Painted ladies
The Painted Ladies are Victorian , multi-colored painted wooden houses that were built in the 19th century. The term was first used for the Victorian homes in Alamo Square , San Francisco by authors Elizabeth Pomada and Michael Larsen in their 1978 book Painted Ladies - San Francisco's Resplendent Victorians .
It is now also used to describe similar ensembles of buildings in other cities in the United States , such as New Orleans , the Charles Village of Baltimore , the houses on Lafayette Square in St. Louis , Columbia-Tusculum in Cincinnati and Cape May , New Jersey .
Many of these structures in San Francisco were destroyed by the 1906 earthquake and the fire it caused. However, quite a few have been preserved, have since been restored and brightly painted. They are considered a special attraction of the city.
The term “Painted Ladies” is a slang term from the 19th century and stands for prostitutes , as society women at that time did not normally wear make-up in a conspicuous manner.
reference
- Michael Larsen, Elizabeth Pomada: Painted Ladies - San Francisco's Resplendent Victorians ; New York: EP Dutton, 1978.
Individual evidence
- ^ Dolores Courtemanche: Proper Painted Ladies . In: Telegram & Gazette . September 23, 1990, ISSN 1050-4184 , pg. G1.
- ^ Nancy H. Curtis: Color It What? . In: Chicago Tribune . July 25, 1993, ISSN 1085-6706 , p. 3I.
- ↑ Karen Ukraine: The Victorian Rage . In: Boston Herald . August 2, 1996, ISSN 0738-5854 , p. 44.
Web links
- Alamo Square (English)
Coordinates: 37 ° 46 '34.6 " N , 122 ° 25' 58.8" W.