OpenSFHistory Top 10: Guerrilla History

by Arnold Woods

It started with an idea by WNP founding board member David Gallagher after seeing some posts showing OpenSFHistory images on windows and telephone poles. People were bringing history to the streets. To facilitate this and to create a family friendly pandemic activity, David built in a poster link for the images and invited the public to print the posters and post them in their locations so others could see what was once there.

Since then, this guerrilla history project has taken off. Posters have popped up around the City. The project has been featured in local newspapers and television, various websites, and many social media accounts. We love seeing how much you have taken to this. You may have seen some of these posters on the streets or on social media, but here’s a look of what some of you guerrilla historians have done so far.
10-Line Streetcar coming off of 14th Street onto Guerrero Street, circa 1939. (wnp27.4012; Courtesy of a Private Collector.) <href=”http://outsidelands.org/opensf/osfhcrucible/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/14th-Guerrero-from-@x.jpg”>Poster of 14th Street & Guerrero at intersection, May 2020. (Courtesy of @x on Twitter.)
San Francisco streetcars once roamed a greater portion of the City than they do now, including the 14th and Guerrero Streets area. The building at the intersection still remains some 80 years later, but the streetcars and their tracks are gone now.
Wrecked streetcar on Valencia Street at 14th Street, 1927. (wnp30.0069; Emiliano Echeverria/Randolph Brandt Collection / Courtesy of Emiliano Echeverria.) Poster of Valencia & 14th Street at intersection, May 2020. (Courtesy of @SFAlisonLeRoy on Twitter.)
Just a block away at the intersection of Valencia and 14th Streets, you could have found this wrecked streetcar back in 1927. To the right behind it, you can see a three-story building with the Chancellor Cigars shop on the ground floor. Today, the building remains, only the vices have changed. The ground floor of that building now houses Healthy Spirits, a liquor store.
Terminus of Muni 6-Line at 14th Avenue and Quintara Street, February 1968. (wnp25.2494; Courtesy of a Private Collector.)
<href=”http://outsidelands.org/opensf/osfhcrucible/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/14th-Quintara-from-@colazioneAroma.jpg”>Poster of 14th Avenue and Quintara at intersection, May 2020. (Courtesy of @colazioneAroma on Twitter.)
Not much has changed at the Muni 6-Line terminus at 14th Avenue and Quintara Street in the last 50 years. Except for the trees that is. Trees have grown around the overlook there, so there is no longer an uninterrupted view of the Outer Sunset District from that spot.
Pacheco Street Stairs from 15th Avenue, January 16, 1928. (wnp36.04434; DPW Horace Chaffee photographer – SF Department of Public Works / Courtesy of a Private Collector.) Poster of 15th Avenue and Pacheco at intersection, May 2020. (Courtesy of @TheCarmineSF on Twitter.)
The stairs at the end of Pacheco Street at 15th Avenue must have looked a little out of place back in 1928 when there was little around them. Golden Gate Heights was then in the early stages of development. In the nearly 90 years since then, a lot has changed as seen in the guerrilla history poster placed there.
B-Line streetcar on Cabrillo near 46th Avenue, 1950. (wnp5.51163; Courtesy of a Private Collector.) Poster of Cabrillo at 46th Avenue at intersection, May 2020. (Courtesy of @n8coombs on Twitter.)
We have a feeling that streetcars will be a recurring theme in many guerrilla history posters. Here, we see the B-Line Streetcar that once ran across the Richmond District before terminating at Playland. Today’s youth may not comprehend how widespread streetcars once were in San Francisco. Unless they have visited Chris Arvin’s fantastic “Where The Streetcars Used To Go” website that is.
B-Line streetcar on Balboa Street at 37th Avenue with Balboa Theater in background, 1950. (wnp5.51166; Courtesy of a Private Collector.) Poster of Balboa and 37th Avenue at intersection, May 2020. (Courtesy of Arnold Woods.)
Speaking of that B-Line streetcar, it ran for 12 blocks on Balboa Street, between 33rd and 45th Avenues. That took it right by the Balboa Theater, where we hope to see a movie again someday soon. There are many neighborhood theaters to be found on OpenSFHistory.
K-Line Streetcar on Ocean Avenue near Ashton Avenue with El Rey Theater in background, December 1951. (wnp67.0687; Jack Tillmany Collection / Courtesy of a Private Collector.) Poster of Ocean and Ashton at intersection, May 2020. (Courtesy of phantasmagorial_kat on Instagram.)
Unlike the Balboa Theater, the El Rey Theater on Ocean Avenue no longer operates as a movie theater. The building, as seen in the guerrilla history image here, does still exist and was designated as San Francisco Landmark #274 in 2017. The building also housed the very first Gap store. The main differences between now and 70 years ago are the new-ish four-story building besides the El Rey and, once again, the cars on the street.
N-Line streetcar on Carl Street at Cole Street, 1948. (wnp67.0703; Jack Tillmany Collection / Courtesy of a Private Collector.) Poster of Carl and Cole at intersection, May 2020. (Courtesy of @chrisarvinsf on Twitter.)
The Sunset Tunnel opened in 1928 allowing streetcars to run from Duboce street, under Buena Vista Park, and emerging at Carl Street near Cole Street. The view from 1948 in the poster has not changed much from today’s view, though the cars on the street look vastly different.
Valencia Street near Army Street (now Cesar Chavez), circa 1930. (wnp4.1951; Courtesy of a Private Collector.) Poster of Valencia near Cesar Chavez on wood siding, May 2020. (Courtesy of @burritojustice on Twitter.)
Back around 1930, Mission Chevrolet was a large auto dealer. The store fronted on Mission Street, but there was a service entrance to the building on Valencia. The building still exists, though the dealership is gone. It later became an auto parts store and is now a motorcycle rental and parts store. Today’s view shows a City Surf Project building that did not exist in the image from 90 years ago.
Protestant Orphanage on block surrounded by today’s Haight, Buchanan, Page & Laguna Streets, 1868. (wnp71.1633; Martin Behrman Negative Collection / Courtesy of the Golden Gate NRA, Park Archives.) Poster of Haight & Laguna area at intersection, May 2020 (found in wild and posted to Twitter by @OpenSFHistory.)
We end by going way back. 150 years ago, there was a Protestant Orphanage located near the intersection of today’s Haight and Laguna Streets. It was surrounded by sand dunes and not much was located around it. Today, it looks much, much different there. We imagine the people who live there now will be very surprised to see the Orphanage that was once there.

