Haas-Lilienthal House

Outstanding! The docents were amazing offering unique and fun facts. The best part of my trip to Pacific Heights.

The Haas Lilenthal house is the city’s only intact Queen Anne-​style Victorian home (built in 1886) that is open regularly as a museum, complete with authentic furniture and artifacts. This review is for the Mayhem Manor Halloween tour only. Although we didn’t buy tickets in advance, my friend and I decided to go and try to get tickets at the door ($ 20). We were told by the guy walking up and down the line that they were sold out, but we could probably get into the last show at 10:00 p.m. We went to the «Spookeasy» for a drink while we waited. Drinks were cheap ($ 5 for a glass of wine) and we were even given free raffle tickets by someone. The prizes were pretty cheesy, however (e.g. a package of Oreo cookies, Halloween Kleenex tissues, small plastic skulls, etc). The tour exits into the Spookeasy so we saw all the people walk past who were finishing the tour.
We went back out to the line outside a few minutes before 10:00 p.m., saw the guy selling tickets, and bought them for $ 20 each. Then we stood in line another 45 minutes, actually getting into the house at 10:45 p.m. The way they handled the line was pretty disorganized. No communication about why the line was moving so slowly or which time slots were up. Once inside, the tour guide was pretty entertaining and there were some scary props and people dressed up as ghosts jumping out at you. The best thing about Mayhem Manor tour was to actually be in the house (although you wished for bright lighting so you could actually see it better).The fact that it lasted only 15 minutes was very dismaying (after waiting over over an hour and a half). I tried not to be upset since proceeds go to the continued maintenance and upkeep of the Haas-​Lilienthal House under the direction of San Francisco Heritage.
As a haunted house, I wouldn’t recommend it, as it was too short and not scary at all. I do want to go back (for $ 8) for their regular house tour.

I had the great pleasure of attending this last year and was so blown away by it that me and my family starting organizing a group immediately for this year.
This year’s script fell short of last year’s (which seriously was a masterpiece) I felt the script for this year was a skeleton version of last years without the brilliance and fullness. Last year there was a very clear narrative with well executed scare features to match. My ten year old loved it but was seriously spooked. This year not so much. What separates this event from other haunted house experiences is that it is theatrical and depends on the «history «of the house making it into a gothic nightmare. As I said, last year was a complete theatrical experience. This felt like a thin appropriation .
The yard scene was great for us while standing in line though but repeated too many times in the spook-​easy .
I will return next year with the hopes that the creators of 2014 are in on the writing.

You’d think a city known for their Victorian homes would have plenty of Victorian mansions to tour. Not so. It was hard to find a house to visit. This was one of the few. It seems the old houses either burned down or have been turned in to rented event venues.
With limited hours, there were plenty of people coming for a tour. The attendance was so high, the group was smartly split into two tours. The hour-​long tour went by quickly with most of the house open for viewing. It’s not a huge house given their wealth. Some furniture in the house was original which helped create a feel of that era. There’s also a working antique model train in the basement.

The only Victorian home in the city open to the public as a museum. It’s filled with furniture and artifacts from the 1800s. Kind of like an antiques shoppe in my opinion but nothing’s for sale. If you’re really bored or it’s raining, you can visit this site and she’ll out $ 8 for a tour. Just note it’s only open Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays.

Very cool tour! This has been on my list of places to visit and it’s only taken me YEARS to finally get a group together and go. I’m so glad I did! As with most live-​and-​in-​person tours, the enjoyment of the tour guide you happen to have. (All of the tours are led by volunteer docents.)
When I take a tour, I am constantly popping my hand up to ask the tour guide an extra question. They take a breath to pause, I see it as an opportunity to ask for details. If they ask a question to the group, I’m right there volunteering.
I was impressed by the knowledge our volunteer. Highly recommend!

