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ROBERT D. CRANSTON (1849-1916)
HUGH KEENAN (1845-1934)
Robert Dickie Cranston was born in Canada in July 1849 of Scottish parents. His wife Jennie MacGregor was born in December 1850, also having Scottish parentage. They married in 1870 and emigrated that year to the United States, arriving in San Francisco. Robert worked as a carpenter at first, but by 1889 he was building houses in the Haight. He listed himself in City Directories at the time as an architect-builder. The couple had four children, two boys and two girls, all born in California. The eldest son, Robert A., born in August 1873, became a physician, and the youngest, WilliamM., born in February 1879, became President of the University Realty Company in Palo Alto. Both boys worked at one time with their father. William had a son of his own in 1914 - Alan MacGregor Cranston - who was a U.S. senator from California 1969 to 1993. Hugh Keenan was born in County Tyrone, one of the six counties that now form Northern Ireland, on September 6, 1845. He emigrated to the United States and was naturalized in New York City on October 20, 1866. There he met his future wife, Teresa, born in New York in August 1854, also of Irish parentage. They married in 1877 and moved out to San Francisco. They had seven children, four boys and three girls, all born in California. Their eldest son Charles J., became an architect, the second one, William J. an electrician, and the third one, Hugh Cornelius, followed in his father’s footsteps to become a prolific builder. Both Cranston and Keenan were successful builders in their own right. Examples of Cranston’s early work can be seen at:
• 1269 McAllister (1887, now 2 apts.), • 1114-16 Fulton (1890, now 3 apts.). Keenan’s equally fine earlier work includes:
• 15, 17, 19 & 21 Baker (1890, 17 & 21 are now 2 apts.). In 1891 the pair formed a partnership, as reported by the Call.
San Francisco Call newspaper August 30, 1891
One of their first projects together in 1891 was at the northeast corner of Page and Ashbury. 1542, 1544, 1546, 1548 & 1550 Page. Three of the five have been subdivided over the years and two of those are now 3-unit
condominiums. In 1893 they built 449 and 459 Ashbury. 459 retains its distinctive Queen Anne elements, but the property to the north, now 449-51, has had most of its original detail stripped away or stuccoed over. In the Haight, 500-06 Cole at Page is an excellent example of their work from 1894. Cranston later built the adjoining four, 508 through 516 in 1899. Three are still single-family homes (508, 510 & 516); 512-14 is subdivided. North of the Panhandle, both sides of the 700 block of Broderick, north from Fulton, are largely intact representations of their work from1895. On the east side, the eight buildings, 700 through 718, are largely intact. Three are still single-family homes (704, 706 & 708); the others have been subdivided into as many as five apartments (718). On the west side of the block, the six buildings, 701 through 711, are also still largely intact. Again, three are still single-family homes (703, 705 & 711); the others having been subdivided.
459 Ashbury Street
Cranston died of heart failure on May 12, 1916 while inspecting his building at 635 Ashbury. Jennie survived him by seven years. Keenan lived to be 88, passing away on February 20, 1934, nine years after Teresa.
© David Parry June 2021
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