Front Elevation
Walter M. Rose House in San Francisco, California

Historical sources credit William Knowles* with the design of this shingled house on a very constrained hillside lot, built for an attorney in 1900.  While not exactly the most handsome composition, it falls nicely into that fun category of buildings that combine the vernacular with the avant garde.  Its most interesting feature is its implied gable, an organizational device that emphasizes the offset entrance bay and softens the connection between the house's two and three story volumes.  The ghost-like gable and its third floor window serve another purpose as well.  The gable works with the left side of the house to create the illusion of an Elizabethan style townhouse, while its window helps complete the illusion of a stripped-down and utilitarian Victorian warehouse on the right.  This blurring of forms successfully adds interest and breaks up what otherwise might have become a very dull and monolithic elevation.  Some years later, Knowles designed the neighboring Hammond House down the hill.  Photo taken in 2001 by Howard J. Partridge.

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