Rolph Runs Things: A Closer Look

by Arnold Woods

The 1910s and 1920s were a boom time for San Francisco. A great many civic and private construction projects were occurring around the City as it expanded westward across the great sand dunes to the ocean and looked to justify its reputation as the cultural and economic capital of the West Coast. For almost that entire two decade period, the City was presided over by Mayor James “Sunny Jim” Rolph, Jr., San Francisco’s longest serving mayor. Mayor Rolph was elected by a huge majority at a primary election on September 26, 1911 and took office on January 8, 1912. He would remain in office for the next 19 years.

During Mayor Rolph’s terms in office, he presided over many civic accomplishments. These included, the building of a new City Hall, the establishment of MUNI, the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, the initiation of the Hetch-Hetchy water project, and the construction of many new neighborhoods, particularly on the west side of the City.

Mayor James Rolph operating pile driver on Van Ness for Muni project, April 6, 1914. (wnp36.00434; DPW Horace Chaffee – SF Department of Public Works / Courtesy of a Private Collector)

As a long-time mayor in an era when photography was becoming more popular, Mayor Rolph found his way into many images performing duties of his office. When one looks over the many images of Mayor Rolph on OpenSFHistory.org, one thing becomes quite obvious…Mayor Rolph liked to operate things. At the many government-funded construction projects that occurred in San Francisco during this period, Mayor Rolph was invariably at the ground-breaking or opening ceremonies. Almost as invariably, Mayor Rolph was operating equipment of some kind. In the image above, Mayor Rolph is operating a pile driver on Van Ness in 1914 that was part of a MUNI project. The Mayor didn’t stop there.

Mayor Rolph driving first streetcar through Twin Peaks Tunnel, February 3, 1918. (wnp15.175; Courtesy of a Private Collector)

One of the biggest construction projects in San Francisco in the early part of the 20th century was the building of the Twin Peaks Tunnel for streetcar service to the west side of the City. Construction of the tunnel under Twin Peaks, from the Market/Castro/17th Street intersection on the east side and the West Portal/Ulloa intersection on the west side, started in December 1914. It was completed and opened for service on February 3, 1918. During the opening ceremonies that day, Mayor Rolph was the motorman for the first revenue trip through the tunnel. This was not Mayor Rolph’s first time driving a streetcar. He made a habit of acting as motorman on the first trip for any new MUNI line that opened in the City.

Mayor Rolph driving last horse streetcar on Montgomery Street, October 5, 1927. (wnp30.0140; Emiliano Echeverria/Randolph Brandt Collection / Courtesy of Emiliano Echeverria)

Sunny Jim did not limit himself to streetcar openings. There were closings to consider too. In October 1927, service on the Montgomery Street line, known as the Toonerville Trolley, came to close. There was a ceremony and a procession of the final streetcars down the line. Included among these streetcars was an old horse-drawn streetcar. Never one to pass up a good photo op, Mayor Rolph took to the controls of the horse streetcar for this last ride on Montgomery Street. The ceremony was described as a hilarious funeral procession1. Soon thereafter, work began on tearing up the streetcar tracks on Montgomery Street.

Mayor Rolph in front of steam shovel he operated during War Memorial ground-breaking ceremony, August 20, 1928. (wnp36.03697; DPW Horace Chaffee – SF Department of Public Works / Courtesy of a Private Collector)

After the 1906 earthquake, San Francisco set about rebuilding its Civic Center area. Some years after the new City Hall was completed, the City approved the $6,000,000 War Memorial project. The multi-building complex was to house an opera house and arts complex, a war museum, and a gathering place for veterans. At a ceremony on August 20, 1928, Mayor Rolph donned a pair of overalls and engineer’s cap and took the controls of a steam shovel to break ground. The news accounts noted that Mayor Rolph “demonstrated that he knew all the motions, was familiar with the levers and ‘things’ that controlled the steam monster.”2. The War Memorial was designed by Arthur Brown, Jr. and was one of the last major buildings built in the Beaux-Arts style in the United States. Work finished and the War Memorial was opened in 1932.

