The Haas Sisters of Franklin Street: A San Francisco Memoir of Family and Love

by Frances Bransten Rothmann

Outfitted with a new foreword by Kevin Starr, this account of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century San Francisco vividly evokes the luxurious lifestyle and close bond shared by sisters Alice Haas Lilienthal and Florine Haas Bransten. While author Frances Bransten Rothmann recreates her mother and aunt's world of leisure with lively descriptions of high tea at the Palace Hotel, excursions across oceans, and extravagant holiday celebrations that overfilled ballrooms with celebrants, her narrative is much more than an chronicle of empty opulence. Rothmann makes clear that the true treasure of those Franklin Street houses was Florine and Alice's devotion to each other, their families, and their community. In inhabiting the sisters' daily lives of telephone calls, errands, inside jokes, and myriad philanthropic projects, we can delight in the profound sense of wellbeing—of home—that emanates from the pages. And by witnessing two lifetimes full of kindnesses that extended from family to perfect strangers, we too can see the best in others and in the marvelous City by the Bay.

Published in collaboration with San Francisco Heritage on the occasion of their completing the renovation of the Haas-Lilienthal House, this book brings to life a San Francisco of the past and tells the story of a family united by love.

Genres: History

176 pages, Paperback

Published October 1, 2017

Reviews

[Rebecca Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting to know the backstory of the Haas-Lilienthal house that I’ve driven past for years. This is a happy book and an insight into how some people in SF lived in the early 1900s.

[Pamela · Rating 2 out of 5]

Was interesting... life of a wealthy family in SF