Albert L. Farr
Encyclopedia
Albert L. Farr was an American residential architect
who designed homes in the Craftsman
and Georgian styles.
, he grew up in Yokohama, Japan. The Farr family returned to the United States
in 1891, and settled in the San Francisco Bay Area
. Farr lived at various times in San Francisco (at 2528 Union), and also in Berkeley
, Piedmont
, and Oakland
. From 1909 through the end of his career he maintained an office at 68 Post Street in San Francisco.
Farr earned his architecture license in 1901, one of the very first in California
. He took on a partner in 1922, eventually naming his firm Farr & Ward. Farr and his firm designed buildings throughout the Bay Area, particularly in the San Francisco neighborhoods of Russian Hill, Pacific Heights, Sea Cliff, and St. Francis Wood. Many of his designs involve a facade of brown wooden shingles
.
Farr also designed houses in Belvedere
, Piedmont and Woodside. His most famous is the Wolf House for Jack London
, in Glen Ellen
. The 15000 square feet (1,393.5 m²) home burned before construction was completed. Long thought to be the result of an arson
, recent analysis of the ruins, located in Jack London State Historic Park
, determined the cause to be spontaneous combustion
.
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
who designed homes in the Craftsman
American Craftsman
The American Craftsman Style, or the American Arts and Crafts Movement, is an American domestic architectural, interior design, landscape design, applied arts, and decorative arts style and lifestyle philosophy that began in the last years of the 19th century. As a comprehensive design and art...
and Georgian styles.
Biography
Born in Omaha, NebraskaOmaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
, he grew up in Yokohama, Japan. The Farr family returned to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1891, and settled in the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
. Farr lived at various times in San Francisco (at 2528 Union), and also in Berkeley
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
, Piedmont
Piedmont, California
Piedmont is a small, affluent city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is surrounded by the city of Oakland. The population was 10,667 at the 2010 census. Piedmont was incorporated in 1907 and was developed significantly in the 1920s and 1930s...
, and Oakland
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
. From 1909 through the end of his career he maintained an office at 68 Post Street in San Francisco.
Farr earned his architecture license in 1901, one of the very first in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. He took on a partner in 1922, eventually naming his firm Farr & Ward. Farr and his firm designed buildings throughout the Bay Area, particularly in the San Francisco neighborhoods of Russian Hill, Pacific Heights, Sea Cliff, and St. Francis Wood. Many of his designs involve a facade of brown wooden shingles
Roof shingle
Roof shingles are a roof covering consisting of individual overlapping elements. These elements are typically flat rectangular shapes laid in rows from the bottom edge of the roof up, with each successive higher row overlapping the joints in the row below...
.
Projects
- 2714 Broadway (1900)
- 2714 Divisadero (1900)
- 2660 Scott (1901)
- 2858 Vallejo (1901)
- 2419 Vallejo (1902)
- 2175-81 Pacific (1902)
- 3333 Pacific (1902)
- 3343 Pacific (1902)
- 2801 Broadway (1902)
- 2737 Vallejo (1902)
- 2310 Steiner (1903, remodel)
- 2881 Vallejo (1904)
- 2891 Vallejo (1904)
- 2400 Vallejo (1905)
- 2950 Pacific (1907)
- 653 Lake (1911)
- 2659-61 Green (1911)
- 2649 Green (1916)
- 2570 Jackson (1923, currently French Consul-General's house)
- 2310 Broadway (1927)
- 3699 Washington (1929)
- 2520 Pacific (1930, rebuild)
- 2574 Broadway (1932)
- 60 McLaren Avenue (1934)
- 2699 Filbert (1936, remodel)
- 2130 Vallejo (1936, remodel)
- 455 Sea Cliff Avenue (1938)
- 2550 Pierce (1941)
Farr also designed houses in Belvedere
Belvedere, California
Belvedere is an affluent city in Marin County, California, United States. Belvedere is located northeast of Sausalito, at an elevation of 36 feet...
, Piedmont and Woodside. His most famous is the Wolf House for Jack London
Jack London
John Griffith "Jack" London was an American author, journalist, and social activist. He was a pioneer in the then-burgeoning world of commercial magazine fiction and was one of the first fiction writers to obtain worldwide celebrity and a large fortune from his fiction alone...
, in Glen Ellen
Glen Ellen, California
Glen Ellen is a census-designated place in Sonoma Valley, Sonoma County, California, USA. The population was 784 at the 2010 census, down from 992 at the 2000 census. Glen Ellen is the location of Jack London State Historic Park , Sonoma Valley Regional Park, and a former home of Hunter S....
. The 15000 square feet (1,393.5 m²) home burned before construction was completed. Long thought to be the result of an arson
Arson
Arson is the crime of intentionally or maliciously setting fire to structures or wildland areas. It may be distinguished from other causes such as spontaneous combustion and natural wildfires...
, recent analysis of the ruins, located in Jack London State Historic Park
Jack London State Historic Park
Jack London State Historic Park, also known as Jack London Home and Ranch, is a California State Historic Park near Glen Ellen, California, United States, situated on the eastern slope of Sonoma Mountain...
, determined the cause to be spontaneous combustion
Spontaneous combustion
Spontaneous combustion is the self-ignition of a mass, for example, a pile of oily rags. Allegedly, humans can also ignite and burn without an obvious cause; this phenomenon is known as spontaneous human combustion....
.