We are really touched by the response to the #guerrillahistorian project and look forward to seeing how it grows in the days and weeks ahead. If you haven’t already, read how to become a guerrilla historian here or see how to become a guerrilla historian here. More than anything, we hope you will have a little fun while gaining a little history knowledge. Enjoy and keeping sending us pictures of what you’ve done.

The Brandi Collection: Five Favorites

by Richard Brandi

[NOTE: OpenSFHistory.org recently received a donation of a large number of images from the Brandi family, mostly taken by or of family patriarch, Andrew Brandi. His son, historian and Western Neighborhoods Project board member, Richard Brandi, reminisces about his father and some favorite images in the collection.]

The recent donation of color slides of the San Francisco Fire Department and other scenes of San Francisco were taken by Andrew Brandi during the 1950s and 1960s. Andrew was born in the Mission district and graduated from Mission High in 1945. After graduation, he served in the U.S. Navy and then married and had two children. The photos reflect his time working for PG&E (briefly) and then his 30-year career in the SFFD retiring with the rank of Assistant Chief. The photo captions are based on his notes and additional research conducted by me.

Andrew Brandi and Richard Brandi sitting in cab of Truck 8, 1962. (wnp010.10038; Andrew Brandi / Courtesy of Richard Brandi.)

My father invited me and my grandfather to see a drill at Engine Company 35 in 1962. Here we are in the cab of Truck 8 on Bluxome Street. Cabs were open to provide an all-around view when approaching a fire then. So if it rained, firefighters got wet.

Close up of railroad tunnel entrance at Sierra and Texas Streets during fire, July 1, 1962. (wnp010.10076; Andrew Brandi / Courtesy of Richard Brandi.)

In 1962, Dad took me, my sister, mother and a neighbor boy to see the fire in the Western Pacific Railroad tunnel that ran under Potrero Hill. It burned for several days. We were standing at the intersection of Texas and Sierra Streets where the railroad tunnel entrance, built in 1918, was located.

