Applegarth, George Adrian
Entry Author: David
Parry
 George
Adrian Applegarth was born in Oakland in 1875. His parents
were English. Applegarth took drawing classes from Bernard
Maybeck and was encouraged by Maybeck and others to train
in Paris at the renowned École des Beaux-Arts.
Applegarth was accepted in the atelier of prominent
French architect Victor Laloux in November 1902. At the time
of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, Applegarth was in New
York working for the architectural firm of Barney & Chapman
on his graduate project. By his own admission, he stowed away
on the next ship back to Paris to collect his diploma, which
was awarded in July 1906. Returning to San Francisco he worked
first for L. B. Dutton and then in 1907 formed a partnership
with Kenneth MacDonald, Jr. who had also trained at the École
des Beaux-Arts. The two collaborated on over 30 commercial
buildings and many residences, especially in and around Presidio
Terrace, including #3 and #5 in 1908, #27, #30 and #34 all
in 1909, and #4, MacDonald's own home, in 1911. In 1909 they
also designed the innovative and charming group of connected
homes and apartments at 1-11 3rd Avenue, which have a hidden
walkway connection to the Terrace.
After the partnership with MacDonald dissolved in 1912, Applegarth
went on to complete by himself some wonderful homes, apartments,
commercial and public buildings in San Francisco. His most
prominent contributions to San Francisco's architectural heritage
were both commissioned by Alma
de Bretteville Spreckels. After marrying Adolph Spreckels,
son of Claus, the wealthy sugar refiner and newspaper owner,
Alma decided to build San Francisco's largest mansion, 2080
Washington at the corner of Octavia. Still known as the Spreckels
Mansion, this wonderful limestone-clad view home is now owned
by author Danielle Steel. As a patron of the Arts, Alma also
commissioned Applegarth in 1916 to design the California Palace
of the Legion of Honor in Lincoln Park which she and Adolph
donated to the City as a European Arts museum. The colonnade
is a copy of the Palais de la Légion d'Honneur
in Paris, a Louis XVI townhouse built in 1786, also now a
museum, which is located a short walk along the Left Bank
of the Seine from Applegarth's former architectural school.
The interior of the California Palace was entirely Applegarth's
design, however, and this building became his personal favorite
of all of his work.
Applegarth's Beaux-Arts influences of rigid symmetry, perfect
proportions, columned entries, and coffered ceilings can be
seen in many of his residential designs, such as 201 Locust
and 3730 Washington, both in Presidio Heights and designed
in 1915, and the house which is the subject of this month's
article, 2775 Vallejo, his own home, designed and built in
1916 as a wedding present for his wife Gwendolyn Powers. At
the same time, Applegarth designed 2785 Vallejo, immediately
to the west.
2775 Vallejo, in the Italian Renaissance style, is a model
of restrained Beaux-Arts elegance. Set up high on a 49 ft.
wide, steep up-sloping lot, the home has the beautiful coffered
ceiling in the living room, enjoys a full Golden Gate view
from all levels, and has a spectacular terraced south garden
which gave him much delight. The original house had to be
enlarged in 1923 by an extension to the east, as the Applegarth
family grew.
Applegarth also found time around 1916 to remodel the 1886
Pacific Heights building at 2206-12 Vallejo, known as Schilling
Place. Along with two 1920's apartment buildings at 1900 Broadway
and 2160 Pacific, Schilling Place and 1-11 3rd Avenue have
all since been converted to condominium ownership, a testament
to the quality of the buildings and the appeal of the apartments
to individual owners.
In 1921 and 1922, Applegarth was President of the San Francisco
Chapter of the American Institute of Architects. Also in the
1920's, ahead of his time, he began making plans for a parking
garage under Union Square. That project was subsequently awarded
to Timothy Pflueger and completed in 1942. In 1952, he started
researching double-spiral ramp, multi-story, self-parking
structures and, as one of his last major projects in the City,
in 1953 he designed the curvilinear Downtown Center Garage
(Mason at O'Farrell), a pioneering structure for San Francisco,
which was followed by others for Oakland, Seattle and Los
Angeles.
A wiry man, Applegarth in his youth was a friend of Jack
London's. They would sail together on the Oakland Estuary
and once cycled all the way to Yosemite and then climbed Half
Dome. After the 1906 earthquake, when he opened his own office
in San Francisco, he signed a 10-year lease with Adolph Spreckels
for the 18th floor of the Call Building, San Francisco's tallest
building at that time, which had been gutted by the fire.
Cannily, he negotiated a proviso that the rent was to be free
until elevator service was available again, which meant Applegarth
and staff climbed 18 stories to work each day for five months!
Fit to the end, he died at the age of 96 on January 19, 1972
after driving himself to hospital in his Rambler when he became
ill.
Entry taken from the website of David Parry at www.classicSFproperties.com
and is used by permission. Unauthorized use of this copyrighted
material is strictly forbidden without permission from the
author.
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Born: Oakland, California, 1875