The Reid Brothers

James and Merritt Reid, Canadians by birth, came to the West Coast via Illinois late in the 19th century.

With no apparent training beyond an apprenticeship and two years of technical training, they became two of the most prominent architects in San Francisco.

In the "City Beautiful" period, their firm created a number of San Francisco landmarks: the Fairmont Hotel, the Call/Spreckels building, the Geneva Car Barn, and the First Congregational Church.

Some notable Reid Brothers structures in the western neighborhoods:

The Cliff House
Built in 1909
Commissioned by Adolph Sutro's daughter, Emma Merritt, after her father's grand 1896 castle burned down. In the Reid Brothers' version of the seaside roadhouse, the view, rather than the structure, is the dominant feature. The National Park Service is currently proposing renovations to uncover the restrained Classical Revival building mostly hidden now by later extensions.

Coliseum Theater
Clement Street and Ninth Avenue
Built in 1918
Closed in 1989
Renovated into condominiums for 2002.

Alexandria Theater
Geary Boulevard and Eighteenth Avenue
Built in 1923

Balboa Theater
Balboa Street and Thirty-Eighth Avenue
Built in 1926

Polo Grounds
Golden Gate Park
Built 1908 - Never finished
Planned as "the largest stadium in the world," the Park Commission put up $5,000 to begin the enormous coliseum. Eventually the full plan was dropped, leaving some strangely distant concrete bleachers on the north side. Golden Gate Park was spared from a huge cement sporting venue until Kezar Stadium went up.

Dutch Cottage
Golden Gate Park
Built in 1909 for $3,383
Created as a home for the caretaker of the Murphy windmill.

Music Stand
Golden Gate Park

Image Credits: 1) "The Architect and Engineer of California", November 1910, Courtesy of San Francisco Architectural Heritage; All other images by WNP.

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Page updated 9/28/01