Downey Street

Originally a large, but undistinguished Victorian in the Haight-
Ashbury district of San Francisco. When renovation of the facade
began, it was covered asbestos shingles, stripped of any Victorian
detail it ever had.

Forensic demolition indicated that it never had much detail, so
we decided to create our own. Because of its severe western
exposure, painting over the years had always been a big
maintenance problem.

For this reason it was decided to use the embossed, prepatinated
copper and brass sheet metal that is often used for
decorative ceilings -- a favorite material of the owner -- as the
cladding and for some of the moldings. The dentil rake molding at
the top of the gable is copper, for instance.
Two shades of gold leaf were used on the sunbursts.