View northwest from 19th and Arkansas Streets at hole in street cause by fire, July 1, 1962. (wnp010.10075; Andrew Brandi / Courtesy of Richard Brandi.)

I remember it was hard to see what was happening as the fire was well inside the tunnel. The smoke was too intense for the firemen (at the time there were no women firefighters) to enter so they let it burn itself out. I was very impressed with the street cave ins above the tunnel, this one at 19th and Arkansas Streets.

Fire Department “Pegboard” denoting which Engine companies responded to fires, 1962. (wnp010.10010; Andrew Brandi / Courtesy of Richard Brandi.)

Before the system was computerized, a very loud bell rang each time someone pulled a fire alarm walking up everyone. The fire department maintained a “Pegboard” showing which engine companies responded to fires. Dad said he could feel his heart pounding whenever the alarm woke him. None of the firefighters slept well.

Seagrave pumper at Fire Station 41 on Leavenworth, 1957. (wnp010.10024; Andrew Brandi / Courtesy of Richard Brandi.)

This is a Seagrave pumper firetruck at Engine Company 41 on Leavenworth between Clay and Washington in 1957. One measure of how things changed is that the doors to the firehouses were left open when the apparatus responded to an alarm in order to save time closing them. During the late 1960s, the fire houses in some neighborhoods were routinely burglarized and the firefighters’ possessions stolen. The doors are now kept closed.

See all 210 images in the Brandi Collection on the website here!

OpenSFHistory in the Streets

by David Gallagher

Become a guerrilla historian with these easy-to-print, DIY posters!

EDIT: May 25, 2020 – It goes without saying that these history posters should not be applied to private property without permission. Please don’t use tapes, adhesives, or staples that might damage or deface the surface you apply them to. Please read the SF Department of Public Works guidelines for posting signs

Posting OpenSFHistory in the neighborhood — Posting guerrilla OpenSFHistory posters in the neighborhood

OpenSFHistory gives an unprecedented virtual view into San Francisco’s past. People, places, buildings, parks, events, and more are represented in nearly 50,000 historical images on the site. Seeing the city’s past provides context and possibly a better, richer understanding of the city’s present. That’s a basic tenet for OpenSFHistory, it helps inform our current existence. The downside for me has always been that it requires people to sit at a computer or look at a phone, and that they need to own or have access to one of those devices. These days people (myself included) are spending and extraordinary amount of time at their desks. I wanted to find a way to get back outside.

Because the best way to connect with local history is out in the streets, an early project for Western Neighborhoods Project was the West Portal History Walk of 2002. We curated about 15 historical pictures of the neighborhood with descriptive paragraphs (and Cantonese translations), had them beautifully framed and placed in storefronts along West Portal Avenue. A couple of them might still be out there. The project was a great success, but it took a lot of work (at great expense).

SF Chronicle Photo: Richard Brandi and Woody LaBounty show off a historical photo, 2002

Fast forward to 2015 when, among other features, I built a download system into OpenSFHistory. I figured people would want to take the photos and use them, so why not make it easy to do? Each image has a download link that produces a watermarked version, allowing anyone to take and use them on websites or social media. We hope they don’t go to the trouble of cropping the watermark out, though some do. It’s not about the recognition; we want to make sure people can find us if they want to know more.

Now in 2020, OpenSFHistory photos are all over the Internet. We reach thousands of history lovers around the world every day, but I worry that we aren’t reaching the general public in the neighborhoods even though we try. Similar to what we did on the West Portal History Walk, we once had a rotating picture on the wall at Devil’s Teeth Bakery on Noriega. We also provide monthly OpenSFHistory pictures to neighborhood newspapers like the Noe Valley Voice, the Sunset Beacon, and the Richmond Review. But can we do better? I miss our history walks, and getting our pictures out into the streets has been a goal of mine for years. Then I saw a post from our friends at SF Heritage, and others, showing our photos printed out and posted in windows and on telephone poles.

