builder filesfile 13 of 57built c. 1931–1933boyenga team at compass
Rousseau homes
From 1931 to 1933, the brothers Oliver and Arthur Rousseau built fewer than 200 storybook houses in San Francisco’s Sunset District: turrets, clay tile, rough stucco and an interior patio upstairs. Here’s where they are, how to spot one and what they sell for.
- builders
- Marian Realty Co. and Whitney Investment Co.
- people
- Arthur Rousseau (finance) and Oliver Rousseau (design)
- architects
- the brothers themselves
- built
- 1931–1933, Sunset District
- houses
- fewer than 200, per SF Planning
- signature
- Oliver Rousseau’s 1932 patio plan
- listings say
- “Rousseau”
- sales on record · live…
- median $/sq ft, last 2 yrs…
- for sale now · live…
- Boulevard Tract houses93
where they are
Where the houses are
All confirmed Rousseau houses are in San Francisco’s Sunset District, per San Francisco Planning’s historic context statement.
| tract | city | built | homes | streets and notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rousseaus’ Boulevard TractCentral Sunset | San Francisco | 1932–1933 | 93 | The west side of 34th Ave, both sides of 35th Ave and the east side of 36th Ave between Kirkham and Lawton, plus four detached houses on Kirkham and Lawton, beside Sunset Boulevard. Includes the 1932 “Sunset House” models at 1564 and 1568 36th Ave and the “Surprise House” at 1548 35th Ave. |
| 33rd AvenueSunset | San Francisco | 1931 | 24 | Between Kirkham and Lawton streets. The brothers’ first Sunset tract, finished in May 1931. |
| Smaller clustersSunset | San Francisco | 1931–1933 | — | On 26th, 35th, 38th and 43rd avenues, Irving Street and Noriega Street, according to SF Planning, which gives no blocks or counts. |
After Marian Realty’s bankruptcy at the end of 1933, Oliver Rousseau formed Rousseau & Company in 1934, which built scattered infill elsewhere in the city. We found no confirmed Rousseau tract outside San Francisco.
how to spot one
How to spot a Rousseau
From SF Planning’s Sunset District historic context statement and its draft Boulevard Tract ordinance.
- form
Living over the garage
Two-story houses with living space above a ground-floor garage, semi-attached along the avenue, with matching setbacks and widely varied decoration.
- styles
Storybook in three styles
Spanish Colonial Revival (some Churrigueresque or Monterey), Tudor Revival and French Provincial, often side by side on one block.
- entry
A side stair to the front door
An open exterior stair with a shaped stucco wall leads to a second-floor front door, sometimes under an arch or at the base of a turret.
- towers
Turrets and heavy chimneys
Round, octagonal or square turrets are common, many with witch’s-cap roofs, and every Boulevard Tract house has at least one heavy chimney.
- surfaces
Clay tile, rough stucco, faux stone
Red clay tile on the Spanish houses, textured stucco, and applied faux rubble, brick and ashlar meant to look weathered.
- garage
Outswinging garage doors
Recessed openings with two double-hinged doors, paneled or scored in patterns, plus a matching side door. Two- and three-car garages were new to the city at the time.
- plan
The patio plan
Oliver Rousseau’s 1932 plan put an open interior patio on the upper floor, between the living and sleeping rooms and hidden from the street.
- myth check
Borrowed by others
SF Planning notes that Henry Doelger and architect Charles Clausen often borrowed Rousseau design elements, so check the records before calling a house a Rousseau.
the sales ledger
Every recorded Rousseau sale
Each dot is a San Francisco sale whose listing names Rousseau. Hover a dot for the address, date and price. The orange line is the median price per square foot for each year.
- sales on record…
- median price…
- median $ per sq ft…
- latest sale…
one recorded salemedian for the yearprice per sq ft = sale price ÷ listed living area
| sold | address | price | $/sq ft | bd / ba | sq ft |
|---|
Listings outside San Francisco are left out. Sales come from the MLS records available to us and include every sold listing whose description names the builder, so a few homes may be labeled by the listing agent rather than confirmed from tract records. Sold data is shown with the listing brokerage. Price per square foot uses the living area in the listing. Ask us for a full comparable-sales report on any address.
on the market
For sale now
Active San Francisco listings whose description names Rousseau.
Checking active listings…
owning one today
Owning one today
- A potential historic districtSF Planning’s 2013 Sunset survey identified the Boulevard Tract as a potential historic district, and the city drafted a landmark district ordinance in 2016–2018. We found no record that it was adopted, so confirm the current status with SF Planning for any address.
- Preservation reviewExterior changes to surveyed 1930s Sunset houses can get preservation review. Ask SF Planning before changing windows, garage doors or the patio.
- Common changesThe city’s draft ordinance lists typical alterations, such as enclosed patios and replaced windows and garage doors. Original features add to the story when you sell.
- Steel in the garageSome houses have steel structural members in the garage, according to the city’s draft ordinance.
the nerd check
Buying or selling one
What we check when you buy
- Is it a Rousseau?We check the address against SF Planning’s survey records and the tract blocks.
