To close out the year, we've asked our neighborhood editors to choose their favorite stories from the past year, and to explain why they loved them so.
Today, we hear from Lower Haight editor Jennie Butler:
I first started eyeing the Nightingale House as a potential story in June (it was published in August). I was attracted to the 19th-century home's well-kept gothic look, and its mysteriously unwritten history. After failed attempts to garner details from the property's former owners and real estate agents, I finally sent a handwritten inquiry to the home address.
As soon as I saw the inside, I knew that the extra effort was worth it. The owner had collected so many fascinating knickknacks that had been lost or stowed away at some point in time, like old medicine bottles, handwritten letters and self-help books dating back to the late 1800s. It was oddly thrilling—like stepping into a different era.
Below is an excerpt from the original story, published on August 5th, 2015.
Imagine an era before hippies, tech workers, and the Golden Gate and Bay Bridges, when most of the city was sand dunes and the Lower Haight, Hayes Valley and Mid-Market were a tangle of dirt roads and horse-drawn carriages. You'd have a good picture of San Francisco in 1882, when the Nightingale House, at 201 Buchanan St., was built.
You’ve probably noticed the Nightingale House before, thanks to its sheer size (4,400 square feet), not to mention its gothic details and general spookiness. The Queen Anne-style “cottage” has three stories: a basement, ground floor, and and a tower-like attic that serves as the house’s only proper bedroom (though three more have been added on the ground floor) ...
Continue reading Jennie's favorite story of 2015, "The History Of The Lower Haight's Nightingale House."
