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These two homes at 214 and 220 Dolores St. are considered to be the oldest in the Mission District and were two of the earliest buildings constructed in San Francisco. The false fronts, wide porches with square posts, and shallow depths of the cottages were common traits of houses from the 1850s. The plots that these two stand on were given out in the early 1830s as part of the Francisco Guerrero land grant following the Mexican War of Independence. This plot found its way to Torbio Tanforan and his wife Maria de los Angeles Valencia. The cottages were given to their daughters and stayed in the family until the mid-twentieth century. In 1995, 220 Dolores was purchased by Dolores Street Community Services and became a facility for homeless men and women living with disabling HIV and AIDS. Baker Places Residential Treatment Services is housed at 214 Dolores.


2015 view of Tanforan Cottage #2 at 220 Dolores St. (Dreamyshade)

Building, House, Porch, Facade

Tanforan Cottage #1 at 214 Dolores St. in 2015 photo (Dreamyshade)

House, Home, Shrub, Porch

Tanforan Cottages on 1899 Sanborn map with previous address numbers: 206 & 210 Dolores (Vol. 2 p. 200)

Text, Plan, Schematic, Diagram

The two houses have maintained their original Classical Revival facades and false fronts. Though very nearly identical in appearance, they were not constructed at the same time; 214 Dolores St. is said to have been built a little before 1853, with 220 being built not long after. The earlier addresses for the cottages, as seen on the 1899 Sanborn map below, were 206 and 210 Dolores. There is still a small carriage house behind 220 Dolores - occupied as late as 1940 by one of the Tanforan carriages. 

Toribio Tanforan (1821-1884) was born in Chile. He married a native Californian, Maria de los Angeles Valencia (1833-1884). The couple and their family lived on a ranch in San Bruno on the peninsula south of San Francisco. They had at least two children, Toribio Jr. and Mary. Tanforan and his wife didn't use the houses themselves; they gave them to their daughter Mary; the cottages were handed down in the family until 1952. According to their obituaries, Toribio and Maria lived somewhere on Well Street; both died in 1884 and were buried in the Mission Dolores cemetery.

In 1912, a city directory named Dr. Cesare Mosoero, a veterinary surgeon, as a resident at 214 Dolores. The directory listed a florist named J. B. Boland and his wife at 220 Dolores, along with a widow, Mary D. Boland. However, the long-time San Francisco florist and resident died in March 1909, two years after he married Mary Tanforan (the daughter of Toribio), according to Boland's obituary; so, the house belonged to his widow. A 1918 directory listed Dr. and Mrs. C. Masoero and Miss Eda Letora as residents of 214; 220 was not listed.

The cottages were designated as City of San Francisco Landmarks in 1975: Tanforan Cottage #1 (214) and Tanforan Cottage #2 (220). In 1995, 220 Dolores was purchased by Dolores Street Community Services. It opened as a facility for homeless men and women living with disabling HIV and AIDS. Originally called Hope House, it was later renamed the Richard M. Cohen Residence to honor a neighbor who died of AIDS and donated a significant portion of the funds for the renovation. While maintaining the historic facade, a lower floor was added with ten additional rooms. The 214 Dolores cottage also has housed a nonprofit residential treatment facility in recent years, the Baker Places Residential Treatment Services. A renovation in 2002 preserved the historic facade while adding a second flat and more living space.

Anonymous. "Death Summons Pioneer Florist." San Francisco Call (San Francisco) March 27th, 1909. 20-20.

Casey, Cindy. Architectural Spotlight: The Tanforan Cottages. Untapped Cities. August 06, 2012. Accessed May 14, 2017. http://untappedcities.com/2012/06/08/architectural-spotlight-the-tanforan-cottages-3/.

Casey, Cindy. The Tanforan Cottages, Public Art and Architecture from Around the World. March 21st, 2013. Accessed June 13th, 2025. https://artandarchitecture-sf.com/tanforan-cottages.html.

Cerny, Susan Dinkelspiel. Armstrong, Beth A. An Architectural Guidebook to San Francisco and the Bay Area. Layton, UT. Gibbs-Smith, 2007.

Doherty, Kathleen Dodge. Downs, Tom. Walking San Francisco. Wilderness Press, 2019.

Found SF. Tanforan Cottages from 1853: Unfinished History, Found SF. Accessed June 4th, 2025. https://www.foundsf.org/Tanforan_Cottages_from_1853.

Gelfand Partners Architects. Tanforan Cottage, Projects. January 1st, 2025. Accessed June 13th, 2025. https://www.gelfand-partners.com/projects/tanforan-cottage/.

H. S. Crocker Co. Crocker-Langley San Francisco Directory for the Year Ending August 1912. San Francisco, CA. H. S. Crocker Co., 1912.

Noe Hill. San Francisco Landmark #67 Tanforan Cottage 1. Accessed May 14, 2017. http://noehill.com/sf/landmarks/sf067.asp.

Noe Hill. San Francisco Landmark #68 Tanforan Cottage 2. Accessed May 14, 2017. http://noehill.com/sf/landmarks/sf068.asp.

Seidelman, James. Memorial for Toribio Tanforan (1821-1884), Find a Grave. August 1st, 2013. Accessed June 13th, 2025. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7727412/toribio-tanforan.

Smith-Hoag Company. San Francisco Blue Book. Edition 31st Annual. San Francisco, CA. Smith-Hoag Company, 1918.

Image Sources(Click to expand)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_San_Francisco_Designated_Landmarks#/media/File:Tanforan_Cottage,_220_Dolores.jpg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_San_Francisco_Designated_Landmarks#/media/File:Tanforan_Cottage,_214_Dolores.jpg

Library of Congress (LOC): https://www.loc.gov/item/sanborn00813_009/

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