Joseph Esherick (1914–1998) set up his own practice in San Francisco in 1946. San Francisco Planning describes his early designs, mostly houses, as a continuation of the Second Bay Tradition, and it says his office served as a link between the Second and Third Bay Traditions. If a listing calls a house "an Esherick," this guide sets out the works the official records attribute to him, how his firm's name changed over the years, and the steps for testing that credit.
The guide rests on the San Francisco Planning Department's San Francisco Modern Architecture and Landscape Design 1935–1970 historic context statement (Historic Preservation Commission case 2011.0059U), on a draft SF Planning biography that repeats and adds to the statement's Esherick entry, and on the archive guide to the Joseph Esherick Collection, held by UC Berkeley's Environmental Design Archives.
Esherick's office in the records
His entry in the statement dates his drafting job in the office of Gardner Dailey to 1938–1942. The statement, the draft biography and the archive all put the opening of his own office in 1946.
The records show the firm's name changing over time, and the name on a drawing helps date it:
Joseph Esherick, Architect, 1946 to 1965;
Joseph Esherick and Associates, 1965 to 1972;
Esherick, Homsey, Dodge and Davis (EHDD), from 1972, when he made George Homsey, Peter Dodge and Charles Davis partners.
The partners' own entries in the statement show how long they had been in the office first. Homsey is listed as a designer from 1952 and an associate from 1963. Dodge is listed as a designer from 1956, and the statement says he managed the conversion of the unused Del Monte Cannery. So a 1950s or 1960s job from the office may have involved a future partner, and the project file is the place to find out.
Both SF Planning and the archive say his early work was shaped by his former employer and by William Wurster (see our William Wurster page). He also taught architecture at UC Berkeley from 1952 to 1985. The statement and the archive's guide say he was dean of architecture there from 1977 to 1981. Those two sources and the archive's collection page all date his AIA Gold Medal to 1989.
From Second Bay houses to Third Bay forms
SF Planning says most of the city's Second Bay Tradition buildings were designed in the 15 years after World War II, and it names Esherick among the architects whose work fits the style. It adds that his office in particular was influential in bridging the Second and Third Bay Traditions. In the statement's words, his early designs, "primarily residential, are a continuation of the Second Bay Tradition."
The statement dates the Third Bay Tradition from about 1965 into the 1970s. It lists wood shingle cladding, plain wood siding and shed roof forms as its design elements, and it notes that such buildings were described as vertical shed-roof boxes. In San Francisco, it says, the Third Bay Tradition shows up mainly in condominium developments and the occasional house, most of them built in the late 1960s and the 1970s. Outside our area, the statement and the archive tie his firm to model or demonstration houses at The Sea Ranch on the Sonoma coast (1965–67), and SF Planning says his work largely shifted to nonresidential commissions after that.
SF Planning sums up the look the firm kept as "extensive use of wood paneling and other local materials, consideration of the topography and natural landscape, and geographically styled designs." Photo captions in the statement show what that meant on city lots. One describes a 1951 house on Washington Street near Presidio Heights as "L-shaped, box-like" and "perched on a steep slope." Another shows his 1953 building on Pacific Avenue and notes that the block has several buildings by Esherick and Wurster.
The statement also includes a table of the buildings and gardens in the 1949 San Francisco Museum of Art exhibition "Domestic Architecture of the San Francisco Bay Region." Its Esherick entries are in San Rafael and Kent Woodlands in Marin County, both with landscapes by Douglas Baylis, plus one in Stockton with a Thomas Church landscape and one in Tahoe City.
What SF Planning lists in San Francisco
These are the San Francisco works in his statement entry, with two more from the draft biography (streets and years only):
1950: a house on Vallejo Street;
1951: houses on Washington Street and Raycliff Terrace, and a Pacific Avenue address;
1952: a medical office building on California Street;
1953: a building on Pacific Avenue;
1962: a building on Scott Street (draft biography only);
1963: houses on El Camino Del Mar, 32nd Avenue and Pacific Avenue;
1966: Christ the Savior Greek Orthodox Church on 12th Avenue;
1969: buildings on McAllister Street;
1970: Banneker Homes, townhouses in the Western Addition A-2 project area, which the statement says were designed with landscape architect Lawrence Halprin;
1972: Diamond Heights Village, Red Rock Way, with Arthur Gensler (draft biography only).
