|
Pacific Heights Architects #32 - Sylvain Schnaittacher
The focus of this series is architects who had an influence
over the way Pacific Heights looks today. Sylvain Schnaittacher
was a highly-regarded San Francisco-born architect and one who was
very involved in maintaining the standards of the profession.
 Sylvain
Schnaittacher was born in San Francisco on November 30, 1874, the
son of Carl Jacob and Pauline Schnaittacher. Sylvain graduated
from Boys High School and studied at the Mark Hopkins Institute of
Art (now the San Francisco Art Institute). In 1891 he started work
for A. Page
Brown as a draftsman. In a short period of
time, Brown had created an important collection of work and
contributed to the training of some of San Francisco's finest
architects including
Bernard Maybeck
and Willis
Polk. After Brown’s unfortunate death from a
horse and buggy accident in 1896, at the age of only 36,
Schnaittacher and Frank Van Trees completed his projects. In 1897,
Schnaittacher opened his own practice with an office at 206
Kearny. Some of his earliest commissions in 1897-99 were
industrial buildings South of Market.
Like many architects, Schnaittacher took a year off at the turn of
the century to travel in Europe studying the history of
architecture. He returned to San Francisco in 1901 and was awarded
one of the first State Architects Certificates ever issued (number
A17) in August 1901. In 1905 he was elected to the local chapter
of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). He lived with his
widowed mother on Van Ness, moving her after the 1906 earthquake
and fire to 1901 California. In 1908 he married his wife Cecilia.
They lived first at 1770 Pacific, then moving after the birth of
their son in 1911 to 1369 Hyde, and finally in 1915, to 3513
Jackson where Schnaittacher would live for the rest of his life.
In common with most of the architects of his era, Schnaittacher
designed a variety of buildings, including 154 Sutter (1907), the
former Argonaut Club at 421 Powell/400 Post (1909), on that
intersection’s north-west corner across from Union Square, and the
Paige Motor Car Company building at 1699 Van Ness (1919, southwest
corner of Sacramento), now listed on the National Register of
Historic Places, and used as the offices of a real estate
brokerage company today.
Schnaittacher's legacy to San Francisco residential architecture
consists of several fine single family homes and apartment
buildings, such as in Presidio Heights at 3980 Clay (1905), 3444
Washington and 3580 Washington (both 1906), 3530 Washington
(1907), 3452 Jackson (1908) and 3524 Jackson (1910), and in
Pacific Heights, two very similar apartment buildings with
spacious units at 3055 Pacific (1921, 5 apartments) and 2855
Jackson (1923, 6 apartments). Both of the Pacific Heights
apartment buildings (see photos) have been converted to
individually-owned condominiums - a testament to the quality of
his work.
Concerned about the need for formal training in the field,
Schnaittacher served on the Examining Committee of the State Civil
Service Commission for draftsmen. He was appointed to the State
Board of Architecture in 1910 and was its Secretary/Treasurer from
1912 until he died. For the San Francisco Chapter of the AIA he
was Secretary from 1907 through to 1916, Vice-President 1917-18,
and President 1919-20. He was elected to the AIA National Board of
Directors in 1924 and appointed Regional Director of the Western
States. He was highly regarded in the architectural community and
his sudden death on February 11, 1926 was a shock to all.
In 1924, Schnaittacher had teamed up with Bakewell and Brown (with
Albert
Lansburgh and
Bernard Maybeck
in consulting roles) to design what was perhaps one of his finest
works, the impressive Temple Emanu-El (Arguello at Lake), which
was awarded a Distinguished Honor in Architecture by the AIA in
1927.
|
