Personal home of San Francisco’s storybook architect hits the market

The Outer Sunset is sometimes left out when people wax poetic about the unique architecture distinguishing San Francisco neighborhoods – but to do so is to omit the storybook whimsy of Oliver Rousseau. This architect is credited with transforming the conformity of the Outer Sunset’s pastel rectangles, building nearly 100 charming Hansel-and Gretel-style cottages influenced by elements of Tudor, Spanish and French styles. And at 1598 36th Avenue, we’re seeing not only Rousseau’s famous, playful aesthetic: We’re seeing his own home. Rousseau’s personal castle-like residence is for sale now, asking $2.798 million.

Riffing on Spanish Colonial Revival, Rousseau crafted this 3,530-square-foot, four-bedroom, four-bathroom abode in 1932. The home’s appealing facade – embellished by numerous wrought iron balconies – opens to a dramatic tiled entry and swirling staircase. The living room features vaulted ceilings inset with rough-hewn wood beams, rising to a peak over a brick hearth. Never one to miss a chance at adding beauty, Rousseau installed stained glass windows in the walls that flank the curving stairway. On the upper level, the primary suite offers views of the Pacific Ocean, which Rousseau himself must have enjoyed while living here from 1933 to 1937, according to the San Francisco Planning Department.

Though many period details are intact, the home has also been modernized in its near century of life. The kitchen and bathrooms are thoroughly updated, and the home’s lower level has been converted into a rec room/ lounge, with room for large couches, a wet bar and game tables arranged around another fireplace. This room opens to a private courtyard.

The iconic charm any Rousseau home is still special today; but in the early 1930s, Rousseau’s storybook style was unheard of in the Outer Sunset. As History and Psychology in the Outer Sunset reported in a 2019 blog post, the majority of homes here were built in a uniform style, meant to provide inexpensive housing for working-class families: “When they were built, they were meant to allow families with modest means a way to have their own homes,” the blog reads.

According to SF Planning, brothers Arthur and Oliver Rousseau also wanted to build homes for moderate incomes, and they did so by rejecting that prevailing conformity. Inspired by the stunning backdrop of the sea, the Rousseaus built 93 houses in the Outer Sunset between 1932 and 1933: “With great attention to detail and an emphasis on variety, they created a cohesive enclave that stands out as a unique and rare confection of Storybook Period Revival whose whimsy and charm continue to delight today.”

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the style that made Rousseau famous inspired other architects in this neighborhood. In a 2004 profile on Oliver Rousseau, the San Francisco Chronicle wrote that not all homes in the Outer Sunset that look like or bear the label of “Rousseau-style” are in fact Rousseau’s work. In an interview, Gary Goss, “San Francisco’s leading architectural sleuth,” said that “a house that looks like a Rousseau could easily be a Donell Jaekle, a Charles Clausen, a Doelger … The style was copied, mimicked, duplicated by others.”

Rousseau homes, however, are generally considered superior to the facsimiles — “better built and proportioned, roomier, classier and more ornate than the competition,” according to the Chronicle article.

And, certainly, one of the best examples of Rousseau’s artistry has to be 1598 36th Avenue, the home he built for himself.

This is the first time the property has been on the market since 2009, when it sold for $1.035 million.