Mayor Rolph at controls of first N-Line streetcar through Sunset Tunnel, October 21, 1928. (wnp27.0493; DPW Horace Chaffee – SF Department of Public Works / Courtesy of a Private Collector)

With the success of the Twin Peaks tunnel from downtown to the West Portal area, San Francisco went to work on another tunnel from downtown to the Inner Sunset area. Construction started in June 1926 and the Sunset Tunnel opened for service on October 21, 1928. It will come as no surprise to anyone at this point that when the first N-Judah streetcar rolled through the tunnel, it was Mayor Rolph at the controls. He piloted the streetcar for an hour and a half from the Ferry Building all the way to the ocean. Clearly Sunny Jim had mastered the art of driving streetcars by this point, needing no assistance in his duties. 30,000 people turned out for the ceremonies.

Mayor Rolph at controls of steam shovel during Bernal Cut ground-breaking ceremony, November 15, 1928. (wnp36.03738; DPW Horace Chaffee – SF Department of Public Works / Courtesy of a Private Collector)

With the growing automobile population by the late 1920s, San Francisco found it needed more roads in and out of the City. To build a high-speed (for the time) road to San Mateo County, San Francisco took over the former Southern Pacific train route. Part of the route went through what was known as the Bernal Cut, a valley cut through a hill for the railroad tracks. The Bernal Cut had to be widened for the roadway and a ground-breaking ceremony occurred on November 15, 1928. Since there was big machinery there for the work, every San Franciscan then just knew that Mayor Rolph would be there to operate it. Although quite experienced with such equipment by this point of his mayoral reign, this time the steam shovel did not work. Rolph was forced to find a shovel and break ground the old-fashioned way. As you can see in the image though, he made sure to get a picture of himself at the controls of the equipment.

After 19 years as mayor and numerous photo ops with big machines and streetcars, Mayor Rolph removed himself from San Francisco by running for and winning election as governor of California. He resigned as mayor on January 6, 1931 to take the reins of the state. One can’t help but think though that his long rule was helped in part by his “man of the people” image cultivated in these images operating equipment and piloting streetcars at various ceremonies around the City.

Notes:

1. “Toonerville Trolley Obsequies Pronounced Among Dry-Eyed Throng” San Francisco Chronicle, October 6, 1927, p. 1.

2. “Ground Broken For $6,000,000 S.F. War Memorial,” San Francisco Chronicle, August 21, 1928, p. 1.

Mission High Fire: A Closer Look

by Arnold Woods

Mission High School holds the strange distinction of being the oldest high school at its original permanent site, 18th Street between Dolores and Church, while not having the oldest original high school building. The reason for this dichotomy was a devastating six-alarm fire that destroyed Mission High on January 19, 1922.

Mission High School was founded in 1890, but it did not have a permanent location initially. In 1896, the Board of Education purchased a plot of land on 18th Street from the Jewish Cemetery Association and began building. A new three-story brick building was completed in 1898 in an Italian Renaissance Beaux Arts style and Mission High moved into the new building.

View of Mission High School post-fire showing collapsed roof, January 1922. (wnp12.00256; Courtesy of David Gallagher.)

On the evening of Thursday, January 19, 1922, over 1000 students and teachers were at Mission High School for night high school courses known as the Humboldt Evening High School. San Francisco was in the midst of cold weather, so the furnaces at the high school were turned up. One of the flues was faulty, however, and live embers apparently shot up through the chimneys and onto the roof which caught fire. By the time firemen arrived, the roof was ablaze and firemen had little hope of saving the building.1

Mission High School after fire, January 1922. (wnp27.2287; Courtesy of a Private Collector)

The fire caused the school’s electrical system to fail, plunging it into darkness. The principal and teachers therefore set up a human “guide line” to lead students from their classrooms to safety. As they left, students and teachers took typewriters, adding machines, other equipment and specimens from labs to save them from the blaze. By all accounts, the exiting staff and students maintained level heads. Firemen had to prevent some students from reentering the building to save even more school property.

