Bliss, Walter Danforth
Entry Author: David
Parry
Architect
 Walter
Danforth Bliss was born in Nevada in 1872, the fourth of five
children born to Duane and Elizabeth Bliss. Duane Bliss had
migrated out to California from Massachusetts during the gold
rush period and had become a partner in a Nevada Bank, which
was purchased by the Bank of California. Later Duane formed
a partnership with Bank of California President, Darius Ogden
Mills, in the Carson and Tahoe Lumber and Fluming Company.
This successful venture secured the education of the Bliss'
children, each of whom was sent back to Massachusetts for
schooling at MIT.
At MIT, Walter Bliss met his future partner William Baker
Faville. Faville, more than 5 years his senior, was born in
San Andreas, California, but had grown up in western New York
State, and had already served an apprenticeship in Buffalo
with architects Green & Wicks. Bliss and Faville both
left MIT in 1895 and began working at the prominent New York
firm of McKim, Mead & White. Although neither appears
to have attended the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris,
they would have been exposed to its philosophy in New York
at McKim, Mead & White and also at the Society of Beaux-Arts
Architects in New York, of which John Galen Howard was then
President.
In 1898 the pair decided to form a partnership and selected
San Francisco as the city in which to work. They moved out
here and Walter Bliss was able to build upon his father's
connections to secure commissions, which the firm executed,
quickly establishing a strong reputation. One of their first
projects was a new house for Duane and Elizabeth Bliss at
2898 Broadway in1899, a Dutch Colonial design. This was followed
in Pacific Heights by 3020 Pacific and in Presidio Heights
by 3638 Washington (both in 1900), and later in Pacific Heights
by 2520 Pacific and 2800 Scott (both in 1905).
Early on in their career the firm was commissioned by Charles
F. Crocker to design the St. Francis Hotel on Powell Street
opposite Union Square. Crocker sent the pair on a trip to
Europe to study the finest hotels in London and Paris. Originally
built in 1904 as a 'U' shape, the St. Francis was in the process
of being enlarged into an 'E' shape at the time of the April
1906 earthquake. It was damaged, but repaired, and it reopened
in 1907. The hotel was further enlarged by them in 1913. Another
fine example of their classical architecture is the Corinthian-columned
Bank of California, 400 California at Sansome, completed in
1908. Its importance to the architecture of the downtown area
was recognized in 1968 by its designation as San Francisco
Landmark #3. That commission came directly from Duane Bliss'
business association with D. O. Mills and the design is inspired
by McKim, Mead & White's Knickerbocker Trust Company building
on Fifth Avenue in New York from 1901-04.
Bliss & Faville continued to design residential property
after the earthquake, including 3001 Pacific (1906, now the
Egyptian Consulate), 3540 Washington (1908, and the 2002 San
Francisco Decorator Showcase house benefitting University
High School), 18 Presidio Terrace (1909), 2222 Broadway (1912,
the Flood mansion, now the Convent of the Sacred Heart School),
2100 Broadway (1917), 2332 Baker (1918), and 1950-60 Jackson
(1921-25, now the Swedish Consulate).
Bliss bought the 2990 Vallejo lot in 1910. It had been owned
by Katharine Dart Mathews, wife of architect Edgar
Mathews. The Mathews' lived next door at 2980 Vallejo
in the first house to be built on the block. In 1914, Bliss
designed the house at 2990 for himself and his wife Edith
Pillsbury, just in time to enjoy the sight of the spectacular
1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition below. Bliss
& Faville were designers of the Palace of Food Products
and the Palace of Manufactures for the PPIE, and William Faville
was also the designer of the 65 ft. high 'Great Wall' which
grouped 8 of the 12 Palaces together, thereby sheltering the
5 principal Courts of the Exposition from the afternoon fog
coming in through the Golden Gate. The simplicity of Faville's
outer walls was enhanced by a beautiful array of portals and
niches of Spanish and Italian design.
2990 Vallejo was an early use of reinforced concrete construction
in a residential property. Since from the street the house
appears to be only 2 stories high, that at first seems unusual,
until viewed from the rear, where it can be seen to be at
least 80 feet high on a sharply downsloping view lot. The
house is Italian Mediterranean in style with asymmetric massing,
a stucco coating, and a hipped roof that is covered with clay
tiles. Illustrated in a 1915 Gladding McBean catalog, the
roof is described as being composed of No. 1 Mission Tile,
Grey-Green Enamel, with a Medium Variation in Shade. The additional
expense of a tile roof has obviously proved to be an excellent
investment!
Bliss & Faville's commercial structures include the Geary
Theater and Annex (415 Geary/333 Mason, 1909, now San Francisco
Landmark #82), the Security Pacific Bank (1 Grant, 1910, now
San Francisco Landmark #132), the University Club (800 Powell,
1912), the Masonic Temple (25 Van Ness, 1913, now offices),
the Metropolitan Club (640 Sutter, 1916), the Southern Pacific
headquarters (1 Market, 1916), the Bank of Italy (1 Powell,
1920), the Matson building (235 Market, 1921) and several
other significant San Francisco buildings, making them one
of the most prolific partnerships the City has ever seen.
They terminated the partnership amicably in 1925. Faville
continued in practice by himself and Bliss formed a new arrangement
with their chief designer, J. Stewart Fairweather.
Walter Bliss died on May 9, 1956 in Nevada and the house at
2990 Vallejo was sold as part of his estate. Now in the hands
of its third owners, the public rooms of the house remain
almost exactly as Bliss envisioned them. The only limitation
of the house was lack of parking, which has been rectified
by the current owners with the addition of a 4+ car garage
at the rear of the property, accessed from Lyon and Green
Streets.
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: Nevada, 1872