Architecture Groups San Francisco

From Walking with a Guide (Nature,Architecture,History)

Architecture, Design & Drinks is a casual monthly gathering for people who work in, around, or are inspired by design. We meet on the last Friday of each month to unwind, trade ideas, and connect. No agenda, no pressure. Whether you’re an architect, designer, creative, or simply design-curious, this is an easy way to expand your circle and have meaningful conversations in a relaxed setting. New faces are always welcome. Grab a drink, join the conversation, and stay as long as you’d like.

6 attendees

The Liberty-Hill/Southwest Mission Victorians, & SF Earthquake History Tour

Sat, Oct 31, 5:30 PM

From VentureBeat AI Impact Series - SF

**\*Don't be a no-show. *See the Group's no-show policy below.*** Don't be a no-show and lose your membership in the Group. Attendance is always taken and no-shows recorded. As we do these tours it's nice to see and learn about the Victorian houses and SF history. But it's always kind of sad that we can't see the fabulous interiors many of the houses have. And in most cases see how sturdily they were built. But a special day is coming. On **Sunday, October 18th** the Victorian Alliance of SF will be holding an open house tour in this neighborhood. Let me know if you are interested in being a volunteer docent and I can hook you up. But reserve Oct. 18th and see the interiors. Something new has been added to the tour as we discover another facet of the 20th St. fireline history. *A neighbor advised us that the 1900 block of Lexington St. suffered partial burning in the 06' fires. Evidence remains and we will take a look.* We'll visit the *"Golden Fire Hydrant"* and walk the 20th St. Fire Line where fire-fighters and citizens held the line and saved the Mission from going up in flames. Actually the north side of 20th St. starting at Dolores St. was demolished to create a fire break. The difference between the north and south side of 20th St. here is startling. [3755-20th St. is on our tour today. It is a beautiful 1889 Victorian. These interior photos show some of the beautiful interior details typical of a Victorian of this era.](https://www.redfin.com/CA/San-Francisco/3755-20th-St-94110/home/713440) [Here is a link to detailed histories of seven Victorians East of Noe Valley.](https://archive.org/details/victorianallianc1093unse/page/n19/mode/2up?view=theater) We'll see some of these and many others on today's tour. [Another link to one of the oldest houses on today's tour.](https://noehill.com/sf/landmarks/sf136.asp) [Here's a simple link that will allow you to support the Meetup and add a thank you.](https://www.paypal.com/donate/?business=TJ8W6VVEGJ6BS&no_recurring=1&item_name=%0AIt%27s+very+nice+of+you+to+respond+and+give+support.%0AThank+you%2C%0AJordan&currency_code=USD) One of our go to restaurants after the tour has been Udupi Palace for Indian vegetarian food at 21st & Valencia. Also across the street is Ritual Coffee Roasters. Tartine Bakery is four blocks away at 18th and Guerreo. And there is always Park Coffee at 18th & Dolores with Bi-rite ice cream across the street. *The information below is provided if you are interested in more details about SF Victorian architecture.* **Looking at a San Francisco Victorian, what to look for:** *(There are five Styles)* * Flat front Italianate- (earliest Victorians). (French 2nd Empire appear) * Italianate with slanted bay windows. * San Francisco Stick Style (also called East Lake). Simpler square bay windows now used. Overall much more elaborate decoration, ornament and gingerbread used. * Queen Anne Tower House&Witches Cap, with angled or rounded bay windows & front gable * Queen Anne Row House, 1, 1-1/2 or two stories. Large front gable. Possible moongate entry. Features & "Gingerbread" Type of Entry & Doorway(maybe a rounded or partial Moongate entry)- Decorative Ironwork- Floral Decor-Garlands (one of many types of decorations known as \*"Gingerbread") Fish scale&Diamond shingles- Towers & Witch's Cap- Stained Glass or Beveled Glass- Carvings of grotesque faces- Sunbursts- often painted gold color, half or full. Gables (Queen Anne's) in a variety of material- (mainly redwood) Newel Posts and Finials on Tower tops and roof peaks- Fernando Nelson built thousands of homes in SF. Over many, many decades. We'll also see clusters (2 to 17) of Victorian homes systematically built for the average working person by a development company, "The Real Estate Assoc." THEA, from 1870 to 1880. Not quite magnificent but many still standing. Development of woodworking mills South of Market provided the ornaments with which to add the "gingerbread" to the Victorian houses There was an Old English custom using fancy cutouts of gingerbread to decorate wedding cakes. The term gingerbread was subsequently used for the decorating of Victorian houses. The secret ingredient was redwood. It could be carved, sawn, or turned, or soaked and press molded into almost any design *Periods* **1860 - 1870s *Italianate*:** Buildings were vertical in emphasis with rounded classical detail. Earliest had flat windows & flat roofs with false roof fronts. **1880s *Stick Style* (also called East Lake):** The early buildings in this genre relied heavily on plane vertical board decorations. Squared off bay windows appear. **Late 1880s and 1890s *Queen Anne*** : Gingerbread would be applied to both the Stick and Queen Ann styles in San Francisco. Sloping roofs appear. Gables and towers. In Queen Ann surfaces are covered in a variety of patterns with fish scale and diamond shingles, lap siding and masonry, sometimes all in the same building. Victorians Around Dolores Park Explored, and Houses Burned in the 1906 EQ/Fire*Rooflines in the Queen Anne were irregular, combining the witches hat roof on a rounded or octagonal tower,* sometimes decorated with a spool work of gable braces. Frieze bands of foliated patterns wrapped around towers and tall chimneys. Horizontal proportions prevailed over the general vertical emphasis of the previous styles. [If you would like a scholarly and detailed explanation with photos, click.](https://sfplanning.org/sites/default/files/documents/preserv/bulletins/HistPres_Bulletin_18.PDF) After the 06' earthquake apartments in substantial buildings became popular with well-to-do San Franciscans. [To check for a possible, for sale/open house tour, click this link.](https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-search/Mission-District_San-Francisco_CA/type-single-family-home/show-open-house)

