Destinations
The Haas - Lilienthal House
The Haas - Lilienthal House 2007 Franklin Street San Francisco CA 415.441.3004
Location
The Hass-Lilienthal website has great directions. If you are going to take public transportation to get to the Hass-Lilienthal house go by cable car. The California Street cable car stops within 4 blocks of the house. The closest BART stop is Civic Center which is about ten blocks straight up hill from the house. So if you choose BART just keep going to the Embaradero and take the cable car. If you drive you might not get any closer that 4 blocks because parking in the neighborhood is horrible. If you park on the street and loose track of the time you will probably get a $40.00 parking ticket.
What It's All About
The Hass-Lilienthal house is one of the only Vitorian homes that survived the 1906 earthquake that destroyed most of San Francisco. The home has remained virtually unchanged since its construction and is a facinating historic sight. The building layout, design, and even the furinture are all original 1900 artifacts. The best part is that visitors have fairly unlimited access to explore the house and discover how San Franciscans lived at the turn of the century.
Why Should You Go
If one of the reasons you have for visitng San Francisco is the architecture then you cannot miss a visit to the Hass-Lilienthal house. It would be like going to Rome and neglecting to visit the Pantheon. The tour staff are excellent and are able to answer every question I saw thrown at them. They do an excellent job of communicating the history of San Francisco and the uniqueness of the house.
I highly recommend making a day of visiting the Victorian homes of the Pacific Heights neighborhhod. The Hass-Lilienthal house sits right on the edge of some of the most elegent Victorian mansions that you can find anywhere in the United States. There are tons of organized guided tours--I will try to get a review up for one of these soon. For me, I really like doing a self guided walking tour especially if the weather is nice.
If you decide to do a self guided waking tour let me strongly recommend, Frommer's Memorable Walks in San Francisco, Hungry Minds, Inc. New York, 2001. In this guide the little bits of histrorical gossip are the best part, Not only do you get the architectural facts but you'll also find out which millionaire wife was sleeping with their neighbor, and who buried their husband in the basement. Awesome!
Don't Forget
Shoes that are good for walking. And if you are making a day of it make sure you bring a hat and sunblock for the middle of the day and a decent jacket for when the fog rolls in (usually around 4 o'clock).
Dino's Pizza is on California Ave. (on the corner of Filmore) within 8 blocks of the Hass-Lilienthal House. If you are doing a walking tour of Pacific Heights and you start getting hungry, Dino's is the best pizza you'll find in the neighborhood.
Help! I Forgot Stuff
Don't worry just down the road from the Hass-Lilienthal House is a great gourmet grocery called Whole Foods. Whole Foods is an organic grocery with a wide selection of natural products. They have sunscreen, camera film, and a great deli if you want to stop for lunch.