OpenSFHistory posted at 22nd and Collingwood — OpenSFHistory photo posted at 22nd and Collingwood (SFHeritage on Twitter)

OpenSFHistory Image posted in Noe Valley — OpenSFHistory photo posted in Noe Valley (Stephen R. Fox @FS6 on Twitter)

I realized that this was the idea I’d been looking for. With this in mind, I made a set of images, added the titles and some description, generated QR codes (funky square barcodes that smart phones can read, allowing people to learn more), and made a few individual posters for locations near my house as a test run. It was fun putting them up. That’s my wife, Brady, at the top of the page doing her best Guerrilla Historian impersonation. (Ok it’s not an impersonation, this really is guerrilla history in action.)

These were extremely time consuming to create (not unlike this blog post) and to put up. Even with daily essential activity bike rides, I couldn’t cover the west side and I definitely can’t cover the entire city on my own. So, I decided to make the posters easier to create because I want you to do this, too, as part of my guerrilla history street team.

You can help us get OpenSFHistory out into the streets by printing out photos and installing them at their depicted locations. Pin them up, tape them up, whatever works (but don’t do anything illegal! And please don’t post on private property or use adhesives that may damage anything you affix the poster to. They’ll get removed, and that’s ok.). Now, there’s a link to these guerrilla history posters (in the right column, just below the map) next to each OpenSFHistory photo. Use that link to download and print photos in the format seen below, with a title, a shortened description, and a QR code that links back to the original image on OpenSFHistory.org.

Show your neighborhood some love by sharing its history with people who might not otherwise see it. And let us know where to find them by posting to your own social media and tagging @opensfhistory and/or @outsidelandz (Twitter & Instagram). Or, be anonymous and let us find it for ourselves.

OpenSFHistory Top 10: Zoom Background Edition 2!

by Arnold Woods

A month ago, we brought you some Willard E. Worden images to use as backgrounds for your Zoom meetings. Since we are continuing to shelter-in-place, we thought it might be time to update your Zoom virtual backgrounds. So we’re back with another edition of OpenSFHistory Top 10 Zoom backgrounds. This time we’re looking at what we’ve lost, the parts of San Francisco that are no longer around.

Playland at the Beach, 1951. (wnp4/wnp4.1013; Courtesy of a Private Collector.)

We start with one of the most missed places in the City, Playland at the Beach. The amusement park by the ocean was a big draw for decades and featured numerous attractions like roller coasters, bumper cars, a merry-go-round, shooting galleries, and the infamous Laffing Sal. We have a large number of Playland images on the site, but here’s one from 1951 with the Big Dipper roller coaster.

Sutro Baths interior, circa 1900. (wnp15.1636; Courtesy of a Private Collector.)

Next we head just to the north of Playland. Visitors to the Sutro Baths today see just a few water-filled concrete enclosures and some ruins. But once it was the world’s largest indoor swimming pool. It is almost hard to comprehend that a massive building once stood there. The Baths were too expensive to maintain and were converted to an ice rink before closing in the 1960s. The building burned down in 1966 leaving the ruins you see today. There’s a huge number of Sutro Baths images on OpenSFHistory, like this one of the interior around 1900.

Fleishhacker Pool swim meet, June 22, 1929. (wnp14.4433; Courtesy of a Private Collector.)

Four and half decades of San Franciscans swam at Fleishhacker pool located by the ocean just to the south of Sloat Boulevard. When it opened in 1925, it was the largest swimming pool in the United States. It fell into disrepair and was eventually closed in 1971. The pool was later paved over and serves as the parking lot for the San Francisco Zoo today. Again, we have many images of Fleishhacker Pool, but the one here is from a swim meet in 1929.

Triumph of Light statue on Mt. Olympus, November 1, 1927. (wnp36.03543; DPW Horace Chaffee – SF Department of Public Works / Courtesy of a Private Collector.)

At the center of the City is Mt. Olympus, in today’s Ashbury Heights neighborhood. In 1887, Adolph Sutro had a statue called the Triumph of Light erected there. At the time, there were unobstructed views in all directions, but gradually houses creeped up around it. Eventually, the statue was removed so that more houses could go up. We have a number of images of the Triumph of Light. This one was taken by famed DPW photographer, Horace Chaffee in 1927.

Willie Mays hitting at Seals Stadium, circa 1959. (wnp14.5408; Courtesy of a Private Collector.)

Located near where Interstate 80 and Highway 101 meet today, Seals Stadium was the home for many years of the San Francisco Seals, who played in the Pacific Coast League. When the New York Giants brought the major leagues to San Francisco, they initially played at Seals Stadium for a few years until Candlestick Park was built. What baseball fan wouldn’t want to use Willie Mays at bat at Seals Stadium for their Zoom background?

