I visited SF several times over the 1990s, and I always stayed at the Red Victorian on Haight Street. I noticed that many of the vintage buildings I entered, including the Red Vic, the Pork Store Cafe, and others, all seemed to have a similar design, involving a large, high-ceilinged front room, and a mezzanine level with a railing across the back. I noticed that in at least three or four buildings on Haight, so it seems like it must have been a common design suited to some specific purpose.
Has anyone else ever noticed this? Why was that design so common?