Includes bibliographical references (p. 195-197).

Preface: Musings on San Francisco, the Bay Area, Victorian homes, and this book -- Introduction: New Spain to the Gold Rush: Overview of Local History and Lore -- Victorian House Planning: Solutions to Nineteenth-Century Housing Needs -- Gothic Revival Style: A Fusion of Romanticism and Historicism -- Italianate Style: American Homes with Renaissance Ideals -- Second Empire Style: The French Connection -- Stick / Eastlake Style: Design Reform as Fashionable Taste -- Queen Anne Style: Grand Finale of Victorian Eclecticism -- Colonial Revival / Classical Revival Styles: American Nationalism and the Beaux Arts Influence -- Shingle Style: Toward Simplicity and the First Bay Tradition -- Hybrid Styles: Singular Combinations of Multiple Styles -- The Edwardian Era: Postscript for the Victorian Age -- Before and After: Transformations of Restoration and Renovation -- Victorian Revival Interiors: The Future of Nineteenth-Century Design.

Once again the expert team of Paul Duchscherer and Douglas Keister have devoted their efforts to preserving in book form the beauty and historic significance of the famous Victorian architecture of San Francisco and the Bay Area, which is admired worldwide.

Local residents, visitors, and armchair travelers will all be delighted and informed by this unique visual resource, which combines an insightful study of the region's history with a thorough survey of its Victorian house styles. Prominently featured are many examples of fine 19th-century homes from neighboring communities across the Bay. Supported by period archival images, the lively and authoritative text by Paul Duchscherer is lavishly illustrated throughout with superb color photography by Douglas Keister.

In addition to the text and photographs about the various house styles, the book includes a section called "Before and After" that presents the architectural transformations made by dedicated homeowners, who have brought neglected Victorian houses back to life, thus contributing to today's vital historic-preservation movement. The concluding chapter on "Victorian Revival Interiors" is a spectacular showcase of recent interior-design projects.