Albert Lincoln Farr (October 8, 1871July 12, 1947) was an American

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

, who was known for his designed residences in the

Craftsman Craftsman may refer to: A profession *Artisan, a skilled manual worker who makes items that may be functional or strictly decorative *Master craftsman, an artisan who has achieved such a standard that he may establish his own workshop and take o ...

and Georgian styles. He was active in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...

. Farr was part of the firm Farr & Ward.

Early life

Born in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

, his early childhood was spent in

Yokohama, Japan is the second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a population of 3.7 million in 2023. It lies on Tokyo B ...

. The Farr family returned to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, and settled in Oakland in the

and he attended Oakland High School. Farr lived at various times in San Francisco (at 2528 Union Street), and also briefly in

Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California *George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer to ...

, settled in

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

, and

Oakland Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...

Career

From 1909 through the end of his career he maintained an office at 68 Post Street in San Francisco. Farr earned his architecture license in 1901, one of the first in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. He took on Joseph Francis Ward as an associated architect partner in 1922, eventually naming his firm Farr & Ward. Farr and his firm designed buildings throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, particularly in the San Francisco neighborhoods of

Russian Hill Russian Hill is a neighborhood of San Francisco, California. It is named after one of San Francisco's 44 hills, and one of its original "Seven Hills". Location Russian Hill is directly to the north (and slightly downhill) from Nob Hill, to t ...

Pacific Heights Pacific Heights (often referred to as Pac Heights) is a wealthy neighborhood in San Francisco, California, United States. It has panoramic views of the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco Bay, the Palace of Fine Arts, Alcatraz, Presidio of San Fr ...

Sea Cliff A cliffed coast, also called an abrasion coast, is a form of coast where the action of marine waves has formed steep cliffs that may or may not be precipitous. It contrasts with a flat or alluvial coast. Formation In coastal areas in whic ...

, and St. Francis Wood. Many of his designs involve a facade of brown wooden

shingles Shingles, also known as herpes zoster or zona, is a viral disease characterized by a painful skin rash with blisters in a localized area. Typically the rash occurs in a single, wide mark either on the left or right side of the body or face. T ...

. The Sundial Lodge, also known today as the L’Auberge Carmel, a

Relais & Châteaux Relais & Châteaux is an association of individually owned and operated luxury hotels and restaurants. As of April 2023, the association has 580 members in 65 countries across five continents. Predominantly operated in Europe and North America, ...

property, is a historic Medieval Revival hotel in

Carmel-by-the-Sea, California Carmel-by-the-Sea (), commonly known simply as Carmel, is a city in Monterey County, California, located on the Central Coast of California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 3,220, down from 3,722 a ...

. It was designed by Farr and was built in 1929–1930, by

master builder A master builder or master mason is a central figure leading construction projects in pre-modern times (a combination of a modern expert carpenter, construction site supervisor, and architect / engineer). Historically, the term has generally ref ...

Michael J. Murphy. It was designated as an important commercial building in the city's ''Downtown Historic District Property Survey,'' and was recorded with the Department of Parks and Recreation on December 5, 2002.

Projects

Farr also designed houses in

Belvedere Belvedere (from Italian, meaning "beautiful sight") may refer to: Places Australia *Belvedere, Queensland, a locality in the Cassowary Coast Region Africa * Belvedere (Casablanca), a neighborhood in Casablanca, Morocco * Belvedere, Harare, Zi ...

, Piedmont and Woodside. One of his most famous is the Wolf House for

Jack London John Griffith London (; January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors t ...

, in Glen Ellen. The home burned before construction was completed. Long thought to be the result of an

arson Arson is the act of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, watercr ...

, a later analysis of the ruins, located in

Jack London State Historic Park Jack London State Historic Park, also known as Jack London Home and Ranch, is a California State Historic Park near Glen Ellen, California, United States, situated on the eastern slope of Sonoma Mountain. It includes the ruins of a house burn ...

, determined the cause to be

spontaneous combustion Spontaneous combustion or spontaneous ignition is a type of combustion which occurs by self-heating (increase in temperature due to exothermic internal reactions), followed by thermal runaway (self heating which rapidly accelerates to high tem ...

Death

Farr died on July 12, 1947, in

Piedmont, California Piedmont is a small city located in Alameda County, California, United States, enclaved by the city of Oakland. Its residential population was 11,270 at the 2020 census. The name comes from the region of Piedmont in Italy, and it means 'foothil ...

. He was buried in the Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland, California.

List of works

* Babcock House (1901), 2660 Scott Street, San Francisco, California * Wolf House (1913), Glen Ellen, California; burned down, contributing property to the U.S. Historic district * 2570 Jackson (1923),

, San Francisco, California; now the French

Consul-General A consul is an official representative of a government who resides in a foreign country to assist and protect citizens of the consul's country, and to promote and facilitate commercial and diplomatic relations between the two countries. A consu ...

's house * 3450 Washington (1929),

Presidio Heights San Francisco, in the US state of California, has both major, well-known neighborhoods and districts as well as smaller, specific subsections and developments. While there is considerable fluidity among the sources, one guidebook identifies fiv ...

, San Francisco, California; by Farr & Ward * L'Auberge Carmel (1929), Monte Verde Street at 7th Avenue, Carmel-by-the-Sea, California * Aetna Springs Resort (1930), 1600 Aetna Springs Road, Pope Valley, California; by Farr & Ward,

NRHP The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of sites, buildings, structures, districts, and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

-listed

References

External links

*
SF Architectural Heritage "The San Francisco Architecture of Albert Farr, Part II"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Farr, Albert L. 1871 births 1947 deaths American residential architects Artists from Omaha, Nebraska Architects from San Francisco History of the San Francisco Bay Area Oakland High School (Oakland, California) alumni