The Kavanaugh House

Garnering nicknames like the “Seven Sisters,” Postcard Row,” and the “Painted Ladies,” the group of six gabled Queen Anne cottages along with the tower-house at 722 Steiner Street have become iconic symbols of San Francisco. All constructed by Mathew Kavanaugh in the 1890s, the contractor first built his own corner abode in 1892 before constructing the uphill parcels. He would reside there with his wife Catherine until the turn of the century.

Five years after Mathew’s townhouses were completed in 1895, he and his wife moved to San Rafael. Aside from their nationally famed row houses, the couple is memorialized by a large stained glass window that they donated to Fillmore Street’s Sacred Heart church. Located on the northern wall of the nave, and probably dating from 1898, it features painted portraits of their patron saints, Catherine of Alexandria and Matthew the Apostle.

Kavanaugh was eclectic in the choice of design and details for his house. Appearing to be Eastlake in style, it is really Queen Anne, with typical fish scale shingles and lack of heavy applied woodwork that was typical of the period. The octagonal corner bay is reminiscent of the Second Empire style of two decades earlier. The neo-classic ornament (laurel swags and acanthus leaves) predate trends of decades to follow.

Succeeding the Kavanaughs was the three-generation German-American family of Fred Klopper, a leather dealer, and his wife Anna. Residing with them, according to the 1900 census, were three of their four children, Fred, 18; Herman, 10; their married daughter, Louise Schnabel, 28; and her two children. Another adult married daughter, Marie Bette, lived elsewhere. Frank passed away in 1917 and his children sold the house in 1922. By 1975 the property, which had changed hands approximately ten times, had been condemned and, to make way for a parking lot, slated for demolition.

Saviors of the building were new owners Michael Shannon and his partner, Dr. James Voigeny, who proceeded to bring it up to code by replacing all wiring, water and gas lines, and installing a new heating system and reinforced foundation. Michael, in the late 1970s and early I980s, was one of the neighborhood activists whose efforts were responsible for creating the Alamo Square Historic District.

Because of its prime corner location, the garage was placed on its Grove Street side; unlike its neighbors, the house was able to preserve its street side garden and wrought iron fencing. In addition to its front tower, the house is distinguished by its hipped roof, second-story fish scale shingles, decorative frieze bands and glassed-in portico. Its northern exposure is enlivened by a rectangular bay and two small gables.

The interior of the house includes a stained glass skylight in the central hall, salvaged from a church in St. Louis, MO, plus seven other stained glass windows.

The gilded mirror in the main parlor was purchased by the Fulton family in New York City in 1870 and shipped “Around-the-Horn,” for their house on Scott and Oak Streets. It remained there until it was purchased for this house in 1975.

All light fixtures on the main floor are working gaslights. The largest, in the dining room, was manufactured in San Francisco in the 1880s for a home in Pacific Heights.

The house has 4 stories and contains 4500 square feet. The lower level is a 900-square-foot, one-bedroom apartment. The third level has 3 bedrooms and 2 modern baths in a “Victorian Period” style. The top floor is a large loft and storage area with one bathroom.

The movie Maxie—starring Ruth Gordon, Glenn Close and Mandi Patinkin—was filmed here in November 1984. The house has been featured on over 40 commercials and series, numerous magazine and book covers and multiple postcards.

Restoration has gone on continuously since 1975 by Michael Shannon and James Vogeney.

Peter Jeal joined the restoration project in 1982.