A Standard to Inspire: The San Francisco Decorator Showcase

The Griffith House, 2820 Pacific Avenue

The 44th San Francisco Decorator Showcase opens to the public on April 29th. While Sea Cliff is the address for this Spanish Revival estate, Pacific Heights was home to the first Showcase. A Mediterranean-styled three-story mansion built in 1912 by famed architect Willis Polk for Captain Millen Griffith set the precedent for architecturally significant showhouses boasting spectacular views. Griffith  (1828-1896)  made his fortune during the Gold Rush, starting the first tugboat operation in San Francisco Bay and pioneering tugs in Alaska's whaling and salmon canning industry. While he lived on Rincon Hill, the residence at  2820 Pacific Avenue was designated for his daughters Alice and Caroline. 

Captain Griffith stands next to the stack of the tugboat MONARCH, 1875, San Francisco

It was interior designer Nan Rosenblatt's vision of creating a fundraising vehicle for the four-year-old University High School's financial aid program and the opportunity to take advantage of local design talent in the Bay Area that resulted in the 1977 Showcase.  At the time, California designers, specifically Northern Californians, were the most influential and closely watched in the international design community. The Showcase's Design Advisory Committee included the legendary John Dickinson, Tony Hail, and Charles Pfister on its past boards. Michael Taylor and Billy Gaylord made contributions to early Showcases.

Randy Arczynski with Nichole Hollis at the 2009 Showcase

Traditionally, the "public" rooms go to seasoned professionals, while the smaller spaces are for newer designers. Once selected, designers rely on the help of contractors, artisans, showrooms, antique galleries, and installers to achieve their beautiful rooms in a short span of a few months. The result is a legacy of design that benefits both the design community and the visiting public. The late Randy Arczynski, the long-time Chairman of the Designer Advisory Committee, reflected, "What is interior design? It is a melding of various arts, skills, sensibilities, and most of all, a creative process." He believed the goal of Showcase was to "seduce and set a standard to inspire the people who are our audience."