

In terms of view stats, 2024 was no exception: thousands of people came to find out about the Fazekas-designed address unit on the front of their house—and often how to refurbish it as well. His patented illuminated house numbers can be found on many thousands of houses here, admittedly many more people than call Sunnyside home.

I have also posted before about some of the Fazekas-designed items that have come my way, especially doorbell surrounds—small works of remarkable decorative art. These and other items, like the illuminated house number units, were manufactured by his company American Art Metal Works in the 1930s and 1940s, and bear that stamp on the back, sometimes with “Copyrighted” or a patent notice, depending on the item.

Here are two more doorbell surrounds, followed by another item, a doorknocker, which, as I’ll get to shortly, is not likely to have come from the artistic hands of the Master, but a product of the company after he retired and sold it in the 1950s. (Read the history behind the man in this post.) Continue reading “Fazekas, Ever Fazekas: A few more items by a perennial favorite” →

Unique Touches: Lighting Fixtures in Ida F McCain Houses

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By Amy O’Hair

Read the main post about the life and work of architect Ida F McCain here.

Ida McCain left her mark on almost all aspects of the houses she designed. An unstinting perfectionist who once took her shoe to a piece of substandard lumber to make sure the carpenter would replace it after she left, she exerted care on both the large-scale construction quality outside and the small details inside—including lighting fixtures. Some of these unique features can still be found in her houses. It was part of her brand to pay close attention to ‘feminine’ details.

Two Westwood Park families who live in McCain houses recently allowed me a look at what original details remain inside their homes. I was struck especially by the lighting fixtures that likely date to the construction—each one had unexpected details, each one was unusual in some way.

Some have hand-painted motifs that give a sense of the craftsman aesthetic. Some are made of metal that looks hand-wrought. Flourishes of flowers, leaves, and other botanical references predominant. Based on information from the current resident, they are very likely original fixtures; I surmise they were chosen by McCain, given the control she habitually exerted over design. (Do you have have a feature or fixture in a McCain house to share? Write me.)

This entryway pendent fixture (below) has several touches of bright red paint on the dark metal leaf and flower forms, which to my mind transforms it. Remarkable, even a bit quirky.

Overhead lighting fixture, in entryway of Westwood Park house designed by Ida F McCain in 1921. Hand-painted wrought-iron (?) metal. Photo: Amy O'Hair
Overhead lighting fixture, in entryway of Westwood Park house designed by Ida F McCain in 1921. Hand-painted wrought-iron (?) metal. Photo: Amy O’Hair

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‘A Guide to Friends at Night’: A Fazekas Flyer

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By Amy O’Hair
All things Fazekas are found linked on this page. Information on how to restore a unit found here.

A short post to share an artifact of the Fazekas phenomenon that recently came my way—a little flyer used by salesmen for the illuminated house number units sold by his company, American Art Metal Works.

Sales flyer for Fazekas’s illuminated house number units (front side). American Art Metal Works. Mid-1940s.
Sales flyer for Fazekas’s illuminated house number units (back side). American Art Metal Works. Mid-1940s.

It is made of lightweight paper and is about six by three and a half inches. There is a spot on the back for the salesman’s contact information. I believe the units were sold by door-to-door salesmen, and this would be a little something to leave at the door, for either the absent or the undecided homeowner.

The unit shown on the front is the Deco style model. I estimate by the price listed on it that it dates to the mid- to late-1940s. Below is an advertisement from 1940 with the Classic unit depicted. ‘Letter drops and bell buttons to match’ says the text—the Fazekas way, suites of matching items for the home, although the house number units were always his biggest sellers.

Advertisement for Fazekas's illuminated house number units, American Art Metal Works. San Francisco Police and Peace Officer's Journal, Nov 1940. Archive.org
Advertisement for Fazekas’s illuminated house number units, American Art Metal Works. San Francisco Police and Peace Officer’s Journal, Nov 1940. Archive.org

My favorite advertisement for American Art Metal Works comes from several years before Anton Fazekas invented and patented his very successful house number units. In the 1917 San Francisco Blue Book, he placed this full-page ad. Continue reading “‘A Guide to Friends at Night’: A Fazekas Flyer” →

Odds and Sods, Fazekas-Style

Sunnyside History2 Comments

By Amy O’Hair
All things Fazekas are found linked on this page.

Here I present some recent sightings and readers’ contributions to the Fazekas story. The original post about Anton Fazekas’ American Art Metal Works in San Francisco was a covid-era smash hit on this otherwise low-traffic website, and continues to attract a robust viewing, as people discover they have on their house a bit of artistic flare from the mind of a midcentury sculptor.

