2008 DECORATOR SHOWCASE

If I Knew You Were
Coming I’d Have…

by Jennifer Raiser

    Baked a cake? Hired a band? Installed cast-iron banisters with your family crest? Put up a fireplace with your royal insignia? Well, that’s just what Maude Graves, the star-struck chatelaine of 2820 Scott Street, did to encourage Crown Princess Marie of Romania to come for a visit in 1915 — according to legend. After all, the main entrance of the Panama-Pacific Exposition was a short walk down on Scott Street, and Marie, the Princess Diana of her day, was invited to attend.

    Despite the fact that the house’s owners were not Romanian but admirers of the granddaughter of Queen Victoria and Tsar Alexander II of Russia, installing a few royal references during the decorating process couldn’t hurt with the invite. At least it would impress the neighbors. And now, 93 years later, it’s likely to impress the 20,000 visitors who pay for the privilege during the 2008 Decorator Showcase to benefit University High School Scholarship Program.

    Walker C. Graves & his wife Maude had purchased the stately shingled home around 1910 from Mortimer Fleishacker. It was built in 1905 in the Arts & Crafts style for an estimated $12,200 for Eugene & Olive Grace, genteel southerners, and admirably survived the Great Quake. But the new owners’ taste was somewhat more demonstrative, so the house was expanded, “Italianated” and embellished, adding a garage for Maude’s “American Beauty” automobile, painted scarlet to match her favorite frock. (The Graves’ granddaughter, Kimberly Bakker, carries on the tradition as a well-dressed woman-about-town today.)

    It is believed the remarkable Louis Comfort Tiffany skylight was added at this time, along with the lovely tiled fountain and elaborately coffered and painted ceilings. The Graves family fortune derived from vast cattle ranching operations in Fresno, but parties at 2820 Scott were hardly hoedowns, avidly reported in the society pages and attended by such colorful local luminaries as Alma Spreckels and the lesbian modern dancer Loie Fuller.

    Whether or not it is true that Maude Graves remodeled her home with Princess Marie in mind (and Maude’s descendents say they have no definite evidence of this), she was nevertheless a vibrant character in her own right, hosting fancy-dress balls and appearing in elaborate costumes to meet her guests and, once widowed, her many gentlemen callers who would leave their hats in the hall to see if Maude would take them in or toss their hat back in rejection.

    The moment of Graves’ grandeur was the renovation reference point for present owner Ken Paige, who bought the house in great disrepair in 2003. With family interests in art, real estate and decorative glass, Paige fell in love with the grand staircase, sweeping views and marble work, and decided to take on an elaborate renovation “for fun.” After two years of seismic reinforcements and elaborate undoing of interim internal subdivisions (more on that in a moment), Paige agreed to let the Decorator Showcase provide the final finishes that are the hallmark of this fundraiser.

    Paige says he looks forward to lending out the house for other charity events as well: an Opera Guild soirée is scheduled, and Symphony, Ballet, Legion of Honor, and other local worthies are expected to follow suit. But Paige isn’t moving in any time soon. “My wife Dorothy said she didn’t need another house to take care of, and you don’t argue after 43 years of marriage.”

    Their unmarried son Matt, a member of the family business, plans to reside in the house full-time. “He’s been asked to be on that television show, The Bachelor, but he keeps turning them down. It would be the longest-running show in history — he’s too nice to reject any of them.” Good news for the many aspirants to the position of girlfriend-in-residence who could see themselves whipping up a soufflé in the butler’s pantry, with its great view of the bay.

    After the Graves’ gentrification (or gussification, depending upon your perspective) the house was sold in 1928 to the DuGand Family from Columbia, who used it as an honorary consulate for their country and a warm family residence for their eight children. The DuGand grandchildren fondly remember “Doña Beatriz” making her entrance down the grand staircase, hosting elaborate dinners and open houses with convivial charm.

    A decade later, in 1938, Harold Schubert purchased the private manse and transformed it into the “Scott Street Residence Club,” subdividing the four upper bedrooms into a number of smaller ones for monthly rentals. Boarding houses were considered respectable places to live in those days, and the Scott Street address attracted many sons and daughters of well-known San Francisco families.

    When Olga & Walter Lindemood purchased the furnished property for $88,650 in 1951, they expanded the building, purchased the property next door, and painted the whole thing a memorable shade of pink. “The Pink Palace” was a considered a desirable temporary address, and it’s widely rumored that more than a few desires were fulfilled there during its heyday. (One wag said, “We didn’t call it the Pink Palace when we lived there!”)

    Throughout the 1950s and ’60s, Olga Lindemood’s Friday night cocktail parties continued to engage residents and alumni of the congenial community, a few of whom have appeared in the pages of this very publication!

    Eventually the property was transferred to Olga’s daughter and son-in-law, who sold it to Paige in 2005. Undoing the boarding house renovations and bringing it up to code was the great challenge. “It was a complete wreck, but my daughter insisted that I buy it,” Ken Paige says. “One look at that Tiffany skylight and that was it. We’ve been in the glass business long enough to know a treasure when we see it!”

    When asked if he was brilliant or crazy to take on such an elaborate project, he responds, “Oh, that’s easy. I’m totally crazy to do it. But that’s how things get done in San Francisco!” His delight in the process is palpable, and infectious. “I see the glass as half full. No, actually it’s bubbling over!” No wonder he’s looking forward to welcoming the toast of San Francisco to parties at his elaborate example of This Old House.

    And Marie of Romania? She never got around to seeing those iron balustrades with her crest, or to San Francisco in 1915, or ever, for that matter. But in case her ghost ever wants to make an appearance, she’ll feel right at home making her introduction to San Francisco’s super social set at 2820 Scott Street.

    The 2008 Decorator Showcase runs through May 26 at 2820 Scott Street, SF. For more info:  415-447-5830 or decoratorshowcase.org.            

    Jennifer Raiser wonders why Marie of Romania has appeared in her past two Nob Hill Gazette articles.

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