The Victoria

"Long ago,
life was clean
sex was bad and obscene,
Victoria was our Queen..." ("Victoria" Ray Davies , The Kinks )

1964 isnt exactly the golden age when it comes to building quality apartments.

it's a huge building

I wonder if it's not demographic. I haven't done a deal in the Victoria in a couple of years, but I have been working in the Saint Mark -- a similar 1960s brick -- and this spring there was a big rush of one-bedroom sellers who were taking advantage of the downturn to get out and trade up to 2-BRs.

Plus, as villager pointed out -- there are a lot of apartments in this building, nearly 500. But of the 13 that are available, 7 are 1-BRs -- which speaks to my demographic point. The 3-BR I know is a sponsor sale.

ali r.
DG Neary Realty

Ali..I wonder how many apartments larger than 1brs (excluding combos) there are in the "Bernie Goetz House" (as it will be eternally be known to some of us) and similar buildings relative to smaller apartments? Seems to me, and I could be wrong, but those 1960s buildings downtown were not really intended for families. The target was mainly "swinging singles" and young couples (think Pete and Trudi if you watch "Med Men") and the assumption was that when the babies came people would decamp for the burbs post haste. In my building, less than 20% of the apartments are 2br (none are larger in the original configuration) And I wouldn't be surprised if the 2brs weren't marketed for roommates. Don't forget they were all built as rentals so to the extent that home ownership was part of the American middle class expectation in 1960s (a lesser extent than today), the thought was you would "grow up, get married and buy something--not move into a larger apartment".

Another interesting social history question...am I talking myself into the GREs? Right, sure. Can I think of any possibly less lucrative than getting an advanced degree in Late 20th Century Urban Social History....

thx for input, 3bdr there looks pretty nice

Liz,

One of my college classmates has a fascinating book coming out early next year about how the changing landscape of San Francisco affected women's rights and women's lives. She's still on the job market though.

ali r.

ali r.: What's the book's title?