The list's adaptive-reuse job is the conversion of the Del Monte Cannery at Fisherman's Wharf into The Cannery. Its date differs within the same records. The project list says 1968, the narrative says 1965–67, and Dodge's entry dates his management of the conversion to 1963. If you cite a date, cite the source with it.
One more conflict matters for house hunters. The same Pacific Avenue address from 1951 appears on Esherick's list and on the list for Wurster, Bernardi and Emmons in the same document. The statement doesn't explain why. Check the permit before you repeat either credit.
Is my house a Joseph Esherick?
Before you repeat a credit, test it against these records, one step at a time:
Start with the dates. Compare the year built on the assessor's record with the office's dates. His own office opened in 1946, and the records place him on another architect's staff from 1938 to 1942. A house from before 1946 would need a record explaining the credit.
Read the original permit and drawings. Look for one of the firm names above in the title block, and make sure the name fits the year. An EHDD drawing from after 1972 may be a partner's design.
Compare the house with SF Planning's lists. If the house isn't on the statement's list or the draft biography's, that doesn't rule him out, but the credit then needs a different record.
Go to the archive. The Joseph Esherick Collection at UC Berkeley's Environmental Design Archives covers 1933 to 1985 and fills 100 linear feet. Its guide says the bulk is project files, chiefly from the 1960s, and the archive's collection page says the files hold drawings, specifications, correspondence and notes. If a project file matches the house, that is good evidence of the credit. The guide also points to an oral history at the Bancroft Library, An Architectural Practice in the San Francisco Bay Area, 1938–1996.
Don't credit by look alone. Shingles and shed roofs mark the whole Third Bay Tradition. The statement names Charles Moore, William Turnbull, Donlyn Lyndon, Richard Whitaker, Richard Peters and others in that group. Our field guide to mid-century features helps with dating a house from what you can see.
Owning an Esherick house today
An Esherick credit and a historic listing are two separate things. The statement classes Esherick as a "master architect," and the draft biography gives him the label "Architect of Merit" and EHDD "Firm of Merit." None of those labels puts a house on a register. The statement does name Esherick among the architects it recommends for further study. It suggests a survey of their known works that could lead to National Register multiple-property nominations or to individual or district listings. Its list of factors for prioritizing local landmark designation includes properties associated with master architects.
Because the statement allows lower integrity thresholds for Second Bay Tradition buildings designed by a master architect or firm, getting the credit right can matter in a historic review.
Ask the city's planning staff about survey or landmark status before you plan changes to the outside. Is My House Historic in California? walks through the historic lists, the criteria and the review steps, and our San Francisco page covers mid-century houses across the city. Treat this as general information rather than legal advice.
Frequently asked questions
Is a Joseph Esherick house mid-century modern?
The custom houses on SF Planning's San Francisco list date from 1950 to 1963, inside the statement's Second Bay Tradition period of 1937 to about 1964. Later work moves toward the Third Bay Tradition, which the statement dates from about 1965 into the 1970s.
Is there an Esherick tract in the Bay Area?
We found no record that ties him to a Bay Area tract. The San Francisco works on SF Planning's lists include custom houses, the McAllister Street buildings, the Banneker Homes townhouses, a church, a medical office building and The Cannery.
Where can I see his drawings?
The Joseph Esherick Collection at UC Berkeley's Environmental Design Archives is open for research. Contact the archive to arrange access.
Related reading
Gardner Dailey: San Francisco Architect of Bay Region Modern Houses
Is My House Historic in California? Lists, Criteria and Review
John Funk, Architect: Bay Region Modern Houses and How to Check One
Warren Callister: Bay Area Architect of Sculptural, Vaulted Roofs
More guides on this topic: Mid-Century Modern Architects & Builders
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Researching a Joseph Esherick house? Call or text the Boyenga Team at Compass at (408) 373-1660 or (650) 383-8606, or contact the Boyenga Team to talk through the house and its history.
