:: BerDerp™ ::

Lodged between Green and Union Streets and between Taylor and Leavenworth Streets, Macondray Lane is a unique hidden gem. It appeared initially on a USGS map in 1859 as a right-of-way passage. Macondray Lane has long captured the hearts of San Franciscans and visitors with its thicket lined tract, alluring cottages, and engaging gardens on the south side of the public path. As you cross through this lane you will find many different garden areas, yet all blending together. This was an early enclave for artists and writers–including Ina Coolbrith (on this very lane she was rumored to have been courted by Mark Twain in the 1860’s). In 1912, its name was changed from “Lincoln” to “Macondray” to honor pioneer San Francisco merchant Frederick W. Macondray. The informal landscaped gardens began early in the twentieth century.

In the late 1970s, Macondray Lane was memorialized as “Barbary Lane” in Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City. Tales of the City included the story of one of the major characters, Mrs. Madrigal, the marijuana growing land-lady, chaining herself to the wooden Taylor Street stairs to prevent the City from replacing them with concrete steps. Another incident of preservation in Russian Hill—fact or fiction?

This house sits next door to where Charlotte Whitney lived in the early 20th century, who was one of the founders of the California Communist Party.