home stylesplate 01 of 09built c. 1870s–1910sboyenga team at compass
Victorian & Edwardian homes in San Francisco and the South Bay
Bay windows, bracketed cornices, raised basements and a front stoop. Most were built between the 1870s and the years after 1906, and San Francisco, San Jose, Santa Clara and Los Gatos still have whole blocks of them. Here is how to read one, where they stand, and every one listed for sale now.
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how to spot one
How to spot a Victorian from the sidewalk
The drawing is a San Francisco Italianate row house over a raised basement. Hover or tap a number to match it to the list.
Bay windows
A slanted two-story bay on Italianate houses, or a squared bay on Stick/Eastlake houses, pushes the front room toward the street.
Bracketed cornice
A straight roofline ending in a deep cornice on brackets, often on a false front that hides the roof behind it.
Tall, narrow windows
Vertical double-hung windows with molded hoods or crowns over them.
Raised basement and stoop
The main floor sits a half level up over a raised basement, reached by a flight of front stairs. San Francisco Planning names raised basements as a local trait.
Applied ornament
Brackets, stickwork, spindles and patterned (fish-scale) shingles. Queen Annes add decorated gables and corner towers.
Row-house rhythm
Narrow fronts set side by side. Many San Francisco Victorians stand on 25-foot lots, most touching their neighbors.
on the market
Victorian and Edwardian homes for sale now
Every active listing in our service area that the MLS tags Victorian or Edwardian, or whose description calls it Victorian, Edwardian, Queen Anne or Italianate (for houses built by 1935). Flats and condos inside these buildings appear too.
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How homes land here: we read each active listing’s MLS style field and its description, then check the year built. “MLS-tagged only” keeps the homes whose listing agent picked this style. Orange pins are MLS-tagged. Some listings record a style only in fields this search can’t filter on, so a few may not appear here; ask us for a full search. Listing data comes from the MLS and is shown with the listing brokerage; confirm details with the listing agent.
where to find them
Where Victorian and Edwardian homes stand
Neighborhoods where our guides, city historic inventories and planning documents record Victorian and Edwardian houses. Each name opens the full guide.
San Francisco
- Noe ValleyA few 1880s cottages, then mostly Queen Anne, Italianate and Stick/Eastlake houses from the 1890s boom, then post-1906 flats.
- Pacific HeightsBuilders lined Webster Street between Clay and Jackson with 25 Italianate houses from 1878 to 1880.
- Haight-Ashbury & Cole ValleyQueen Anne, Stick and Italianate row houses and flats, then Edwardian-era houses and flats.
- Castro & Eureka ValleyFernando Nelson built dozens here, among them the Queen Anne row on Hartford Street in 1901–02.
- Mission Dolores & Dolores HeightsPre-1906 Italianate and Stick houses, Queen Anne and Classical Revival flats, and post-1906 flats.
- Inner RichmondNelson's Queen Anne and period revival houses, treated by Planning as a historic district.
- Bernal HeightsNorth-slope houses and two-flats in Italianate, Queen Anne, Stick-Eastlake and Classical Revival styles.
- Russian HillVictorian and early-1900s houses on the crest lanes, Edwardian flats on the slopes.
- Potrero HillVictorian- and Edwardian-era houses and two-flat buildings on the hill.
San Jose
- Japantown & the Hensley blocksItalianate, Queen Anne and San Francisco Stick houses from the 1860s to the 1910s, in a National Register district.
- Horace Mann & Julian-St. JamesThe city inventory records about 26 Queen Annes, plus Italianate and Eastlake houses.
- Naglee ParkQueen Anne and Folk Victorian houses among Craftsman and revival designs, mostly 1902 to the 1920s.
- College ParkQueen Anne and Stick-style Victorians under mature street trees.
- Diridon & Delmas ParkThe Lakehouse City Landmark District: Queen Anne and Craftsman houses from the late 1800s and early 1900s.
- Luna ParkAbout 35 older buildings in Queen Anne, Eastlake and Classical Revival styles.
Los Gatos
- BroadwayAbout 51 structures, many built before 1900, in Victorian, Craftsman and Colonial Revival styles.
- Fairview PlazaVictorian and Craftsman homes set close together; about three-quarters built before 1900.
- Almond GroveA mix of Victorian houses, from informal wood-frame cottages to larger homes.
- University-EdelenThe Town's ordinance calls Victorian the predominant style here.
Santa Clara, Campbell & Saratoga
- Old Quad, Santa ClaraItalianate and Greek Revival cottages, then Queen Anne and Stick/Eastlake houses, from the 1860s on.
- Downtown CampbellQueen Anne cottages from the 1890s.
- Saratoga VillagePioneer cottages and Queen Anne houses from the 1870s to about 1900 on the City's inventory.
Peninsula
- Old Mountain ViewAn Italianate from about 1885 on Calderon Avenue and Folk Victorian houses on Bush Street.
- Downtown Redwood CityThe Mezesville blocks mix older cottages, several of them pre-1906 Queen Anne designs.
inside
What you find inside
- plan
A raised main floor
Living rooms sit a half level above the street, over a basement that many owners later turned into a garage or rooms.
