Alamo Square Postcard Row Painted Ladies: The Seven Sisters

Why is it significant?

Stand on the grassy eastern slope of Alamo Square and behold the quintessential view of San Francisco: the world-famous 'Seven Sisters' of Postcard Row.

Key Facts

Open the walk

Stand on the grassy eastern slope of Alamo Square and behold the quintessential view of San Francisco: the world-famous 'Seven Sisters' of Postcard Row. Built between 1892 and 1896 by speculative builder Matthew Kavanaugh, who resided in the neighboring mansion at 722 Steiner Street, this tight row of seven three-story Queen Anne Victorian homes steps gracefully down the hill. Their delicate gingerbread gables, ornate wooden brackets, and multi-colored bay windows create an unforgettable visual contrast with the gleaming modern steel-and-glass skyscrapers of the downtown Financial District rising dramatically in the background.

This breathtaking juxtaposition of nineteenth-century domestic wooden charm and twenty-first-century corporate verticality has made Postcard Row one of the most photographed and televised architectural scenes on Earth. Featured in countless Hollywood films, advertisements, and the opening credits of the television sitcom 'Full House', these homes embody the romantic global image of San Francisco. Each home features a slightly unique floor plan and individualized decorative friezes, yet together they form a harmonious architectural symphony.

Alamo Square itself was established as a public park by the city government in 1857. Named for the Spanish word for the cottonwood tree, this twelve-acre hilltop park rises two hundred eighty-eight feet above the bay. During the 1906 earthquake, thousands of traumatized refugees camped on these very lawns, watching in horror as the city burned below. Every surrounding viewpoint, historic brick facade, and open-air plaza tells an essential chapter of California's ongoing transformation from a rugged frontier town into a world-renowned Pacific metropolis. Every surrounding viewpoint, historic brick facade, and open-air plaza tells an essential chapter of California's ongoing transformation from a rugged frontier town into a world-renowned Pacific metropolis.

The park underwent a comprehensive five-million-dollar irrigation and landscape restoration in 2017, preserving its historic lawns and dual dog play areas for future generations.

Walk north along Steiner Street to Fulton Street, heading to the mysterious corner of Scott and Fulton to see the William Westerfeld House.