National Register #83001230
Liberty Street Historic District
15-188 Liberty Street
Built 1867-1911

Liberty Street is on the eastern edge of the San Miguel Rancho which was patented by José de Jesús Noé in 1845. The Old San Jose Road from Mission Dolores ran near the first block of Liberty Street. In 1854 Noé sold the Rancho to John M. Horner, who platted Horner's Addition and sold it by the block. Horner's 1863 map shows just one structure in the district.

The Liberty Street Historic District contains fifty-one residences of historic significance on the two blocks of Liberty Street between Valencia Street and Guerrero Street. This quiet enclave is a capsule history of middle-class housing in San Francisco between 1867 and 1911. It contains medium-sized examples of every style prevalent during that period: early Italianate, San Francisco standard Italianate, San Francisco Stick, Stick-Eastlake, Queen Anne and vernacular Classical Revival. Such a range of intact houses in a small area is unusual.

Although each house has a unique design, only thirteen were designed by known architects. Twelve were designed by carpenter-builders or contractors. None of San Francisco's most prominent architects designed a residence here.

The original owner-residents were middle class: two foremen, three attorneys, several small manufacturers, several skilled operatives and some government functionaries, the partners in a box factory, two U.S. Mint employees, two gilders, two brothers, four men involved in sailing and two in carriage making. The three large Italianate houses were long occupied respectively by a judge, a commission merchant and a box factory owner.

After 1911, a few more flats in later styles were constructed in the district. The first apartment was built in 1925. The 1930s saw only adverse remodeling. Since then only apartments have been built.

Also see the San Francisco Liberty-Hill Historic District.