- plan
Narrow, deep rooms
On 25-foot lots, rooms line up front to back, with light wells and side setbacks bringing in daylight.
- plan
Bay and tower rooms
Bays and Queen Anne corner towers make front rooms of unusual shapes.
- plan
Stacked flats
Many buildings hold two or three flats. Edwardian-era buildings are often flats or small apartment buildings.
victorian or edwardian?
Victorian or Edwardian?
The quick test is the facade.
Victorian · 1870s–1900s
- Asymmetrical and texturedTowers, stickwork, spindles and patterned shingles, often several wall textures on one front.
- Bracketed false front or steep gableItalianates hide the roof behind a cornice on brackets; Queen Annes show steep, decorated gables.
- Slanted or squared baysSlanted bays on Italianates, squared bays on Stick/Eastlake houses.
Edwardian · after 1906
- Calmer and more regularA symmetrical front with classical details: columns, dentils, egg-and-dart moldings.
- Often flatsSan Francisco rebuilt much of its housing after about three-quarters of it burned in 1906, much of it as stacked flats.
the nerd check
Buying or selling one
What we check when you buy
- Foundation and boltingFind out the foundation type and whether the house is bolted and its cripple walls braced. California's Earthquake Brace + Bolt program offers retrofit grants for wood-framed houses built before 1980 on raised foundations in designated ZIP codes, with registration open for a limited time each year. Cripple walls taller than 4 feet need an engineered retrofit.
- Wiring generationsAsk an electrician to identify every wiring type, including any original circuits still in use, and to confirm the panel capacity.
- Lead paintFor houses built before 1978, sellers must disclose known lead-based paint and give buyers the federal pamphlet, and buyers get a 10-day window to inspect. Test before sanding or repainting trim.
- Asbestos before remodelingSuspect materials can't be identified by sight. EPA advises sampling by an accredited professional before work disturbs them.
- Cornices, bays and false frontsCheck brackets, cornices, bays and stickwork for rot, and see how water drains from the roof behind a false front.
- Legal unit countFor flats or converted houses, confirm the legal number of units and the permits for past conversions, additions and basement rooms.
- Original windowsNote which wood sashes are original. Preservation guidelines generally favor weather stripping and storm windows over vinyl or aluminum replacements.
- Historic reviewCheck whether the property is in a San Francisco Article 10 district, San Jose's Hensley district, a Los Gatos historic district or a city inventory, since exterior work there needs added review.
How we market one when you sell
- Photograph the facade straight onBays, cornices and gable ornament read clearly in even, frontal light.
- Name the style correctlyItalianate, Stick/Eastlake, Queen Anne or Edwardian, so buyers compare like with like.
- Document the unitsFor flats, assemble the permit history and the legal unit count before listing.
- Share the district rulesIf the property is in a historic district, include its guidelines and review steps in the disclosure package.
- Note any Mills Act contractContracts transfer to new owners, so buyers need to see it.
San Francisco's Article 10 historic districts include Webster Street, Alamo Square, Duboce Park, Liberty Hill and Bush Street–Cottage Row, and exterior changes there go through Certificate of Appropriateness review. In San Jose, exterior work in the Hensley City Landmark District needs a Historic Preservation Permit. We help buyers read the rules for a specific address before they write an offer.
questions
Questions we hear
What's the difference between a Victorian and an Edwardian?
Victorians have asymmetrical, textured facades with towers, stickwork or a bracketed false front. Edwardian buildings, mostly built in San Francisco after 1906, use calmer classical ornament such as columns, dentils and egg-and-dart moldings, and many are flats.
Which San Francisco Victorian areas are historic districts?
Article 10 districts include Alamo Square, Liberty Hill, Webster Street, Duboce Park, Blackstone Court and Bush Street–Cottage Row. Exterior alterations there go through Certificate of Appropriateness review.
Is San Jose's Hensley district protected?
Yes. It is on the National Register (1983) and is a City Landmark District (1990), so exterior work there requires a Historic Preservation Permit.
Why are so many San Francisco Victorians on narrow lots?
Merchant builders of the 1870s and 1880s put up rows of houses on 25-foot lots, most of them touching their neighbors.
Are there Victorians outside San Francisco?
Yes. San Jose's Hensley blocks, Naglee Park and Horace Mann, Santa Clara's Old Quad, and Los Gatos's Broadway and Fairview Plaza districts all hold documented Victorian houses.
all home styles
Every style in the field guide, by era
Bars show the years each style was mostly built here. See the full field guide.
- 01Victorian & Edwardian1870s–1910s
- 02Craftsman & bungalow1905–1930
- 03Spanish & Mediterranean1915–1940
- 04Tudor, storybook & traditional1920s–1940s
- 05California ranchlate 1930s–1970s
- 06Mid-century modern1945–1975
- 07Eichler1949–1974
- 08Modern & contemporary1970s–today
- 09Modern farmhouse & new construction2005–today
talk to a property nerd
Own a Victorian, or want one?
Call us for a value, a plan for the cornice-to-foundation questions buyers ask, or a walk through the historic districts. Commissions are negotiable, and we offer bundled services, so ask us what’s included.
Questions about Victorian & Edwardian homes? Send us a note.
