Grand Dames

Fixers Seeking Dreamers

Nicely-boned large fixers from the Victorian through Craftsman eras have always attracted me. In the first place, their exterior designs are often beautiful, and almost always handsome. Clearly, that was the goal of their first owners who wanted to live in a home suitable to their station in life. Building plans by mail and in […]

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Bodega Architecture and Quoins

The Potter Schoolhouse in Bodega is one of the few remaining buildings from Alfred Hitchcock’s filming of “The Birds”. It’s been a schoolhouse, bed and breakfast, and private residence. I’m a fan of the simple symmetry of the building with the round-top windows, corner columns, and octagonal tower. It’s a timeless building without the gingerbread

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Healdsburg Victorian with five units in back

Healdsburg has a great collection of Victorians downtown. Matheson St, a main artery to the Healdsburg plaza, has both modest and large examples of what are often called painted ladies. Martin Humphrey’s current listing is an interesting opportunity since it includes not just a Victorian with classically good bones, but five extra units on the

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