Russian Hill-Paris Block Architectural District

Eleven residences face one another across a single flat block of Green Street on Russian Hill in San Francisco, each in a different architectural style. They include an Octagon house with a later Second Empire-style Mansard roof, two Italianate buildings, a Craftsman-influenced shingled house, a Beaux Arts house, Colonial Revival and Classical Revival buildings, and Mission and Pueblo Revival designs. Construction dates run from about 1859 to 1925. The 1906 fire destroyed development on the north side, but several houses on the south side survived, and four new buildings on the north side were built in 1912-1913. Notable architects include Lewis P. Hobart, who designed the five-story Bos Apartments that likely inspired the nickname "Paris Block," as well as Julia Morgan, L.B. Dutton and Oscar Haupt. The block is considered significant because its high-quality, varied architecture sits in a small, harmonious setting, and most buildings retain their original character.