From Canada, With Love

First, a “most prized possession” from Murray in Canada, which has an amazing story to go with it. In Murray’s own words:

From Canada, a prized possession, the Classic unit. By Anton Fazekas, American Art Metal Works, San Francisco. Photo courtesy Murray Sylvester.
From Canada, a prized possession, the Classic unit. By Anton Fazekas, American Art Metal Works, San Francisco. Photo courtesy Murray Sylvester.

“I was visiting San Francisco, maybe 30 years ago. While wandering around I noticed the illuminated number signs on all of the houses. I fell in love with them and wanted one desperately. On a drive somewhere far south of San Francisco, I spotted a flea market. I couldn’t believe my luck. I found one of the number signs, identical to the ones in San Francisco! I brought it home and wired it up for a light. What makes this story even more amazing, my home address number was 30. The number with this sign was 30, along with several of the blank enamel slide-in spacers. It illuminated my address number for years.

“Fast forward, 25 years later, I moved and I look the number sign with me. The house number of my new home was 303. I had someone paint the number 3 on one of the spacers. It’s been illuminated ever since. It’s one of my favourite possessions.”

To think, a Fazekas unit two thousand miles away on an Ontario house.

Mystery Mail

I am not a great collector of objects, but my devoted spouse gives me unusual Fazekas items from time to time, and this rare find was a holiday gift: Continue reading “Odds and Sods, Fazekas-Style” →

City College Heads: Science and Inspiration

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By Amy O’Hair

Public art was an intrinsic part of the overarching vision that architect Timothy Pflueger had for the Ocean Campus of City College of San Francisco. Two massive sculptures, installed over eighty years ago, continue to please and inspire me as a local who often walks through the campus: Fred Olmsted’s “Leonard Da Vinci” and “Thomas Alva Edison.” Their creation is tightly inked to the founding of the campus in 1940.

Leonardo Da Vinci by Fred Olmsted. Science Hall, City College of San Francisco Ocean Campus. Photo: Amy O’Hair
Leonardo Da Vinci by Fred Olmsted. Science Hall, City College of San Francisco Ocean Campus. Photo: Amy O’Hair

The monumental faces themselves show smooth modernist planes and simplicity—and each reveals a secret on the reverse side, which I’ll get to.

Thomas Alva Edison by Fred Olmsted. Science Hall, City College of San Francisco Ocean Campus. Photo: Amy O’Hair
Thomas Alva Edison by Fred Olmsted. Science Hall, City College of San Francisco Ocean Campus. Photo: Amy O’Hair

Sculptor and painter Fred Olmsted was part of Pflueger’s stable of artists, one of many whom he commissioned for artworks such as murals and statuary for the inside and outside of the many buildings he designed in San Francisco. Science Hall, the first classroom building on the campus and the location of Olmsted’s two giant heads, also has murals by Olmsted inside the west entrance, as well as huge mosaics on each exterior end by another artist, Herman Volz.

Science into Art

Pflueger engaged Olmsted, as well as many other artists, to participate in the “Art in Action” program at the Golden Gate International Exhibition on Treasure Island in 1940. It was there that Olmsted carved the Da Vinci piece. Next to him in the big room was Dudley Carter, at work on the Bighorn Mountain Ram; at the far end, looming above Olmsted, Carter, and the other artists at work, was Diego Rivera on scaffolding, painting the Pan-American Unity mural. Herman Volz drew the designs for his CCSF-bound murals in the same room. Continue reading “City College Heads: Science and Inspiration” →

Art with Soul and History: City College Works on the Move

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By Amy O’Hair

Update 9 Dec 2023: Since I published this post, the college has subsequently decided to place The Whales at the Student Success center, while El Rey #1, discussed below, will find a home at the future Diego Rivera Theatre on Frida Kahlo Way. Read more about The Whales in this post.

As recently revealed in the Ingleside Light, City College of San Francisco plans to relocate some of its iconic artworks into the new Gateway building complex currently under construction at Ocean Avenue and Frida Kahlo Way. The collection of public art belonging to City College is significant and extensive, and the selection of these three works, spanning 65 years, forms a suitably impressive welcome to any student or visitor, and a visual statement about the importance and history of the college.

Let’s take a closer look at the works and the artists.

Bighorn Mountain Ram

In 1940, in the Art In Action ‘pit’ at the Golden Gate International Exposition (GGIE), Dudley Carter skillfully carved the form of a springing ram into a massive redwood trunk using just a woodsman’s axe.

