Designed concurrently by the same architect, this pair of houses in San Francisco’s Marina District make the most of a rare opportunity. In place of the dreary light shaft typical of the city’s rowhouses, these neighbors share a lushly-planted court between them. Despite their common authorship, however, the houses present completely different Spanish Revival sensibilities. The home on the left presents the more Mediterranean formality popular in San Francisco homes of the era; its counterpart shows a more casual Andalusian flair. Rowhouses such as these were generally designed with living spaces on the upper stories only, leaving the garage and a narrow entrance the only features visible to passersby at sidewalk level. Hence, garage doors of the period were often lavishly detailed. In this rare instance, the architect’s courtyard design allows the garage doors--however elaborate--to be subordinated to the real focus of any home: the entrance.