5,240 square foot 6 bedroom 3 bath Queen Anne Victorian along South Van Ness Avenue's "Mansion Row" in the Mission District. Called the John Coop House built in 1889. Coop was manager of the San Francisco Planing Mill at Fifth and Bryant when he built this house, originally numbered 2425 Howard Street, on two lots. Coop used the home as a showpiece for his business, but he only lived there for six years before selling it.
A spectacular example of what was produced at the planing mill is the main staircase, which is said to have cost $3,000, an amount that would have built an entire house at the time. The planing mill was destroyed in 1906, and shortly afterwards, Coop sold his house to a man named Homer Wilson.
Wilson, a "Financier" who was involved in mining activities, sold the house in 1910 to Dr. Frnest Johannson, who sold the south garden a short time later, where flats were built in 1912. The house underwent several changes after the doctor began the process by converting rooms in the house to "housekeeping" units as his children married and left
home.
Current estimates value the property at around $4.8 million.
Interior Photos HERE
THIS IMPOSING HOUSE, A VERY FINE EXAMPLE OF QUEEN ANNE ARCHITECTURE, WAS BUILT IN 1889 FOR JOHN COOP, A PROMINENT CARPENTER, MILL-OWNER, BUILDER AND LATER, LAND DEVELOPER. THE HOUSE IS SET BACK 20 FEET FROM THE SIDEWALK ON AN ELEVATED SITE AND HAS MANY OF THE STYLISTIC INGREDIENTS OF FLAMBOYANT VICTORIANA. A COMPLEX CROSS-GABLED ROOF IS FLANKED BY A TURRET TOWER ON THE RIGHT (SOUTH) SIDE. THE TURRET, OCTAGONAL AT THE BASE AND FIRST FLOOR, BECOMES ROUND AT THE SECOND AND THIRD STORIES, HAS A SLENDER CONICAL ROOF WHICH RISES HIGH ABOVE THE RIDGE LINE WITH A DELICATE METAL FINIAL AT THE TOP.
THE WOOD SIDING ON THE FIRST TWO LEVELS IS SHIPLAP; THE UPPER STORY AND THE GABLE END ARE CLAD IN PATTERNED SHINGLES. THE OPEN PORCH HAS TURNED COLUMNS SUPPORTING PEDIMENTED ROOF. THE ENTRY HAS A TWO-PANEL FRENCH DOOR WITH BEVELED GLASS. THE PORCH FORMS A BALCONY FOR THE SECOND STORY. ORNATE WOOD CARVINGS APPEAR IN THE SECOND FLOOR FRIEZE AND CONTINUE AROUND THE TURRET AT THAT LEVEL. THE GABLE END IS PROJECTING, AND IS SUPPORTED BY THREE DELICATE BRACKETS. THE TWIN WINDOWS IN THE GABLE END, WITH RARE THREE-OVER-TWO LIGHTS, HAVE UNUSUAL MOLDED ARCH ORNAMENTS AT THEIR HEADS. THE GABLE TERMINATES WITH AN UNUSUAL, GRACEFUL FINAL AT ITS PEAK. WINDOWS ARE DOUBLE-HUNG SASH WITH MOLDED TRIM SURROUNDS, AND APPEAR TO BE ORIGINAL.
THE CURVED GLASS WINDOWS OF THE ROUND PORTION OF THE TOWER APPEAR TO BE INTACT. THE GROUND LEVEL HAS A GARAGE, A LATER ADDITION, WHICH IS FLUSH WITH THE EDGE OF THE SIDEWALK. THE EXISTING GARAGE DOOR DOES NOT RELATE TO ANY OF THE ORIGINAL COMPONENTS. THE STAIR HAS A STRAIGHT RUN WITH CONCRETE STEPS BECOMING WOODEN STEPS WHEN IT TURNS TO THE SIDE AT THE TOP. THE PROPERTY IS SIGNIFICANT AS REPRESENTATIVE OF THE BEST OF MIDDLE-CLASS HOME BUILDING IN THE MISSION FROM THE 1880's. THE ORIGINAL OWNER, JOHN COOP, WAS A CARPENTER WHO LATER BECAME OWNER OF THE SAN FRANCISCO PLANING MILL. HE BUILT OTHER HOMES IN THE MISSION DISTRICT, AND LATER WAS SECRETARY OF THE BELVEDERE LAND COMPANY. (WALDHORN & WOODBRIDGE;VICTORIAN ALLIANCE; SEC. 106 REV., 2/95)
A permit search revealed that the single garage pictured below was enlarged in 1998. What is that triangular thing above the garage??? Also, notice in the 1975 photo that the witch's hat is crudely penciled in as is mentioned in the field notes below.
The San Francisco Planning Department calls 959 South Van Ness "one of the city's most dramatic Queen Anne-style mansions."
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| 959 South Van Ness Ave circa 1975 Notice the witch's hat is missing and is crudely drawn in. |
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| San Francisco Architectural Survey 1975 |