Must have driven past this place a couple thousand times before deciding to figure out what it was all about.
The Haas name was/​is a storied San Francisco name — Lilienthal perhaps less so — and this house provides a «glue» to the past when the family moved here from New York (Bavaria originally) to join their brother in the retail business that eventually birthed Levi Strauss, MJB Coffee, and others.
The last family member at this residence passed away in the early-70’s and the SF Heritage Trust now runs the place as a sort of museum/​tribute.
As others have noted it’s a «reverse-​Tardis» — smaller on the inside than it might otherwise appear, but it’s great for about an hour tour.
Our docent was great. Just five visitors so pretty intimate gathering. The tour is not only about the bones of the house — and there’s plenty to take in — but also about the family history, and by extension SF history plus the story of American Jewry in the USA.
All in all an hour well spent and good value at $ 8.

It was a nice house, not nearly as expansive as I would have imagined by looking at the outside. Only three bedrooms upstairs seemed small to me. Coming from an architectural preservation background, it seems to me that they are either behind on the «preservation» part of the upkeep or there is some weird method to their madness. I can understand keeping things as they are if repairing them would cause damage, but I see no reason to have worn/​torn carpet on the main stair risers (especially from a public safety standpoint) or peeling paint, etc. The place definitely needed some repairs that would not detract from it’s mission. It seems like a mediocre showcase representing the grand Victorian San Francisco.

This is a gem of a museum. You get to actual go in to tour this gorgeous quintessentially San Francisco home. The tour guides are very knowledgeable. We actually looked at having our wedding reception here. You can rent out the entire home for events. It didn’t work with our plans but I will be keeping it in mind for fun future events.

We were really excited to attend the Twisted Tours of Terror on opening night and purchased our tickets in advance for the 7PM show (runs from 7−8PM). We showed up a little before 7 and there was already a line of about 20 people ahead of us. 7PM hits and the doors remain closed, and stay this way until 7:20 (meanwhile, no one is telling the line what is going on and the line has grown to be really long now). They let a few tiny groups in and then the line remains static for the next 15 to 20 or so minutes.
We finally get close to the front of the line and at this point it is almost 8 PM. I assume the people behind us that showed up for the 7 PM show were probably in line for up to 2 hours at the rate things were moving.
We decide we aren’t going to stand around look fools any longer and leave, after waiting for close to an hour. It’s really difficult to support something so poorly run as this. They started late, they didn’t tell anyone what to expect in line, and they didn’t have the foresight to create a different line for the 8PM group so I suspect they were mixing into the line ahead of some of the 7PM people too.
Please don’t bother running these things if you cannot do it properly.

OMG. I went to the Halloween Mayhem manor. The house is gorgeous and the creepy factor is pretty good.
The actors more creepy and that to me is pretty scary. Loved it!!!

This review is for the Mayhem Manor — Twisted Tours of Terror only. Attended Sat evening. While the description suggested that it would be similar to the other haunted house attractions in the Bay Area, it fell far short. The event is basically a 15 minute tour of the house, at night, in dim light with appropriate props, e.g. fake rats, spiders, etc., with a 4 – 5 actors dressed up in ghostly monster makeup as the butler, maid, chef, etc. Occasionally, you’d hear some thumping and then a jump scare. Not very frightening at all. They say it is a fundraiser, so that’s the redeeming aspect of it. If you want to tour the house, do the regular tour during the day. I assume it has to be better — or atleast you won’t have your expectations dashed.

Wouldn’t have known this place existed if I didn’t hear about their free day this past Sunday 19 Oct. Glad I got to see it! I always wanted to see the inside of one those Victorian houses. The staff were very knowledgeable and provided interesting bits of history of the house and the time of Old San Francisco. I think it would be worth to see it even if you have to pay for it.

If you’re fascinated by old Victorians, you will love this tour. Carlo was our guide — was very nice and informative. He told us all about life in the late 1800s in houses like this. In the basement is an old Lionel Train Set, which actually does work, he turned it on and we watched it make 2 loops around the platform. But I was even more fascinated by this device in the Mrs’ bathroom — a curling iron before there was electricity.
Tours are only on wednesdays and certain weekends. Check their website.
$ 8 entrance fee. or $ 7 if you have a AAA card. Or $ 5 if you are 60 or over.

