Pacific Heights Architects #9 - Walter D. Bliss

The focus of this series has been Pacific Heights architects and the homes they designed for themselves in the area. The home at 2990 Vallejo designed by Walter Bliss for himself and his family is an interesting blend of Italian Mediterranean and Classical styles.

Walter Danforth Bliss was born in Nevada in 1872, the fourth of five children born to Duane and Elizabeth Bliss. Duane Bliss had migrated out to California from Massachusetts during the gold rush period and had become a partner in a Nevada Bank, which was purchased by the Bank of California. Later Duane formed a partnership with Bank of California President, Darius Ogden Mills, in the Carson and Tahoe Lumber and Fluming Company. This successful venture secured the education of the Bliss’ children, each of whom was sent back to Massachusetts for schooling at MIT.

At MIT, Walter Bliss met his future partner William Baker Faville. Faville, more than 5 years his senior, was born in San Andreas, California, but had grown up in western New York State, and had already served an apprenticeship in Buffalo with architects Green & Wicks. Bliss and Faville both left MIT in 1895 and began working at the prominent New York firm of McKim, Mead & White. Although neither appears to have attended the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, they would have been exposed to its philosophy in New York at McKim, Mead & White and also at the Society of Beaux-Arts Architects in New York, of which John Galen Howard was then President.

In 1898 the pair decided to form a partnership and selected San Francisco as the city in which to work. They moved out here and Walter Bliss was able to build upon his father’s connections to secure commissions, which the firm executed, quickly establishing a strong reputation. One of their first projects was a new house for Duane and Elizabeth Bliss at 2898 Broadway in1899, a Dutch Colonial design. This was followed in Pacific Heights by 3020 Pacific and in Presidio Heights by 3638 Washington (both in 1900), and later in Pacific Heights by 2520 Pacific and 2800 Scott (both in 1905).

Early on in their career the firm was commissioned by Charles F. Crocker to design the St. Francis Hotel on Powell Street opposite Union Square. Crocker sent the pair on a trip to Europe to study the finest hotels in London and Paris. Originally built in 1904 as a ‘U’ shape, the St. Francis was in the process of being enlarged into an ‘E’ shape at the time of the April 1906 earthquake. It was damaged, but repaired, and it reopened in 1907. The hotel was further enlarged by them in 1913. Another fine example of their classical architecture is the Corinthian-columned Bank of California, 400 California at Sansome, completed in 1908. Its importance to the architecture of the downtown area was recognized in 1968 by its designation as San Francisco Landmark #3. That commission came directly from Duane Bliss’ business association with D. O. Mills and the design is inspired by McKim, Mead & White’s Knickerbocker Trust Company building on Fifth Avenue in New York from 1901-04.

Bliss bought the 2990 Vallejo lot in 1910. It had been owned by Katharine Dart Mathews, wife of architect Edgar Mathews. The Mathews’ lived next door at 2980 Vallejo (see article #3 in this series) in the first house to be built on the block. In 1914, Bliss designed the house at 2990 for himself and his wife Edith Pillsbury, just in time to enjoy the sight of the spectacular 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition below. Bliss & Faville were designers of the Palace of Food Products and the Palace of Manufactures for the PPIE, and William Faville was also the designer of the 65 ft. high ‘Great Wall’ which grouped 8 of the 12 Palaces together, thereby sheltering the 5 principal Courts of the Exposition from the afternoon fog coming in through the Golden Gate. The simplicity of Faville’s outer walls was enhanced by a beautiful array of portals and niches of Spanish and Italian design.

2990 Vallejo was an early use of reinforced concrete construction in a residential property. Since from the street the house appears to be only 2 stories high, that at first seems unusual, until viewed from the rear, where it can be seen to be at least 80 feet high on a sharply downsloping view lot. The house is Italian Mediterranean in style with asymmetric massing, a stucco coating, and a hipped roof that is covered with clay tiles. Illustrated in a 1915 Gladding McBean catalog, the roof is described as being composed of No. 1 Mission Tile, Grey-Green Enamel, with a Medium Variation in Shade. The additional expense of a tile roof has obviously proved to be an excellent investment!

Bliss & Faville’s commercial structures include the Geary Theater and Annex (415 Geary/333 Mason, 1909, now San Francisco Landmark #82), the Security Pacific Bank (1 Grant, 1910, now San Francisco Landmark #132), the University Club (800 Powell, 1912), the Masonic Temple (25 Van Ness, 1913, now offices), the Metropolitan Club (640 Sutter, 1916), the Southern Pacific headquarters (1 Market, 1916), the Bank of Italy (1 Powell, 1920), the Matson building (235 Market, 1921) and several other significant San Francisco buildings, making them one of the most prolific partnerships the City has ever seen. They terminated the partnership amicably in 1925. Faville continued in practice by himself and Bliss formed a new arrangement with their chief designer, J. Stewart Fairweather.

Walter Bliss died on May 9, 1956 in Nevada and the house at 2990 Vallejo was sold as part of his estate. Now in the hands of its third owners, the public rooms of the house remain almost exactly as Bliss envisioned them. The only limitation of the house was lack of parking, which has been rectified by the current owners with the addition of a 4+ car garage at the rear of the property, accessed from Lyon and Green Streets.