Open Houses - also see Tours
Open houses will take place on Thursday, April 27, from 1-4 pm. All repositories are in San Francisco. Complete guides, including other points of interest, will be available at registration.
Golden Gate National Recreation Area Park Archives and Records Center
Building 667 on the Presidio of San Francisco
Ph: (415) 561-4804; Directions
The Golden Gate National Recreation Area's Park Archives & Records Center (PARC) is the only facility of its kind in the National Park Service. It houses archives and special collections, including a very large volume of Army records pertaining to Bay Area military facilities, as well as the non-current records of park operations and the park library. PARC is located in an historic Army cavalry stable building in a very scenic area of the Presidio of San Francisco, and is open to the public for research by appointment. See examples of PARC’s extensive and varied collections.
Presentation Archives
2340 Turk Boulevard; Ph: (415) 751-0406
Presentation Archives invites you to tour its recently renovated facility and view collections highlighting the works of the Sisters of the Presentation’s San Francisco mission since 1854. Memorabilia related to the experiences of the Sisters of Presentation during the 1906 Earthquake and Fire will be featured.
University of San Francisco Archives
Gleeson Library/Geschke Center, 2130 Fulton Street; Ph: (415) 422-5932
Directions
The University of San Francisco Archives includes photographs, faculty and student publications, athletic programs, ephemera of the presidents and university life, administrative records, records of the university/campus ministry office, yearbooks, and catalog publications as well as some records from the defunct San Francisco College for Women/Lone Mountain College. See the university’s sesquicentennial exhibit (1855-2005) of historical materials and photographs from the archives in the Thacher Gallery of the library. Then, take the elevator off the Thacher Gallery up to the 3rd floor to visit the Rare Book Room exhibit, "Re-imagining the City of San Francisco, 1905-1915." The exhibition considers the earthquake and fire, not as a single catastrophic event but as one component in a greater period of imagining, rebuilding, and re-conceiving the City.
Special instructions: Check in at the library circulation desk for entrance to the archives. At the gate, knock twice and ask to see the archivist.
California Historical Society
North Baker Research Library, 678 Mission Street
Ph: (415) 357-1848 x20; Directions
Meet with archivists and see highlights from the research collections documenting California’s social, cultural, economic, and political history and development. The current gallery exhibit, "Jack London and the Great Earthquake and Firestorms of 1906," includes recently printed photographs (from the California State Parks collection) taken by London and his wife, Charmian, as they toured the destruction through northern California.
Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Historical Society
657 Mission Street, Suite 300; Ph: (415) 777-5455; Directions
Founded in 1985, the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Historical Society maintains extensive archives documenting the history and culture of GLBT people and the communities that sustain them. Holdings include personal and organizational records, periodicals, photographs, graphic arts, textiles, and artifacts.
Society of California Pioneers
300 Fourth Street; Ph: (415) 957-1849; Directions
Established in 1850, the Society of California Pioneers is a museum, library, and leading repository of paintings, photographs, books, manuscripts, and decorative arts and artifacts that evoke California’s early years of exploration and statehood. "Shake, Bake & Spin! San Francisco and the Media in the Aftermath of the 1906 Earthquake and Fire" uses historic documents, retrieved relics, photographs, newspapers, and film to trace how city officials and business leaders worked with the media to contain the impact of the disaster, protect property, sustain morale, and refocus attention on the rebuilding of the city.
Dolby Laboratories
100 Potrero Avenue; Ph: (415) 558-0200; Directions
Dolby Laboratories is world-renowned as the pioneer and gold standard of high quality audio and surround sound. Get a rare, behind-the-scenes tour of Dolby’s museum and archives vault.
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