31 Alta Street

Offered at $2,800,000

Could Captain Andrews’ Home be the oldest in San Francisco?

From shipyard overlook to Prohibition era speakeasy, 31 Alta is a house whose history is rich with stories of wild parties, resulting in police raids, claims of it being the oldest home in San Francisco and a tale of a gardener’s revenge.

In 1852 Captain Andrews built his home on the Eastern slope of Telegraph Hill, on this perch for a direct view of ships sailing into the shipyards below. The home remains virtually unchanged as later photographs show, neighboring homes disappearing, steep streets being graded over the hills, Coit Tower rising, and a forest of skyscrapers growing in the distance.

31 Alta’s “open plan” is vastly unlike the partitioned warrens of later Victorian and Edwardian homes. Its sun filled, open plan does not impose itself on you, spaces flow freely together, there is no wasted space, and rooms are not a series of cut up, confining compartments. Each of the home’s four floors has easy access to the garden and view balconies.

31 Alta survived the 1906 earthquake and fire under wine-soaked burlap sacks and traded hands several times prior to the 1920’s, when it was purchased by Charles F. Sawvelle and his wife Myrtokleia, or “Myrtle.” Myrtle brought notoriety and excitement to Alta Street by converting the bottom of the home into a speakeasy. Raided by the authorities in February of 1927, Myrtle was arrested for her activities and reported to have said, “No one was disturbing anybody. We are going to start all over again with a tea room and this time there will be no nights in jail.” Her timing couldn’t have been worse for “tea” as the Prohibition landed her in jail again, 90 days later.

The large formal foyer has cedar lined closets and leads directly into the current family room that could be used as a third bedroom. It has custom built-in bookshelves, as well as original windows which were converted to cut outs that frame the glass shelving. This room was once the kitchen area of the house and where the “tavern or speakeasy” was run. The ground floor also has an updated bathroom, remodeled with Jerusalem Gold Marble and steam shower. The laundry room on this level is complete with Crema Marble counters and a built-in ironing board.

The meticulously re-pointed, first floor, brick walls are all on display with an updated wainscot to conceal the new electrical systems. It’s believed they were originally designed by brick masons-who may have been gold miners and the walls were built with raised brick lip at the entire perimeter of the first floor wall, creating a pocket sill plate as an early seismic solution that has stood the test of time.
The main living level allows one to easily enjoy the original wood-burning fireplace in the living room, a spacious kitchen with direct access to the dining area, which leads directly out to the garden. The views all the way through the home are a part of every day life and add to the sense of space. The large original double hung windows, with distinctive thin mullions and large panes of glass, on three of the home’s four walls, fill the home with light and air.

From the living room to the master bedroom, to the spacious attic one is able to quietly contemplate the comings and goings of ships and sailboats on the bay. The master bedroom has an additional dressing room with custom built-in closets and the both enjoy views of the bay and a private balcony access. The second bedroom enjoys peaceful views into the garden and allows for direct access off the back balcony. The attic is currently used as a home office and can easily be converted to an additional bedroom. The meticulously restored, full-width colonnaded balconies, which enjoy neighborhood and bay views, add outdoor living space to the home. They provide privacy from the street and shade the large windows to minimize overheating.

The south-facing sun filled garden, off the main living area, almost becomes a part of the home without a separation between indoor/outdoor living. The flower and tree filled garden is a host to the famous parrots of Telegraph Hill who love to feast on the fruit bearing apple tree. The apple tree was controversial and was a way for a gardener to take revenge on a finicky, previous owner, who complained several times he planted the wrong type of apple variety. He silenced her and took his revenge by grafting three varieties of apples onto its branches, which parrots and subsequent owners alike now enjoy.

Through its honest use of materials 31 Alta can be likened to a “mid-century modern” a century before that term came to describe homes of similar livability that were built in the 1950s and 1960s. Captain Andrews built his home of local, sustainable materials that were used appropriately and economically, therefore his home was “green” 160 years before the term became fashionable.

A 2005 restoration restored a breathtaking original staircase from the first level to the main living level. The custom railing and replacement of balusters was done by a retired Haas woodworker who commented “this is the San Francisco baluster” so called because Haas Woodworking in the East Bay specialized in hand turning that style and providing them to builders in San Francisco in the 1850s.

The exterior redwood siding is original to the home. During the restoration when the siding was recently repainted the only thing that had deteriorated were the hand-cut iron nails. The siding was re-attached with new stainless steel nails, stripped of paint, primed and repainted.

31 Alta has remained essentially unaltered since 1852 because generations of families have appreciated its charm and natural livability. All the work to build, restore and care for it, all the historical photographs taken of it, all the stories told about it and anecdotes surrounding it have made Captain Andrews’ home a ship on the sea of time.

Please visit: www.31Alta.com