Packers vs. 49ers game at Kezar Stadium, December 15, 1957. (wnp14.5124; Examiner Negative Collection / Courtesy of a Private Collector.)

If you are more of a football person, we’ve got you covered too. For over 20 years, the San Francisco 49ers played their home games at the southeast corner of Golden Gate Park in Kezar Stadium. Wait, you’re thinking, Kezar Stadium is not gone. However, the Kezar Stadium pictured here is gone. The original stadium held nearly 60,000 fans, but it was eventually torn down and replaced in 1990 with today’s 10,000 seat facility. We have a lot of 49ers at Kezar images, like the 49ers-Packers game in 1957 seen above.

Haight Street Chutes, circa 1900. (wnp27.2460; Courtesy of a Private Collector.)

An early iteration of today’s waterparks was the Haight Street Chutes on Haight between Cole and Clayton. Yes, the Haight-Ashbury district once had a waterslide park. It was short-lived, lasting from 1895 to 1902 before moving, but was a major complex as you can see.

Hall of Justice at Washington and Kearny across from Portsmouth Square, 1959. (wnp14.4656; Courtesy of a Private Collector.)

Here’s one for the attorneys. Today, you can find the Hall of Justice down on Bryant Street. For the non-attorneys, that’s where you report for jury duty for criminal cases. However, the Hall of Justice used to be located across from Portsmouth Square as you can see in the 1959 image above. That building was torn down in the 1960s and the Chinatown Holiday Inn can be found there today.

Mark Hopkins residence on Nob Hill, circa 1895. (wnp37.03594; Marilyn Blaisdell Collection / Courtesy of a Private Collector.)

Mark Hopkins, Jr. was one of the four principals who formed the Central Pacific Railroad. In 1875, he began building himself a small home on Nob Hill. Okay, maybe not so small. The Hopkins home seen above took three years to complete and Hopkins himself did not live to see it completed. His majestic house burned down in the 1906 earthquake and fire. It was later replaced by a hotel named after him that is still there today.

San Francisco City Hall and Hall of Records, circa 1900. (wnp15.614; Courtesy of a Private Collector.)

Before the City Hall you see today, there was a prior version about 4 or so blocks east. The old City Hall was completed in 1899 and was located near McAllister and Market Street. It featured a more pronounced, but thinner dome. As with much of pre-1906 San Francisco, old City Hall was lost in the earthquake and fire and the City had to begin again at its present location.

As before, you can freely use any of our now over 49,000 watermarked images for your Zoom backgrounds. No matter what you’re into, we’ve got the San Francisco historical images for your style. Searching is easy and you can do so by subject, browse our featured galleries, or pinpoint an exact location on our City map. Have some fun with it and tag @outsidelandz and @opensfhistory.

Affiliated Colleges: A Closer Look

by Arnold Woods

It looms large in the background of many an image taken from Strawberry Hill or in the Inner Sunset District. The large building on the northern slope of Mt. Sutro was the culmination of years of efforts to bring the best and latest medical knowledge to the growing metropolis of San Francisco. What began in several places in the downtown area was brought together in a then state-of-the-art facility known as the Affiliated Colleges.

Toland Medical College building, 1871. (wnp71.0162; Eadweard Muybridge photographer – Martin Behrman Negative Collection / Courtesy of the Golden Gate NRA, Park Archives)

In 1852, Hugh Toland, a 46-year-old respected doctor, left his home in Missouri with his family to come to California, like many a man, to seek his fortune. After a few weeks working a quartz mill though, Toland’s wife died, and he moved on to San Francisco to return to medicine. In the City, Toland’s wide-ranging medical practice thrived. Wishing to leave a legacy, Toland purchased land at Stockton and Francisco in the North Beach area next to the City and County Hospital to build a medical school. In 1864, the Toland Medical College opened. The first class had eight students.

