Lot 468: PIRKLE JONES

PIRKLE JONES 1914-2009 ARCHITECTURAL STUDIES 2 unique Polaroid Type 52 prints, including William Westerfeld House, San Francisco and High-Rise Building , each with credit or the photographer's initials, date, and notations in pencil or ink, and number stamps, on the reverse, 1958 (2) Each 4½ by 3½ in. (11.4 by 8.9 cm.)

The Victorian house pictured in one of the photographs offered here was built in 1889 by German-born confectioner William Westerfeld at the corner of Fulton and Scott Streets in San Francisco. This house is listed on the National Register of Historical Places. In its various incarnations since Mr. Westerfeld's death in 1895, it has been home to John Mahoney, who built the St. Francis and Palace Hotels; a nightclub named Dark Eyes by its owners, a group of Czarist Russians; and an apartment building where John Handy and other African-American jazz musicians lived. In the 1960s, a commune of 50 known as The Calliope Company occupied the building, and it became home to underground filmmaker Kenneth Anger and Manson family member Bobby BeauSoleil, as well as rock promoters, Family Dog. The building is mentioned in Tom Wolfe's Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test. Today, Westerfeld House belongs to Jim Siegel, who has completely restored it to its original condition.