I am looking for information and/or photos of "Carville" which was a community of beach houses somewhere in the area of Lincon, Judah, and the Great Highway. It seems to have been in existance for many years by the turn of the century.

Many of the houses were constructed out of abandoned or salvaged streetcars and cable cars. Several homes in this area are reputed to still have these cable cars attached.

I have heard that the area was burned out intentionally by the city around 1920, in a bit of urban renewal.

Any information, especially any source of photos, would be most appreciated.

-- Bill Chauvin (dxtrwxtr@aol.com), June 27, 1998

Answers

I found the following reference: "Carville: San Francisco's oceanside bohemia", California History, v. 57, no. 4, Winter 1978/79, p. 309-319. I haven't seen the article, so I can't comment on it. If you can't get a copy of it, send me an email.

-- Ron Filion (rfilion@geocities.com), June 29, 1998.

just testing

-- richard (zpub@sirius.com), July 11, 1998.

Here's what Melvyl has to say about Carville:

1. Heisterkamp, James L. (James Lynn), 1930-
Scrapbook, olden San Francisco : Carville and its last remnant / by James 
L. Heisterkamp.  [San Francisco, Calif. : The Author], c1996.
        UCB   Bancroft  XZ97.0185
        CSL   State Lib F869.S3 H426 1996 California Non Circ

I'd also recommend looking at the CSL's California Information File (on microfiche at a major library near you.) I know I've seen other references to Carville, in the midst of doing other research. You might also contact Gladys Hanson at the City Museum of SF.

-- Dorothy or Bob Leland (leland@dcn.davis.ca.us), July 14, 1998.

There are some pictures of Carville at:

http://telmaron.com/~darkweb/index.html

-- Joel GAzis-SAx (gazissax@best.com), August 23, 1998.

Don't know if you are still monitoring answers, but there was a very interesting article about Carville in Restoration Magazine a couple of months back. I think it was the December edition.

-- Jay Russell (jcr@sirius.com), March 31, 1999.