Students dissecting cadavers in Toland Hall, 1875. (wnp71.1451; Eadweard Muybridge photographer – Martin Behrman Negative Collection / Courtesy of the Golden Gate NRA, Park Archives)

In 1868, the first state university opened across the Bay in Berkeley. Within a few years, Toland began talking with the university about making his College a part of the university. The talks culminated with the Toland Medical College trustees deeding the College to the UC Regents in 1873 becoming the first affiliated college in the UC system. A few months later, the California College of Pharmacy, which had just opened in 1872 at 859 Market Street, became the second affiliated college in the system. In 1881, a third affiliated college was created when a College of Dentistry was opened at Toland Hall.

1883, the College of Pharmacy, in need of larger space, built a three-story building at 113 Fulton Street and moved in. As classes grew larger at the Medical and Dental Colleges in Toland Hall, space became limited. Therefore, in 1891, the College of Dentistry moved to the Donohoe Building at Market and Taylor. Nonethless, Toland Hall’s limitations were not keeping up with the rapidly changing medical field and the Affiliated Colleges began appealing to the UC Regents for money to build a new home.

Affiliated Colleges building under construction, July 6, 1897. (wnp33.00300; Courtesy of a Private Collector)

After several years of lobbying the legislature, the UC Regents got approval for $250,000 for the construction of a new campus. The question of where to build was eventually solved by then Mayor Adolph Sutro’s 1895 donation of 13 acres on the slopes of what was then known as Mount Parnassus. Five years later, the new Affiliated Colleges buildings opened. The Medical Department moved in by October 1898, followed a few months later by the College of Pharmacy.

Affiliated Colleges building, circa 1900. (wnp14.4457; Courtesy of a Private Collector)

The new Affiliated Colleges buildings featured a large auditorium, lecture halls, large labs for various sciences, a dissection room, library, classrooms, study rooms, and faculty and staff offices. While the College of Dentistry remained at the Donohoe Building, the new buildings had specialized dental labs for their use. The Affiliated Colleges began recruiting top researchers and scientists while maintaining its status as a top teaching hospital.

Earthquake refugee tents in Big Rec Field in Golden Gate Park with Affiliated College Buildings in background, 1906. (wnp37.03753; Jas. O. Rue photographer – Marilyn Blaisdell Collection / Courtesy of a Private Collector)

As with most San Francisco histories, April 18, 1906 brought change. Before the earthquake and fire, the Affiliated Colleges were on the outskirts of where much of the City’s populace resided. Afterwards, thousands of refugees were forced into temporary shelters in City parks, including large encampments in nearby Golden Gate Park. The Affiliated College buildings survived the earthquake with only modest damage and were never threatened by the fires. However, the College of Dentistry facilities in the Donohoe Building were largely destroyed. The rest of the academic year was canceled.

Sightseeing streetcar passing Affiliated Colleges, November 15, 1908. (wnp27.6491; John Henry Mentz photographer / Courtesy of a Private Collector)

When the Affiliated Colleges reopened in the Fall of 1906, quarters were a little more cramped with the College of Dentistry now housed on the campus. It shared the easternmost building with the College of Pharmacy, which caused some interdepartmental issues. A few of the research-oriented departments were transferred to Berkeley so that the Parnassus campus could concentrate on clinical labs. The biggest changes were the conversion of one of the buildings to a full-fledged hospital and the addition of a nursing school in 1907.

UC Medical Center with Affiliated Colleges buildings behind it, circa 1930. (wnp33.00303; Courtesy of a Private Collector)

Despite the hospital conversion, the facilities were merely adequate and plans began for a new hospital facility. $750,000 in private funds were raised for this purpose. The new UC Medical Center opened in August 1917 on the other side of Parnassus from the Affiliated Colleges buildings. After World War II, an additional teaching hospital and a Medical Sciences building were added to the campus. In 1949, the UC Regents re-consolidated all medical departments at the Parnassus campus. The Parnassus campus was renamed the UC Medical Center and the medical school was no longer “affiliated,” but was officially the UC School of Medicine.

Moffitt Hospital at UCSF, June 1960. (wnp25.6145; Courtesy of a Private Collector)

You can find a far more detailed history of the Affiliated Colleges on the UCSF website. We also did an Outside Lands Podcast on the campus several years ago. Today, the UCSF Medical Center remains one of the foremost medical education and hospital facilities in the world. As San Francisco has grown around it, the Parnassus campus is not as prominent today as it once was in many images, but it can still be seen from many places.