3965 25th Street

This two story Victorian home was completed on September 5, 1887, according to San Francisco historic water records. Its original address was 1335 25^th Street. It was built by Frederick C. Kleebauer, with no architect of record. Kleebauer seemed to have built at least two more houses nearby, both in the Stick style.  The house appears to have been raised to add a 2^nd floor after it was built.  True to the times, there is no ornamentation, as it would have been costly custom work.  Another classic San Francisco form of Stick style Victorian, featuring a square bay, with matching pedimented details above each opening in the façade, and a complimentary bracketed cornice at the line of the roof. It is interesting to compare this house to the homes on either side to observe how time, maintenance concerns, and changing tastes can impact the appearance of a building. As was often the case in San Francisco, Kleebauer probably built this house as a spec house, meaning he built it to sell once completed.  He sold the house in 1887 to William J. Axford.

William J. Axford was the son of William Axford, who owned Mission Iron Works and lived at 1190 Noe Street.  As a foreman at his father’s company, he would have been in charge of a crew producing cast and wrought iron products for houses and other buildings under construction in the late 1800’s. He married Lillie T. White in August 1886, and it is possible that his wealthy father may have helped him purchase the house or was a wedding present for his son. He was listed in 1889 as still working at the Iron Works. His own son, William, Jr., worked as a carpenter for M & A Hansen on Noe between 25^th Street and Jersey, also nearby. He and Lillie moved to a different address and rented the house for several years.

The house was sold in 1893-94 to Daniel B. Libby. By 1894, the house address had changed from 1335 to 3965 25^th Street due to infilling of new houses. Libby owned the Coffee Saloon, later a restaurant at 23 Third Street. By 1898, he was in the mining business. The discovery of gold in Alaska set off the gold rush to the Klondike region. The gold rush lasted from 1897 to 1904.  By 1899, during the second gold rush, thousands of gold seekers including Libby came through Nome, Alaska by ship and then headed up to the Klondike gold fields. The San Francisco Call newspaper called Libby the “Father of Cape Nome Region” in Alaska (Aug 8, 1897, pg 8). The 1900 Census lists him as a mine owner (b. in Maine, (1854) and married to Lena (b. 1857 in California) with two sons both born in California, Daniel B. Libby, Jr. (b. 1887) and Addie Libby (b. 1892) living at the house. By 1904, the Gold Rush was over in Alaska, and Libby transferred the house to a relative August M. Libby. By 1906, the house was sold to a new owner, August Westphal, a liquor dealer.

1906 was the year of the earthquake and fire that devastated much of the central part of San Francisco but spared Noe Valley. Westphal sold the house in 1909 or 1910 to Michael Silk. Thus began the longest period of one family residing in this home.  In the 1910 Census, Silk was listed as a teamster at a brewery. Both Michael (35) and his wife Marie (34) were born in Ireland. They had three children all born in California, Charles M. (13), Vincent J. (7), and Muriel I. (4). A second daughter may have been born after the census. Brother Thomas J. Silk (31), also born in Ireland working as a laborer for Public Works, lived with them. In the 1951-53 City Directory, Michael and probably other family members were still living at the residence. By the 1964-65 City Directory, his daughter Muriel, now married to Elbridge Calvert, were occupants of the house. The Silk family owned the house for nearly 80 years until being acquired by the next homeowner, who is your host today. A special note: the Victorian Alliance usually attributes the house name to its first occupants. The Silks were here for so long that we felt it important to honor their time in this home.

As owner Dion Drislane, in her own words, recalled, “When I bought this house in 1991, friends in North Beach where I lived asked me, ‘Noe Valley, where is that? Is it in the city?’ I wanted a southern exposure yard for my garden, so I looked at every house on the market that was on the south side of the streets.  When I bought it, the house was painted pink and became known among friends as, ‘The Pink Palace’ but it was no palace. There was a chandelier and one plug in every room, two fuses in the basement. In the kitchen, a sink, a stove and a harvest gold refrigerator… no counters or cabinets, just a tiny pantry. It seemed Muriel Silk, who lived here before me, had ‘kitchen furniture’ (Hoosiers, I believe). The piece de resistance was that the John (Toilet) was out the back door of the kitchen as if the outhouse had been moved inside but just barely. It had a window into a small shed built on grade that I referred to as the ‘garden room’ which had 3 or 4 big windows, a door and a shed roof. The Silk family, from whom I bought the house, had two girls and two boys, and I came to believe that while the girls must have slept in the little room off the hall, those two boys slept in that shed. (just my guess). But I loved this house!”

“Besides the southern exposure yard, one of the things that drew me to the house was that it appeared to have never been remodeled. When I mentioned my reasoning to a relative of the woman who last lived here, she said, ‘Oh, don’t say that to Aunt Muriel! She’ll tell you, ‘Mother remodeled in the 20’s!’’ The exterior looked to be in good condition when I bought the house, although cast iron pipes painted black served as the hand rails up the front stairs. I replaced them as well as the windows, and the side door downstairs. The garage doors, French door style, required two people, one pushing another pulling, to bolt close, had to go, too. The front door was here when I bought it.”          

“When I bought this place, I had toured lots of houses in Noe, looking for a house to buy. After moving into this house, I had a little catering business and I catered lunch for many Tuesday real estate broker tours.  I saw ways in which these Charles Eastlake Stick Victorians had been updated to modern living. I lived here for eight years drawing plans of how it could serve my lifestyle yet preserve some of the charm that drew me to it in the first place. I hope you enjoy this house as I have!”

Research by Gary Goss and Adam Klafter

Edited by Gail Baugh, 2024