5 attendees

Agentic Infrastructure Stack Summit by VentureBeat | SF, Oct 28

Wed, Oct 28, 4:00 PM

Where compute, code, and context converge. Your AI pilots worked. Production is where the hard decisions live: memory architecture, inference tradeoffs, orchestration layers, data movement, and energy efficiency. VentureBeat’s Agentic Infrastructure Stack Summit is a closed-door, in-person day for about 200 senior infrastructure and AI leaders who are scaling agentic systems inside large enterprises. It’s built around real deployment challenges: what’s working, what isn’t, and what it costs. **⚠️ Attendance is by application. An RSVP on Meetup does not reserve a seat.** Apply here (takes about 2 minutes): https://bit.ly/4yErdMH **Who it’s for** Director-level and above at companies with 1,000+ employees or $100M+ in revenue: * AI builders connecting agentic systems to enterprise data and governance * Platform engineers and architects designing core AI infrastructure and APIs * Infrastructure operators building scalable, observable AI foundations * MLOps leaders running model pipelines from training to production **What we’ll dig into** * Inference economics: controlling compute costs and making hardware tradeoffs at scale * Context & memory infrastructure: data architectures for multi-agent state * Agentic workload orchestration * Emerging AI factory architectures **Format** Editorial keynotes, operator-led discussions, executive roundtables, and peer networking.

From Walking with a Guide (Nature,Architecture,History)