Interior view of Mission High School fire damage, January 1922. (wnp12.00263; Courtesy of David Gallagher)

While firemen worked to put out the flames, they simultaneously sought to ensure that everyone was out of the building. Two students were found to be missing and were soon discovered trapped on the third floor of the high school. Firemen sent up extension ladders and rescued the two students, who suffered only from some smoke inhalation. The six alarms brought much of San Francisco’s fire department from around the city to the scene. The large number of responders and the City’s post-1906 improved water system prevented the fire from spreading to neighboring properties and saved a two-story wooden annex at the school site.

Damaged hallway at Mission High School after fire, January 1922. (wnp12.00258; Courtesy of David Gallagher)

The only serious injury suffered was by Captain E.R. Doherty of Engine Co. #11. He was knocked off a ladder and suffered a broken leg and cuts and bruises. He was the only person who had to be transported to a hospital as a result of the fire. Many off-duty firemen and police officers showed up at the scene to provide assistance. Thousands of people also arrived to gawk at the rescue efforts. Boy Scouts locked arms to keep the crowd at bay and were later honored with official badges by the Fire Chief as “Fire Scouts2.”

Demolition work at Mission High School after fire, circa 1922. (wnp12.00257; Courtesy of David Gallagher)

In the immediate aftermath of the fire, the Superintendent of Schools, Alfred Roncovieri arranged for Mission High Students to share Lowell High School. The Humboldt Evening High School students split up their students between the annex building at Mission High for commercial courses and Polytechnic High for technical and academic studies. The R.O.T.C. at the school obtained two large tents from the army quatermaster and set them up by the annex to house some classes3. Temporary buildings across the street from the high school in Mission Park (later Dolores Park) were also used for classes.

Temporary buildings in Mission Park and tent on Mission High grounds used for classes after fire, circa 1922. (wnp12.00252; Courtesy of David Gallagher)

San Francisco eventually authorized the building of a new Mission High School. The City Architect, John W. Reid, Jr., drew up the plans for a new building in a Baroque style with some elaborate ornamentation, particularly on the central tower, possibly to complement the nearby Mission Dolores Basilica. Construction occurred between 1925 and 1927 and the new high school was dedicated by Mayor James Rolph on June 12, 1927.

Mission High School, 1935. (wnp14.10407; Courtesy of A Private Collector)

Mission High School remains in operation today, but because the original buildings were destroyed and replaced, it does not have the oldest high school buildings at the original site. Galileo High School, for one, was dedicated in 1924 at its present location on Francisco at Van Ness. The Galileo building was upgraded in the 1970s, but remains in place. The current Mission High Schools building received a major accolade as San Francisco Designated Landmark No. 255 on September 2, 2007.

Notes:

1. “Mission High Burned,” San Francisco Chronicle, January 20, 1922, pp. 1-2.

2. “100 Boy Scouts Given Badges By Fire Chief,” San Francisco Chronicle, January 25, 1922, p. 9.

3. “Mission High To Hold Class In Two Tents,” San Francisco Chronicle, January 29, 1922, p. 9.

Five Favorites: 2019 (Part 2)

by Arnold Woods

Last week, we presented five of our favorite images that were added to our OpenSFHistory collection in the first six months of 2019. This week, we are looking through our favorites from July through December of last year. So let’s get going in our journey through time!

Looking northwest from near 47th and Kirkham at streetcar bodies dumped in the dunes at Carville, circa 1900. (wnp70.0815; Marilyn Blaisdell Collection / Courtesy of Molly Blaisdell)

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Hopefully by now, most people know the story of Carville. For the uninitiated though, as San Francisco replaced old horse-drawn streetcars with cable cars and electric streetcars, the old horse-cars were sold off and taken to the great vast sand dunes in the Outside Lands. Some enterprising people took those horse-cars and would fit several together to create homes and buildings for businesses. A Bohemian community of those horse-cars homes and businesses grew out near the ocean just south of Golden Gate Park. In the great image above, you can see some horse-cars that were owned by Jacob Heyman. He was selling lots and would include a horse-car or two for the buyers. Behind them, you can see some of the re-purposed horse-cars already being used as buildings in Carville. It is probably a trick of the old-time equipment used to take this image, but it almost looks like the horse-cars and ground are covered in snow. Alas, it is just how a normal, foggy day in the dunes was seen through the lens of the times.

