921%20Alvarado%20Street.jpg
The remodeled interior behind the Victorian façade at 921 Alvarado is relatively subdued.
921%20Alvarado%20Living.jpg
And then there’s the fish-themed tiled bathroom on the main floor, the work of Guillermo Wagner Granizo, a renowned ceramic-tile muralist who passed away in 1997:


921%20Alvarado%20Bath.jpg
With the property on the market for $1,799,000 (which includes an in-law below and a two-bedroom cottage out back), will Granizo’s work survive the sale or will this be it’s final show?
∙ Listing: 921 Alvarado (6/4) 2,964 sqft – $1,799,000 [Redfin]

20 thoughts on “Anything But Cookie Cutter, So Will Granizo’s Fish Get Fried?”
  1. Holy sensory overload Batman! We won’t need any coffee in the morning.
    If it were only up to me, the tiling would survive despite it not being my taste. I would have kept Sunny Jim’s bathroom too.
    But I don’t make the interior design decisions in my household.

  2. It took me 15 seconds to orient my eyes to the perspective of that picture. Hope it doesn’t get destroyed. So much more interesting than anything likely to replace it.

  3. Someone, anyone, go round to every architect photographer and take away their fish-eye lenses and stupid HDR photo effects

  4. It is nice. I like the fish and even though I don’t go for the open floor plan usually this one is not over the top. Everything seems well done and “real”. So it is basically 3 units for that price in Noe Valley…not bad, given I have seen some fixer uppers going for $1.2 million. It will be interesting to see the sales price.

  5. “It will be interesting to see the sales price.”
    I would think much more than the ask because I can almost make this make sense for my family situation with the income from the cottage. As a gauge this means it will go for much more because my family is priced out of this area ‘fo sure

  6. Zig, I am sorry that you are priced out. I wasn’t rooting for a higher price, it is just that I am unfortunately jaded about the prices and fully aware that something like this seems to be reasonably priced and others will bid it up because the market is so incredibly disgusting for “regular” people, people that would just like to live in a nice place.

  7. I hate it when you open the front door and boom, you’re already in the LR/DR and kitchen. Tacky. Especially for this price.

  8. Agree with P.A.M. Nearly 3,000 square feet and they couldn’t make room for a formal entry. Tacky, indeed.
    I like the tile art in the bathroom but the tub appears to have a very wide ledge. Might be hard getting in and out.

  9. went to go see this place and now I understand the lower than expected listing price.
    * The floor plan is odd – the main house is only about 1800 square feet and is very vertical. Better for a couple with no kids because of the floor plan.
    * The location isnt great. It’s technically in Noe Valley but way up the hill close to Market Street. Not that walkable because of the hills.
    * Garage is tiny and would only fit one small car at most.
    * The cottage is a nice to have. Also looks like an unwarranted bonus room downstairs. No parking for either though.
    Be interesting to see what this goes for. If this was down the hill at Alvarado & Sanchez, the list price would be several hundred thousand higher..

  10. If it had a view, one could justify it being higher up the hill. The fact that it doesn’t will influence the price IMO.

  11. Went by this as well. My thoughts:
    – liked the great room. Some reason it didn’t feel bad walking directly into that room.
    – didn’t mind the layout, even for kids.
    – parts feel very upgraded, others don’t. The electrical in the in-law downstairs would worry me.
    – location is not the best, but not horrible. Only 2 (steep) blocks from Alvarado school.
    – I did see some nice very nice views
    – Some neighbor buildings are really on top of u.
    Overall mixed feeling. Has lots of potential. Thought the cottage was nice but the in-law only so-so (would rather combine the in-law w/the main house). One flaw: the cottage is so big that u aren’t left w/a lot of a yard. Going into the place, I thought this was going to be a huge overbid, but after seeing it I almost wonder if it will go for ask or just a little over.
    Still, it’s crazy out there..I thought 458 Alvarado was nice but not $2M nice ($1,200/ft!).

  12. “Zig, I am sorry that you are priced out. I wasn’t rooting for a higher price”
    No worries, I don’t care too much. We plan to move to the Peninsula and I am pretty happy with that outcome to be honest (although housing market is tough there too)
    When I was a kid my uncle on my Dad’s side lived on 22nd and Dol. and my uncle on my Mom’s side lived on Vicksburg. When my paternal grandfather was a kid he lived for a time on Chattanooga St as did two of my cousins when they were kids(coincidence, not family property)
    If we could stay in Noe/GP we would but otherwise much of SF is not very appealing to me

  13. I generally don’t mind open floor plans as long as they make sense. With this house, where am I supposed to hang up my coat? On a dining room chair?

  14. A priest, a rabbi, and a buddhist monk walk into the Pantheon.
    The monk shouts “WTF!!!!”
    The priest and the rabbi look at each other quizzically. The rabbi says, “What is it, the polytheism?”
    The monk, exasperated, sighs “It’s the open floorplan. WHERE ARE WE SUPPOSED TO HANG OUR ROBES?”

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