Duboce Park SF Victorian & History Tour

Sun, Oct 25, 5:30 PM

**Taking MUNI which stops very close by, highly recommended.** Parking, directly **adjacent to Duboce Park** is a good possibility. Also Googling "find parking in the Duboce Triangle" will show parking lots in the area. *I think this tour will be marvelous in a sometimes overlooked part of the Lower Haight/Hayes Valley neighborhoods. It is a good example of an old, small, SF neighborhood. Try to make it, despite the parking challenge!* But take MUNI. *The Reveille Cafe at the corner of Steiner & Waller, where we meet, is very good, excellent for brunch.* The tour will start near Duboce Park and include, Waller St., Carmelita, Pierce, Potomac, then, Walter, Henry and Beaver Sts. SF Builder, Fernando Nelson's Carmelita St. stands out in a neighborhood of beautifully authentic Victorians. Nelson retired as San Francisco's most prolific builder, producing some 4,000 homes, during the years he worked with his sons, from 1876 until his death in 1953. After the Victorian Era he created developments in the Richmond, Presidio Terrace and West Portal, among others. [For a biography of F. Nelson, click.](https://outsidelands.org/nelson.php) The photo above is of #78 Carmelita St. a house almost identical to Nelson's family house at 701 Castro St. Roughly over 48,000 Victorians were built in SF, (1860s to 1890s), with about a third remaining. Bay Area entrepreneurship with the wealth of the best building material, old growth **redwood**, driving forces? *The information below is provided if you are interested in more details about SF Victorian architecture.* **Looking at a San Francisco Victorian, what to look for:** *(There are five Styles)* 1. **Flat front Italianate**\- $earliest Victorians$\. $French 2nd Empire appear$ 2. **Italianate with slanted bay windows**. 3. **San Francisco Stick Style (also called East Lake)**. Simpler square bay windows now used. Overall much more elaborate decoration, ornament and gingerbread used. 4. **Queen Anne Tower House**&Witches Cap, with angled or rounded bay windows & front gable 5. **Queen Anne Row House,** 1, 1-1/2 or two stories. Large front gable. Possible moongate entry. Features & "Gingerbread" Type of Entry & Doorway(maybe a rounded or partial Moongate entry)- Decorative Ironwork- Floral Decor-Garlands (one of many types of decorations known as \*"Gingerbread") Fish scale&Diamond shingles- Towers & Witch's Cap- Stained Glass or Beveled Glass- Carvings of grotesque faces- Sunbursts- often painted gold, half or full. Gables (Queen Anne's) in a variety of material- (mainly redwood) Newel Posts and Finials on Tower tops and roof peaks- [If you would like a scholarly and detailed explanation with photos, click.](https://sfplanning.org/sites/default/files/documents/preserv/bulletins/HistPres_Bulletin_18.PDF)

From Walking with a Guide (Nature,Architecture,History)

Tour Mansions in Pacific Hts.OPTIONSF Symphony, Rachmaninoff Symphonic Dances

Sun, Oct 11, 5:15 PM

After the tour, option to go to **Davies Symphony Hall for, Rachmaninoff Symphonic Dances. Matinee performance.** There is plenty of available free **parking** around the neighborhood and no restriction on weekends/holidays. If time allows, about midway through the tour we'll stop for a break atop Lafayette Park. The strange 19th century tale of Samuel Holladay and how he got away with building his mansion on the highest point in Pacific Hts., even though his residential real estate "empire", **was atop and within Lafayette Park**. This is a true tale and will be told with some of the old photos. There are restrooms at the Park and views. Pacific Heights is best known for being one of the most affluent neighborhoods in San Francisco. This tour highlights the architecture, and some of the people who built, occupied and maintained these grand properties. About 30 of which will be on our tour with some information about each property. The walking tour is 3 miles. With the usual SF hills. \-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\- We'll pass by some Victorians. If you want to know more read-on! **Looking at a San Francisco Victorian, what to look for:** *(There are five Styles)* 1. Flat front Italianate- (earliest Victorians). 2. Italianate with slanted bay windows. 3. San Francisco Stick Style (also called East Lake). Simpler square bay windows now used. Overall more elaborate decoration. 4. Queen Anne Tower House&Witches Cap, with angled or rounded bay windows & front gable 5. Queen Anne Row House"Cottage", 1, 1-1/2 or two stories. Large front gable. Possible moon-gate entry. * Features & "Gingerbread" * Floral Decor-Garlands (one of many types of decorations known as \*"Gingerbread") * Fish scale&Diamond shingles- * Towers & Witch's Cap- * Stained Glass or Beveled Glass- * Carvings of grotesque faces- * Sunbursts- often painted gold color, half or full. * Gables (Queen Anne's) in a variety of material- (mainly redwood) * Newel Posts and Finials on Tower tops and roof peaks- We'll see clusters of Victorian homes systematically built for the average working person by a development company, "The Real Estate Assoc." THEA, in business from 1870 to 1880. Not quite magnificent but many still standing. *Periods* **1860 - 1870s *Italianate*:** Buildings were vertical in emphasis with rounded classical detail. Earliest had flat windows, with false roof fronts. **1880s *Stick Style* (also called East Lake):** Squared off bay windows appear. **Late 1880s and 1890s *Queen Anne*** : Gingerbread would be applied to both the Stick and Queen Ann styles in San Francisco. Sloping roofs appear. With gables and towers. *Rooflines in the Queen Anne were irregular, combining the witches hat rooftop on a rounded or octagonal tower*. Following the Victorians the next major architectural style were the Period Revival residences popular in the 1920s and 1930s. [If you would like a scholarly and detailed explanation with photos, click.](https://sfplanning.org/sites/default/files/documents/preserv/bulletins/HistPres_Bulletin_18.PDF)