Three men posing for photocard at Cliff House Portrait Studio, 1910s. (wnp70.1004; Marilyn Blaisdell Collection / Courtesy of Molly Blaisdell.)

As photography became more popular in the late 1800s and early 1900s, photography portrait studios began popping up around tourist destinations. In the days long before everyone had a camera in their cellphone, the only way for people to get pictures of themselves on their vacations was to have their portrait taken at these studios. The Cliff House and Ocean Beach areas had several such portrait studios. The studios had backdrops of the local sights and various props. Some of these portraits have ended up in our collection in the past few years, but last August, we added a large group of these portrait images from the local studios to OpenSFHistory. Most of these images show the subjects looking very prim and proper as they hold still for their picture to be taken. I really liked the image above though because it is one of very few where the subjects looked to be having a little fun. All three men are well-dressed in suits and top hats. However, the gentleman on the left is holding one thumb in his own ear and the other thumb is his friend’s ear, while the gent in the center sits on a prop donkey and questions why his buddy has thumbed his ear, and the man on the left has a bemused smile on his face and a cigar in his hand. The image proves that some boys never grow up.

Night view from Bay Bridge showing San Francisco, circa 1935. (wnp70.0709.jpg; J.K. Piggott – Marilyn Blaisdell Collection / Courtesy of Molly Blaisdell.)

In the mid-1930s, the Bridges–Golden Gate and Bay–were under construction. During the Bay Bridge construction, photographer J.K. Piggott climbed one of the towers with his photography equipment. From the top, he took this stunning view of the Bay Bridge and San Francisco at night. In the image, we can see that the construction has reached the point where the towers have been constructed and the cables laid, but there is no roadway yet. The tracks of light in the water are boats and give you an idea of how long the exposure was for the shot. You can see the Ferry Building and its clock tower on the waterfront and at the top right, there’s the then still new Coit Tower. The city lights extend all the way to the hills beyond the downtown area.

Diver at Aquacade show at Golden Gate International Exposition on Treasure Island, 1940. (wnp14.12432; Courtesy of a Private Collector.)

To celebrate the completion of the Bridges, San Francisco held a World’s Fair in 1939 and 1940 called the Golden Gate International Exposition on Treasure Island, which had been built for the Exposition. The theme of the event was the “Pageant of the Pacific” and it showcased the nations that encircled the Pacific Ocean. Among the attractions was a swimming and diving show called the Aquacade. At this show, some photographer caught this perfectly timed image of a diver. The diver has great form and the flashbulb light reflection off the diver onto the water makes for a very cool effect.

San Francisco Giants pitcher Juan Marichal and Little Leaguers at Candlestick Park, circa 1965. (wnp28.3127; Courtesy of a Private Collector.))

As a long-time San Francisco Giants fan, I always like to see the baseball pictures that show up in our OpenSFHistory collection. This image is great because it really demonstrates how the love of the game is passed down. The Giants’ Hall of Fame pitcher, Juan Marichal, is surrounded by Little Leaguers looking for an autograph. You know that it meant a lot to these kids to have their baseball hero spend some time with them and give them a memento that they would always treasure. If anyone recognizes one of the kids in this picture, we would love to find out who these kids are.

So these are five more of my favorite images that we posted this year. It was extremely difficult to narrow it down to just ten images to feature last week and this week because there are so many wonderful images being added all the time. With the 6000 posted this year, we now have just over 46,000 on the site. We will be adding many more in the coming year. I look forward to seeing what is to come.