Haas-​Lilienthal House is open FREE One day out of the whole entire year, and this yr it was Sun 10÷21÷12 so I went. I missed it last yr, made a note of when it was, then emailed them to tell me the date so I knew.
From Civic Center Bart it’s a long walk up Franklin near Washington, I saw the balloons up the street on the Left. Walked in & found out it was Self-​guided tour, good, so not too much blah blah blah.
Went into the first room, dining room, kitchen, upstairs made a little loop, then down in the basement there’s a room with old trains that don’t work, but kinda neat to see.
Walked out to the tiny garden when you go through the gate, don’t go to 2009, that’s a Private Residence.
Maybe worth checking out if in the area if you like to see an old Victorian Queen Anne still furnished & like a museum now.
Website on tours, Adults $ 8/​Seniors $ 5:

Great enthusiastic guide (Carlo?) that made the tour fun. I learned a lot more than I presumed I would have… About the general area and also on day-​to-​day lives of peoples in that era.
Well worth those few bucks ($ 8)!

A few of the docents were dressed in period dress & knowledgeable. Quite an authentic feel with most rooms still fully furnished so you get a better feel for the history. Would be epic to rent for a party/​event.

What a funny little venue for a dinner party. I was a bit wary when I heard about this location, but it turned out better than I had expected. I don’t know if I would go there again, but for an end-​of-​the-​year gathering with co-​workers, it was fun.
The house itself was a good size for 30 – 40 people. There was a fireplace (big plus on a cold night!), and the rooms were cozy. The walls in the front rooms were redwood and oak. (I know that only I would remember that, but they are beautiful woods that modern houses don’t usually have.) The downside was the construction out back; the displays were a little bare in the ballroom downstairs. The house itself also looks like it is being worn down by the number of tourists that tramp through. And I fear that the original furniture, artwork, and pictures (especially the 1908 pictures!!) are being exposed to light and and are being damaged. (Maybe my fear is misplaced; maybe they have a conservator on staff to deal with such things.)
The docent dressed up in period costume and gave 20-​minute tours. Her tour was good; we got to see the entire house. The ancient curling iron in the upstairs master bathroom was terrific.
So, a few memorable things, but one tour is enough.

This is a nice little tour to go on if you’re interested in seeing the inside of one of San Francisco’s oldest houses. The tour guide was extremely knowledgeable. The house itself is very cool, yet the furniture and appliances that fill the house are even more interesting. Especially the kitchen. The only let back of this tour was that we weren’t able to walk freely about the house for a few minutes or so. Of course, letting a tour group roam around an antique house probably isn’t normal, but they do sell time in the house for people who want to have receptions or parties (not those kinds of parties). It makes it different to be able to walk freely through the house, it lets you get a feel for what it was like living there.
Anyways, there is an awesome toy train setup near the end of the tour which the tour guide actually turned on for us.
I believe it was somewhere around $ 9-​$ 11 per person.
Another added benefit was the tour guide’s explanation of what the 1908 earthquake did to San Francisco and there are even some panoramic shots that were taken in hot air balloons showing pre-​1908 San Francisco and post-​1908 San Francisco (the devastation).

This was such an amazing place for the reception. It was just a few blocks from the Queen Anne, and a great extension of the victorian theme the couple had chosen for the wedding.
All in all, this was a fun location, with lots of space, tons of things to explore, and very gracious staff offering tours. It must have been a huge challenge for the tour guides, as I can’t imagine trying to do a tour in a noisy room, trying to keep the attention of a large group, half of which were quite a few drinks into their celebration.
There were some neat stories you learn, such as that the crack in the wall over the stairwell, created during the big earthquake, was purposely left by the owners to remind them how lucky they were that was all the damage that was done.
Downstairs, hidden away a bit, was an old set of toy trains (and a sign advertising ‘toys, now with electricity!”). They are still working, and a flip of a light switch will start one of them running along the tracks.
After drinks and hors d’oeuvres the party moved down to the ball room on the ground floor. This fit a surprising number of people, and even had room for a small stage for toasts and a 4 person bluegrass band. The atmosphere was cozy, but not cramped. Once the tables and chairs were cleared there was plenty of room to dance.
As the revelries ran into the night, the staff never got impatient to push us out the door. Granted, the band packing up and leaving was enough of a hint to get us started out the door. and hour or so later.
Great wedding reception, in a really fun local.