Command+shift+4 = a crosshair cursor you can use to select an area by holding down the mouse button (left button if it's not an Apple mouse.) When you release the mouse button, a photo of the selected area will be saved to the desktop as a .tif file.

You're welcome, peeps. But, I never meant to say that these windows were intended to light up the whole garage -- physics would contradict that, but rather the area most near the window as you surmise. It would be interesting to investigate this further and unravel this transparent mystery.

Can anyone tell me if most of the houses with these windows are Westerly/Easterly-facing? Just out of curiosity...

I was on the Hill last weekend but without a camera, sorry. The windows I saw faced all four directions. Some were parallel and some were perpendicular to the garage door.

You know miami, you're right ... I owe you thanks for opening my eyes a little more. I love SF architecture and think of myself as someone who pays attention to it, but hadn't given "the little windows" much conscious thought before. One of my favorite things about tourists and visitors to SF is that they help me see the city with fresh eyes, so to speak.

There are lots of little windows around town, different sizes. Quite a few are indeed intended for viewing the gas meters. Those tend to be a little larger. There are some really clever configs of them in the upper Haight ... rows of diamond-oriented squares and such that enhance the exteriors decoratively rather than looking utilitarian.

Others are positioned at the mail slot. I assume this would be so that someone could see whether or not they have mail without needing to turn no a light or go all the way into the garage.

Every time I see the thread title I'm reminded of the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose. Really cool/weird place to visit. Cheesy tour but worthwhile.

I lived in San Jose for almost all of my life... still haven't gone to the Winchester Mystery House...

I've lived here 8 years and the farthest I got was the guest shop and that was it. I didn't know you had to go on a tour with people.

I've mentioned it on the board before, but it bears repeating for this thread...

I used to work in a comic shop on Bascom Avenue... the owner of the store used to be one of the Winchester Mystery House tour guides, and he got tired of sticking to "the script". So he'd make crazy stuff up like Sarah Winchester would swing from the exposed pipes in the ceiling jungle gym-style to cross certain rooms, and other weird things... he got fired later on.

But he went on to write a bunch of comic books including Justice League America, and now he runs Slave Labor Graphics.

He's a really nice guy that helped knock a lot of the fanboy behavior out of me... (not all of obviously).

Yeah well, I went there and it costs like $23 to walk around inside the house. For $9 more, you get the secret mystery tour. Woo.

Loco- was it the comic shop next to Time Tunnel Toys? I just went there... great little strip of shops.

That damn house sucked! When I went to SF years back I flew in and outa San Jose because it was cheaper. So I had some time there my last day and went. It was somewhat interesting on a historic and architectural level, but on a "ghostly" level, no. It even had an arcade in the lobby I think. But I'm a sucker for tourist traps, so it was my own fault.

Lol. Same here.
But I hear it's fun around Halloween.
Only thing great around that area is Valley Fair and Santana Row.

No, it doesn't exist anymore... once he started publishing comics, he closed up the comic shop. Time Tunnel is a little further up the road - and it's a great source for Microman toys.

That's what I was thinking...

I got a really cool kanegon at time tunnel. For awhile, and with no logic, I thought that the guy that worked there was 'slack'

They have some really cool vintage toys and I saw a carded version of the guy that pickleloaf loves. King something or other.

Sweet jesus not that king. King kamala something or other.

Hey Dean,

Always happy to be of service! I know just what you mean, too - Spending winters in South Beach and summers way up here in the Redwood Empire means I have a steady stream of visitors pretty much all year-round, and they always seem to ask me about something I have never noticed before. I'm glad I was able to open this metaphorical tiny window of perception for you, and provide you with this new little factoid/question for your future visitors.

So, maybe the Tiny Windows of Mystery simply do not have one single purpose, perhaps there is no one answer that is applicable to all of them? Could be that some of them are for peering in to read gas meters, others are for peering out at potential blockages of the garage door, some are for checking whether the mail has come (for these, the mail slot was in the garage, so the mail just fell on the garage floor? That's odd in itself.), some are for illumination, some are probably there for a reason we don't recall today, and likely a few were just the result of inertia - Some of those 'nonconformist' ones (facing odd directions or otherwise puzzling) may have been added only after the builder saw that the neighbors all had them, without ever understanding its purpose.

I do still think there are further depths to this question which we have not yet plumbed, so I intend to keep asking SF natives whenever I get the chance, and digging whenever I can think of ways to formulate the search (unfortunately, my searches with the terms 'windows' and 'SF' have brought >95% hits either discussing Microsoft products or griping about SF's residential fenestration). Also, of course I'd love to hear everything more that anyone may hear or read about these fascinating little puzzlers, whether it conflicts with or confirms any of our theories here. I think it's likely that one day we will find a brand-new answer that has not yet occurred to any of us.

Typically there is a shelf below the slot to catch the mail.

I thoroughly enjoyed the Winchester tour. I went in expecting it to be full of cheesy manufactured ghost stories and instead got a tour full of interesting local history and architectural information.

Agreed miami, it seems like there's still a missing piece or two. I'll be keeping my eyes and ears open, if I come up with anything I'll report to this thread. I've also failed to come up with anything substantial via internet searches.

Also agree with Coasterbear. The "ghostly" aspect of the Winchester mansion is overplayed. It's a fascinating excess of Victorian architecture and a local historical gem. The widow's superstitions and all the bizarre anomalies that played into the architecture accordingly are fascinating, but more as a historical/psychological case than anything supernatural. If I understand correctly, the tour only covers about ten percent of the estate, as the cost of upkeep for the rest of it would be prohibitive. It would be so cool to be allowed to roam about the whole place freely!

Oh, and if you visit the Mystery House, you've got to also check out the Rosicrucian museum nearby. It's partially a really cool museum with some ancient Egyptian mummies and statues of various gods, but it's also part cornball/mystical hooey. Fun stuff.

The mummies were cool.
Don't bother with the show at the planetarium unless you want to nap in an uncomfortable chair.

Dan Vado? I spoke to him once at WonderCon and he seems the type that would be capable of knocking the fanboy behavior out of a guy. Hehehe! I used to read a lot of SLG's early comics. Good stuff!

Yep... Dan's the man! Real nice guy, and I had a great time working in his comic shop... lotsa great memories.

last weekend, we were at a park in Noe Valley and I noticed the Tiny Windows of Mystery...



















when i looked inside to investigate, most of them (not all) had meters behind them. multiple windows for gas and electicity...

Since reading this thread, I've spotted a number of these windows, as well. The few that I've investigated up close have all had meters behind them.

Great photos Kirkland. That's them all right. I'm not surprised that they're also on homes in Noe Valley.

Most of the buildings constructed during the 1920s with garages have them. But, not all of them are have the gas & electric meters behind them. Will those remain a mystery?

Evidently so, at least for now. I wonder if some of them used to have meters behind them? As you may know a lot of the electrical in these areas has been re-done since the homes were originally built. That's certainly the case on Potrero Hill.

I'm still seeing more and more of the little windows, including on my street here in the Inner Richmond.

All of the houses on my Mom's block have these "little windows of mystery". They are diamond-shaped (or a square turned on its side). I have confirmed with PG&E that they use these windows to read the electricity and gas meters in the neighborhood. The little window faces the east on her block of houses, and the neighborhood was constructed in the late 50's/early 60's