Alcazar Theater

Sun, Oct 18, 5:30 PM

From SF Sketchers

From Walking with a Guide (Nature,Architecture,History)

This eclectic Moorish/Byzantine building, commissioned by the Shriners as the *Islam Temple* was designed by architect [Thomas Patterson Ross](https://noehill.com/architects/ross.aspx). The June 1917 edition of *Architect and Engineer* noted that the temple was "an adaptation from Alhambra, a building that stands as the highest mark of Arabian art and civilization." The Islam Temple was used for Shriner meetings and ceremonies from 1918 to 1970. Later it functioned as a small theater in the tradition of the original Alcazar Theater which was located on O'Farrell Street. (The original Alcazar opened in 1885, was destroyed by the 1906 Earthquake and Fire, was rebuilt, and was razed for a parking lot in 1963.) Brind a chair, meet at 12:15/12:30 to share

5 attendees

We Return to Diamond Hts., for more - Exercise, Architectural & Grand Views

Sun, Nov 1, 6:30 PM

Lots of beautiful vistas in this neighborhood that was built up after WW II. About two or three miles today over very very hilly terrain. If we haven't done it beforehand we'll pick where we left off at the end of the March 1, 2026, Diamond Hts. tour where instead of going right when we returned to Diamond Hts.Blvd. we'll go left and up the hill for more exploring. Then join us afterward at Creighton Cafe for a choice of great sandwiches in a delightful outdoor setting at the Diamond Hts. Shopping Center. Meet at the Safeway Supermarket entrance off Diamond Hts. Blvd. Muni bus #35 or #52. Glen Park BART station is in the vicinity. When I do a tour to a new neighborhood I've only done once before, like Diamond Hts., it is extra fun and exciting for me. I'll have some basic local historic locations (see the attached photos) and heritage architecture sites (addresses). We'll find these with an excellent map with a great pre-planned route to follow. So join, me in exploring this San Francisco neighborhood on a new tour for all of us. I'll have hard copies of the route map and a list of POIs to hand-out to those who like to pitch-in and can help keep us on track. If you have a problem maintaining your social calendar, please be advised! **(Don't be a no-show.)** It's good to give out name tags which I do. I fill out the name tags just before I leave for the tour. This also gives me a way to take attendance. Because name tags that are not picked up, are recorded as no-shows. If you get too many no-shows recorded in your personal Meet-up profile you'll be cancelled from this Meetup. In the photos is a picture of No-show name tags in February 26. (To cancel your RSVP beforehand [please at least 24 hrs. in advance]. Look for the, **"Edit Attendance"** tab at the bottom right hand corner of the screen for lap tops and left, bottom for phones.)

From Noisebridge Hackerspace

Analog Electronics for Guitar Pedals

Sat, Oct 10, 8:00 PM

4.8

# Analog Electronics for Guitar Pedals Planning a PCB with Kicad Come work on your current project, if you have a lap top with Kicad installed we can discuss using Kicad to design PCBs. The first step is drawing a schematic. No prior electronics experience required. Bring your curiosity. The goal of this session will be take the circuits previously built as prototypes and wire them in a permanent enclosure.

6 attendees

Bayview Opera House

Sat, Oct 10, 5:00 PM

From SF Sketchers

From Walking with a Guide (Nature,Architecture,History)

Interesting small Opera House in the Bayview.

4 attendees

Be a Docent for the Victorian Alliance of SF's, Open House Tour of Oct.18,2026

Sun, Oct 18, 6:00 PM

From AWS User Group East Bay

**Victorian** **Alliance of SF's, Open House Tour of Oct.18,2026** Here's a terrific opportunity to get immersed in San Francisco Victoriana. The Victorian Alliance of SF (VASF) is holding their 2026 open house tour in the West Mission, Liberty-Hill area this year on Sunday, Oct. 18th. See the houses, meet the owners, neighbors and fellow SF Victorian fans, while learning the local lore and history. (As a docent you won't need a $55.,ticket.)[ Here is a link to the VASF tour announcement and the event description. ](https://victorianalliance.org/events/2026-west-mission-liberty-hill-historic-house-tour/) Below is an email link to volunteer. Many of you have been on the Walking with a Guide, Meetup, Victorian tours in different neighborhoods of the City. You've learned the basics, (it's all basics), so you're ready to assist others by acting as a volunteer docent. The date is Sunday, Oct 18, 2026, from about noon to 5:00pm, followed by a docent/volunteer appreciation, pizza and beer party. **Becoming a VASF docent, next steps:** 1\. I've posted this\, Docent only invitation\, as an opportunity and virtual gathering place for VASF\, docent volunteering for Meetup members\. 2\. Email\, [info@victorianalliance.org](mailto:info@victorianalliance.org) , Coordinator, Max Mertens, at VASF, to let them know you would like to be a Docent/Volunteer and for specific instructions, timing, to answer questions and to get ready for the Event.