- Historic status firstWe confirm with SF Planning how preservation review affects your plans before you buy.
- 1930s systemsPlan for foundation, seismic, electrical and plumbing checks. Our Inspection Decoder covers what to order.
- The right comparablesWe compare against other Sunset storybook houses, separating originals from heavily altered ones.
How we market one when you sell
- Tell the storyModel homes, the patio plan and original details are part of the value, and we document them from city records.
- Photograph the detailsTurrets, tile, stairs and the interior patio, shot to show what’s original.
- Prep with a planOur Prep Lab budgets repairs that respect original features.
- Price from real salesWe set the price from recent Sunset sales of comparable houses.
questions
Questions we hear
Who were the Rousseaus?
Brothers Arthur and Oliver Rousseau, both trained architects, who ran the Marian Realty Company. Arthur handled financing and Oliver designed the houses, according to SF Planning.
How many Rousseau houses are there?
SF Planning estimates fewer than 200 in the Sunset District, including 93 in the Boulevard Tract and 24 on 33rd Avenue.
What is the patio plan?
Oliver Rousseau’s 1932 floor plan with an open interior courtyard on the upper floor, between the living and sleeping rooms and hidden from the street. SF Planning says other Sunset builders widely adopted it.
Is the Boulevard Tract a landmark district?
The city drafted a landmark district ordinance for it in 2016–2018, but we found no record that it was adopted. Confirm the status with SF Planning.
sources
Sources
San Francisco Planning records and local news, checked October 2026.
- SF Planning: Sunset District historic context statement (adopted 2013)The Rousseaus, Marian Realty, tracts and the patio plandefault.sfplanning.org/Preservation/sunset_survey/Adopted_SunsetHCS.pdf
- SF Planning: Rousseaus’ Boulevard Tract draft landmark district ordinanceStreets, 93 houses, styles and featuresdefault.sfplanning.org/Preservation/rousseau/landmark_district_draft_ordinance.pdf
- SF Planning: Rousseau walking tourModel homes and notable housesdefault.sfplanning.org/Preservation/rousseau/rousseau_walking_tour.pdf
- SF Planning: Rousseaus’ Boulevard Tract project pageLandmark district proposalsfplanning.org/project/rousseaus-boulevard-tract
- SF Planning: Article 10 and Article 11 districtsDesignated landmark districts listsfplanning.org/resource/article-10-and-article-11-districts
- Richmond Review / Sunset Beacon (April 12, 2017)Landmark status proposalrichmondsunsetnews.com/2017/04/12/historic-rousseau-homes-could-get-landmark-status/
builder files
Every builder file, by era
Bars show the years each builder was building here. See all builders or the home styles field guide.
- Fernando Nelson1880–1920s
- Ernest Coxhead1890–1930s
- Willis Polk1890s–1920s
- Frank Delos Wolfe1892–1926
- Henry Gutterson1914–1954
- Gellert (Sunstream)1922–1972
- Birge Clark1922–1970s
- Stoneson1920s–1960s
- Doelger1927–1960s
- McKeon1927–early 1970s
- Gardner Dailey1930s–1960s
- William Wurster1930s–1960s
- Rousseau1931–1933
- Bohannon1936–1955
- Cliff May1950s
- Stern & Price1951–1953
- Mackay Homes1950s
- Goodwin Steinberg1950s–1980s
- Mardell1955–1959
- Hayman Homes1960s–1970s
- Ditz-Crane1962–1984
- Brown & Kauffmann1960s–1981
- Bahl1968–1986
- Ponderosa Homes1970s–1990s
- Shapell1971–2000s
- Anshen & Allen1940s–1960
- Jones & Emmons1951–1970s
- Claude Oakland1950s–1970s
- Owen Signature Homes1970–today
- Swatt | Miers1975–today
- SummerHill Homes1976–today
- Pinn Brothers1976–today
- Citation Homeslate 1970s–2010s
- Robson Homes1989–today
- Pacific Peninsula Group1989–today
- Barry Swenson Builder1990s–2010s
- Classic Communities1990s–2010s
- Warmington1990s–2020s
- Kelly Gordon2000s–2010s
- Feldman Architecture2003–today
- DeNova Homes2000s–today
- City Ventures2011–today
- Trumark Homes2012–today
- Davidon Homes2010s
- The New Home Company2014–2018
- Dividend Homes2010s–today
- KB Home1980s–today
- Brookfield1990s–today
- Pulte Homes2000s–today
- Shea Homes2000s–2010s
- Lennar2000s–today
- Toll Brothers2000s–today
- Taylor Morrison2007–today
- D.R. Horton2010s
- Tri Pointe Homes2012–today
- K. Hovnanian2014–2018
- Meritage Homes2010s
talk to a property nerd
Own a Rousseau?
We can document what’s original, check the preservation rules and value it against recent Sunset sales. Commissions are negotiable, and we offer bundled services, so ask us what’s included.