Dudley Carter in the Golden Gate International Exposition Art-in-Action 'pit', carving 'Bighorn Mountain Ram'. 1940. RiveraMural.org
Dudley Carter in the Golden Gate International Exposition Art-in-Action ‘pit’, carving ‘Bighorn Mountain Ram’. 1940. RiveraMural.org

Nearby, up on scaffolding above the ‘pit’, famed muralist Diego Rivera was also at work, painting the panels of Pan-American Unity, which would also later end up on the college’s campus. Rivera was so impressed by Carter that he made the process of the Ram’s creation and its sculptor the centerpiece of the mural. One Dudley Carter was not enough for Rivera; to show what he so admired, he painted three Carters.

A portion of 'Pan-American Unity' by Diego Rivera, showing his three portraits of Dudley Carter at work carving 'Bighorn Mountain Ram'. The centerpiece of the enormous mural by Rivera. Right: Timothy Pflueger depicted beside one of the Carter figures. Left: Frida Kahlo. RiveraMural.org
A portion of ‘Pan-American Unity’ by Diego Rivera, showing his three depictions of Dudley Carter at work with his axe, carving ‘Bighorn Mountain Ram’. The centerpiece of the enormous mural by Rivera. Lower right: Carter with Timothy Pflueger. Lower left: Frida Kahlo. RiveraMural.org

Continue reading “Art with Soul and History: City College Works on the Move” →

Restoring a Fazekas Address Unit, Step-by-Step

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By Amy O’Hair
All things Fazekas are found linked on this page.

Having documented the history behind the Fazekas-designed house-number units, manufactured at American Art Metal Works and found all over San Francisco and the Bay Area, I am often asked for help by people wishing to restore their own. Such matters are not my forte.

Fortunately, two readers, Paige and Sarah, have given me detailed descriptions of the process of refurbishing a unit, and I present their reports with photos below. (Have anything to add? Write me or post a comment below.)

Paige said this of the Fazekas address units:

When I moved to San Francisco in the late 70s I had no car and didn’t like waiting for Muni so I usually walked everywhere. This was when I noticed these cool house numbers around various parts of the City. Fast forward to today and when my mother-in-law had her house painted I begged to work on her house numbers. Finding your website and the Fazekas info makes me feel like I’m part of some exclusive San Francisco club!  ‘Everybody’ knows of these house numbers but ‘nobody’ knows the story. Except us!

Now to the nitty gritty of restoring a unit. After removing the unit from the house, this is what Sarah did:

Recently, a significant decision was made by my mom and stepdad to sell my grandmother’s house in the Sunset district. This decision started me off on my journey of restoring the address frame. I wanted to share my restoration process in case it helps others.

Before restoration. Sarah's unit had the the additional problem of rust and deterioration of the number tiles, and a mission spacer on the left.
Before restoration. Sarah’s unit had the the additional problem of rust and deterioration of the number tiles, and a missing spacer on the left.

Continue reading “Restoring a Fazekas Address Unit, Step-by-Step” →

Fazekas Calling: Consideration of a Few Doorbell Plates

Sunnyside History6 Comments

By Amy O’Hair
All things Fazekas are found linked on this page.

I have kindly been given a few unattached examples of Anton Fazekas’ work in the form of doorbell plates, most with their wonderfully finger-inviting Bakelite buttons still in place.

These little works of art were just some of the vast array of products created and sold by his company, American Art Metal Works, during the 40 years he ran the South-of-Market-based firm. Below, there are a few to be seen mounted on the display behind the master himself on this page from a 1940s-era catalogue. (Do you have a doorbell by Fazekas? Write me.)

First we have one touched with the Art Nouveau vibe, sporting two singing birds, a mottled background, and subtle but nonspecific plant references. It appears to have never been attached to a house, as a film of lacquer across one screw hole is unbroken. I believe many of Fazekas’s metal items shipped with a clear lacquer layer on them. It shows the sculptor’s hand in that there are clear but subtle asymmetries to the design. (About 11 cm tall.)

Continue reading “Fazekas Calling: Consideration of a Few Doorbell Plates” →

A phalanx of Fazekas

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By Amy O’Hair
All things Fazekas can be found linked on this page.

A few more novel sightings of the work of Anton Fazekas, San Francisco’s midcentury sculptor-entrepreneur of illuminated house numbers. Residents can bring surprising artistic flare and imagination to this little piece of domestic infrastructure. Read the background in the original post.

As if the classy copper metallic paint wasn't enough, this one has had its numbers replaced with real copper digits, complete with a touch of verdigris patina. Raymond Avenue.
As if the classy copper metallic paint wasn’t enough, this one has had its numbers replaced with real copper digits, complete with a touch of verdigris patina. Raymond Avenue.

 

A bit of fancy paintwork on this Slimline number. Dolores.
A bit of fancy paintwork on this Slimline number. Dolores.

Continue reading “A phalanx of Fazekas” →