2 attendees

Open House / Open Build / Open Repair Projects Workshop

Sat, Oct 17, 1:30 AM

From Circuit Launch

4.8

Our monthly Circuit Launch Oakland "Open House" evening for everyone, fun for the whole family! Join us every third Friday evening of the month: **○ Robot, AI and Electronics Projects:** Start a project, continue a project or discover one here: we provide the space, tools and peer learning – you bring your project and enthusiasm! **○ Repair Projects:** Fixit Clinic's monthly residency at Circuit Launch: bring your repair projects – electronic gadgets, appliances, computers, toys, etc.– for consultation, assessment, disassembly, and possible repair. We’ll provide workspace, specialty tools, and guidance to help you disassemble and troubleshoot your item. First-time repairers and “Fixing Families” are heartily invited. Learn more at [https://www.fixitclinic.org/](https://www.fixitclinic.org/) **○ Tech Topic Discussions and Practice:** join the AI thought leadership practise group for lively conversation: Come share your knowledge -- or your lack thereof: all experience levels welcome. It's definitely worth a visit if you've never been here: tour Circuit Launch and see all the exciting companies and projects in progress. – U18s heartily welcome with a participating adult. – Equipment use outside of the soldering and debugging gear requires certification. Looking forward to seeing you this third Friday!

8 attendees

AWS Community Day (Bay Area) - AI Edition

Tue, Oct 13, 4:30 PM

4.8

**AWS Community Day Bay Area: Building the Future of AI** Join us on **October 13, 2026**, at the **AWS Builder Loft** for a full day of technical learning, hands-on experiences, and community connections. AI is more than a trend—it is becoming the foundation of what we build in the cloud. Come learn how builders are using AWS to create the next generation of intelligent applications. **Why attend?** * **Generative AI in Practice:** Discover real-world solutions built with Amazon Bedrock, Amazon SageMaker, and the Strands Agents SDK. * **Agentic AI:** Learn how autonomous agents are transforming workflows and how to build them responsibly. * **Hackathon Finals:** Watch the top eight teams demonstrate their agentic AI projects live on stage. * **Expert-Led Learning:** Attend technical sessions and discussions that go beyond the basics. * **Community Networking:** Connect with industry leaders, AWS experts, and fellow cloud builders across the Bay Area. Whether you are an experienced cloud architect or just beginning your AWS journey, join us for a day of learning, networking, and fun. **Registration** Space is limited, so register early. **Important:** RSVPing on Meetup does not complete your registration. You must also register through the AWS Builder Loft website: 👉 **AWS Builder Loft registration:** [https://bit.ly/4yILMav](https://bit.ly/4yILMav) 👉 **Event details, agenda, and speakers:** [https://bit.ly/4dk6dlS](https://bit.ly/4dk6dlS) **🛠️ Agentic AI Hackathon** Build an AI agent that performs real work on AWS. * Teams of **2–4 participants** * Solo builders are welcome * Build period: **September 29–October 11** * Top eight teams will present live at AWS Community Day * Winners can receive up to **$3,200 in AWS credits** * Registration deadline: **September 28** 👉 **Hackathon registration:** [https://luma.com/acba26102](https://luma.com/acba26102) **Sponsorship Opportunities** Connect with more than **500 registrants**, including a projected **30% senior leadership audience**. 👉 **Submit a sponsorship inquiry:** [https://bit.ly/4hbqAD3](https://bit.ly/4hbqAD3) We look forward to seeing you at AWS Community Day Bay Area!

17 attendees

Trusted by millions worldwide

430kMonthly events

60mMembers

4.5App store rating

200kGroups

Popular groups

DZ Landscape & Designs

25 members

Software Architecture and System Design Training

127 members

Architecture, Design & Drinks

1,072 members

Walking with a Guide (Nature,Architecture,History)

4,942 members

Emerging architects sf

52 members

ARKitchen

46 members

Sketch Like an Architect in the SF Bay - Outdoor

625 members