I found out that you can tour one of the Painted Ladies the first time visiting Alamo Square Park.
The term “Painted Ladies” refers to Victorian and Edwardian houses being repainted in three or more colors that enhance the architectural details. This practice began in the 1960’s. This doesn’t specifically apply to the seven houses in famous commercials, movies, and tv shows. But when you hear Painted Ladies, most think of the background of the intro in Full House, or the beginning of The Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978).
When I visited the Alamo Square Park, I noticed everyone there were taking pictures and sitting to face the houses. As if the Tanner family were about to walk out and wave to their fans. It was surreal, and I found myself doing the exact same thing. Groupthink is very surreal sometimes. I walked over to another part of the park to take a picture that I believed approximated where Bob Saget and the rest of the family sat for their picnic, the Painted Ladies perfectly in the background as if joining them for sandwiches and tea.
Two of the Painted Laides have Instagram accounts. The Pink one has a sign in a window displaying this fact, so I looked it up (@PinkPaintedLady) and saw a second one (@BluePaintedLady). Blue shared that there are daily tours. So I had to take a tour.
To take a tour of one house covers the lifetimes of generations of a family. You learn the intricacies of the house, yes, but you also learn the quirks and traits of family members that once took charge of these Victorian Era houses. They may have all started out the same: Redwood Cherry, the same or similar molds, so much flourish and beauty. But these houses have adapted to many owners and so much more construction projects that it would be difficult to keep an accurate account of them all.
Enter George Horsefall. He is the historian that keeps up with it all. And does a wonderful job of it. And that’s what makes this tour a five star experience.
But I’m cutting myself short in this review. In most cases, you need to cover the actual history or material discussed. Not the vague statements I’ve provided you, dear reader, today. Well, I don’t want to steal the spotlight from what George loves to do. The price for entry at 4pm is more than worth. Plus, he invites you to have a glass of wine if you’re willing to share your own story. I can’t think of a better thing to do: sipping wine while listening to someone else’s condensed life story in a Victorian living room after a tour.