RON HENGGELER

August 31, 2024
The Redwood Tree House on Russian Hill's Lombard Street in San Francisco 

My dear friend Mrs. Mérí Jaye lived on the "crookedest" block of Lombard Street since the 1960s. She was 102 years old when she died last year in March. Mérí was a groundbreaking designer, businesswoman, informed collector, maritime architect, arts patron, and defender of the urban environment. Her house in now for sale. 

The home was crafted in 1910 by the celebrated architects Charles M. and Arthur F. Rousseau.

Remembering Mérí Jaye

with a gallimaufry of photos

Sotheby’s listing

The Redwood Tree House

Mrs. Jaye's backyard garden features a 100 ft tall redwood tree.

Mérí planted the redwood tree in 1962 in memory of her husband and children, who died in a plane crash. On July 12, 2024, Mayor London Breed signed an Ordinance, and on August 15, the tree was designated as San Francisco Landmark Tree No. 26. 

A new rosebud in Mrs. Jaye's backyard rose garden

Lombard Street entrance

The Redwood Tree House

A Hibiscus blossom in Mrs. Jaye's front yard/patio 

The bark of Mrs. Jaye's pear tree 

Front patio on Lombard

Mrs. Jaye in her backyard near the base of her 100ft. redwood tree

SF Landmark Tree Number 26

Mrs. Jaye's weathervane that she had commisioned for the top of her home on Russian Hill.

Azalea in Mérí's backyard

The wall fountain in the back yard

A rose in Mrs. Jaye's backyard rose garden

The view of Telegraph Hill from the home's Lombard Street front patio

Mrs. Jaye and sculptor Rodney Winfield 

At Grace Cathedral for the 2006 dedication of "The Brotherhood of Man"

Her most visible contribution to the life of San Francisco is the repoussé bronze and wood installation in Nob Hill’s Grace Cathedral, “The Brotherhood of Man,” celebrating the birth of the United Nations in San Francisco in 1945. It was conceptualized and designed by Mérí Jaye, commissioned originally by Ralph K. Davies for the International Building, and executed by sculptor Rodney Winfield.  

(From the Obituary written by Paul Fees)

My photos paired with the Flower Duet on Instagram

Delibes: Lakmé 

The view of the San Francisco Financial District from 1050 Lombard Street

The view of the Bay Bridge and Yerba Buena Island from 1050 Lombard Street

The base of Mrs. Jaye's redwood tree in the backyard

SF Landmark Tree Number 26

The backyard wall fountain

"The Brotherhood of Man"

Her most visible contribution to the life of San Francisco is the repoussé bronze and wood installation in Nob Hill’s Grace Cathedral, “The Brotherhood of Man,” celebrating the birth of the United Nations in San Francisco in 1945. It was conceptualized and designed by Mérí Jaye, commissioned originally by Ralph K. Davies for the International Building, and executed by sculptor Rodney Winfield.  

(From the Obituary written by Paul Fees)

The view of Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill from Mrs. Jaye's front door and patio

A view of the Transamerica Pyramid from 1050 Lombard

The front entrance on Lombard Street to The Redwood Tree House

Mérí Jaye

In a career that lasted nearly six decades and spanned three continents, Mrs. Jaye among other accomplishments designed a line of leather goods and opened a chain of retail outlets in Mexico, “Mérí Jaye Creaciones,” to feature them. As art director she helped to establish a fashion magazine in Mexico City, and she worked with airlines and marketing companies in the Americas and Europe to popularize air travel at a time when most transatlantic traffic traveled by sea. In what seems in that light like an ironic career move, she made her most acclaimed professional mark on the maritime travel industry. 

The Obituary

A view of Telegraph Hill and Coit Tower

from the front patio of The Redwood Tree House

2-4 Montclair, with an entrance at 1050 Lombard

Mrs. Mérí Jaye in the backyard

Remembering Mérí Jaye

with a gallimaufry of photos

My photos paired with the Flower Duet on Instagram

Delibes: Lakmé 

Sotheby’s listing

The Redwood Tree House

Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill

A view of Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill from "The Crookedest Street in the World"

Remembering Mérí Jaye

My photos paired with the Flower Duet on Instagram

Delibes: Lakmé 

Mrs. Jaye and sculptor Rodney Winfield 

At Grace Cathedral for the 2006 dedication of "The Brotherhood of Man"

Her most visible contribution to the life of San Francisco is the repoussé bronze and wood installation in Nob Hill’s Grace Cathedral, “The Brotherhood of Man,” celebrating the birth of the United Nations in San Francisco in 1945. It was conceptualized and designed by Mérí Jaye, commissioned originally by Ralph K. Davies for the International Building, and executed by sculptor Rodney Winfield.  

The pear tree and a rose reflected in a puddle of rain water on the front patio

The famous Lombard Street, affectionately called "The Crookedest Street in San Francisco", even though it's not.

The famous Lombard Street, affectionately called "The Crookedest Street in San Francisco", even though it's not.

Roses in the backyard garden

Sotheby’s listing

The Redwood Tree House

My photos on Instagram paired with the Flower Duet

Delibes: Lakmé 

Delibes: Lakmé 

Mérí Jaye and Associates worked on designing interiors for the San Francisco-based American President Lines.

Mérí Jaye's weathervane high atop the house

Mrs. Jaye's redwood tree in the backyard

SF Landmark Tree Number 26

The Liberty Ship SS Jeremiah O'Brian seen from the upstairs windows

2-4 Montclair, with an entrance at 1050 Lombard

The pear tree in the corner of the front patio

Delibes: Lakmé 

The bark of Mrs. Jaye's beloved redwood tree in the backyard

SF Landmark Tree Number 26

The backyard garden and archway to the patio

The base of Mrs. Jaye's redwood tree in the backyard

SF Landmark Tree Number 26

1050 Lombard, located on the famous "Crookedest Street in San Francisco".

Sotheby’s listing

The Redwood Tree House