San Francisco columnist and urban design critic John King talked to the members of the Sunset Heights Association of Responsible People (SHARP) this past Jan. 25.
As someone who has been around some of the finest areas the City has to offer, he still regards neighborhoods like The Sunset District with affinity. The well-published architect-critic and author, talked about his most recent book, “Cityscapes: San Francisco and Its Buildings 2,”which was released this past September of 2015.
SHARP member John Barry invited King to speak and was pleased that at least 40 people showed up. “I see him as a ‘measured pragmatist’, not a ‘hide bound’ ideologist, said Barry.
“Loving some styles and ‘schools of architectural thought’ and hating others, added Barry, he judges a building by its effects on its surroundings.”
In speaking to King after the presentation, he told this reporter – while on assignment for the Sunset Beacon what he likes about the Sunset District. “Many parts of the City (architecturally) are chopped up. I like the way the Sunset has a sort of uniformity to it.”
As someone who had lived in The Sunset for a while, “I like the storybook type of subdivisions.” King explained that whether it is the Inner-Sunset or Outer-Sunset, many of the clusters of homes by builders like Doelger and Rousseau were able to provide a quality home with a garden or in some instances a tiny courtyard within a dense confinement of space, at an affordable price for a family.
From the 1920s to the 1940s Doelger was the leading builder of affordable middle class homes in the district. King said he could understand why such homes were built. “It is all part of the American Dream.”
Even as King said he liked the way the grid of the Sunset was planned out, there is always something that ‘jumps out’ and is a landmark to the neighborhood. He mentioned, the Carnegie-built public library on Irving Street and 18th Ave and St. Anne of The Sunset Church with its Romanesque-revival style. Another that came to mind was the water station on Sloat Blvd, which was recently painted to reveal its ornate detail. “These are just a few, said of the examples of the thought of previous generations of city planners who wanted to bring a bit of sophistication and culture to the masses.”
Now, living in Berkeley with his wife. He has fond memories of the Sunset. “I have included the Sunset in my column, several times over the years” he said. King has been with the San Francisco Chronicle for almost 25 years.
As one who comments on all sorts of architecture, he sees the former La Boulange café on 9th Ave as “thoughtfully and sturdily constructed.” He realizes that some residents in the neighborhood might view all the use of concrete as cold and impersonal. I told him in some ways it is very stark and spartan like something out of a George Orwell novel. Yet he then said. “If you look closely, the concrete has a textured look to it’ which tells me there was some thought to its design.”
When asking SHARP members what they thought of King’s talk. “He is ‘a contextualist’ said Barry; If that is the best word.” King spoke as an accompaniment to his slide show.
The slides were from his new book. King pointed out how “if a building has enough intrinsic merit, and is placed in a ‘sort of vacuum’ the praise of it will be seen in related, subsequent buildings; which genuflect toward the pace setting iconoclast,” noted Barry.
John King explains, in his accompanying volume to the first “Cityscapes” book published in 2011. “What our gut perceives before the perception dances across our front temporal cortexs.” “To listen to his discourse is like looking at all the dots on the big canvass, at the old Eploretorium, said Barry. “Only after staring at them for a long time, would one notice that the ‘dot pattern’ revealed the face of Albert Einstein.”
Still, Barry and those at that Monday SHARP presentation enjoyed King’s lecture. King was pleased when The Sunset Beacon published a brief article about his talk that evening. The impression San Francisco makes can be a lasting one. Even though he has moved away, he remarked.”Ah, but that was my ‘hood – and thus my hometown. To learn more about architecture critic and author John King, visit is page at the SF Chronicle Or visit his Facebook page.
