FoundSF - User contributions [en]

Fun Facts about the Ronald M. George State Office Complex

2022-06-10T21:28:03Z

Glenn Della-Monica: Facts about a major public building in SF's Civic Center

There is a 1.1-million-square-foot office complex that takes up the entire Civic Center block bounded by McAllister St, Polk St, Golden Gate Ave, and Larkin St. It is now known as the Ronald M. George State Office Complex. The two halves of the building are known as the Earl Warren Building and the Hiram Johnson Building, although the two addresses are actually two sides of one building.

The Earl Warren Building is named after the fourteenth chief justice of the US Supreme Court, previously the thirtieth Governor of California. It was completed in 1922.

The fourteen-story Hiram Johnson Building replaced the 1950's six-story glass and steel monstrosity that was damaged in the Loma Prieta Earthquake. It was named after Governor Hiram Johnson.

Joining a historic building to new construction isn't an easy task. They both were to have completely-independent seismic systems. The new side was constructed with seismic dampers and welded-steel construction. The old side got a new inside "shell" of reinforced concrete and its foundations were sliced and placed on seismic slip pads. Joining them is a really creative seismic separation joint.

As wonderful as the engineering was, things seemed to pop up from time to time that were amusing.

One was the shower in the governor's office. While the bulk of the complex was dedicated to the California Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, and the Administrative Office of the Courts, there were state legislators, the governor's SF satellite office, and a number of other state agencies.

Before construction was finally complete in 1998, the bottom half was occupied, but the top floors were still under construction. On the top floor, the governor was slated to be one of the very few officials to have a private bathroom, and it was to be one of only two private showers in the building.

During the initial phase of the bathroom construction, the plumber placed the pipes in the correct position and then screwed the drain loosely onto the drainpipe.

The concrete guy came in and looked at the blueprint. It gave the height above his concrete that he needed to leave below the drain fitting for the tile. He met that requirement to the millimeter. Unfortunately, the plumber did not screw the fitting down to the final height. So the mason sloped the concrete UP to the required spacing below the drain. After all, union masons are not allowed to adjust plumbing fixtures.

The tile layer came along after the concrete was poured, and he saw that the height between the concrete and the drain fixture was what was specified in the prints. He laid the tile flush with the drain. Like the union brother before him, he did not report the previous workers’ efforts.

The finished effect was much the same as one sees at the miniature golf course when putting up to the “volcano.”

Due to the fact that is very difficult to get shower water to run uphill to an elevated drain, the whole shower floor had to be jackhammered out and redone.

Another faux pas eventually led to an ecological enhancement to the building. The huge atrium has a terrazzo floor, a type of masonry in which a special concrete is placed between metal dividers. When the concrete has substantially cured, it is ground and polished to a matte finish, revealing the beautiful pebbles in the mix. It is then sealed and waxed.

The grand opening loomed, and the sealant and wax were applied. The term “substantially” means that the concrete is not fully cured, and the moisture of the curing terrazzo mixture was now trapped beneath the sealant. It slowly turned the metal strips black, with splotches spreading out. The wax and sealant had to be removed, the mix fully dried out, and then another sealant and wax application laid down.

Fortunately, someone took note of this, and a company came in to suggest an alternative to stripping the wax periodically, which resulted in the residue being flushed down the drain each time. The floor was diamond-honed to a wonderful luster, and no sealant or wax was needed. Not only did it save the taxpayers money, but it saved the environment from all of the zinc and other binders in the many gallons of wax that was not needed.

The polishing process was then applied to the granite, terrazzo, and marble steps and landings inside the historic side of the building. The suggestion was made to the building manager at the time, Glenn Della-Monica, and a decision had to be made. A building with stone stairwell steps that is about eight decades old has seen a lot of foot traffic. The steps were slightly dished in the middle, and a decision about flattening them had to be made.

In the end, Glenn and his team decided that each step was a record of the justices, governors, attorneys general, and commissioners who trod them over the fourscore years. The steps were polished as they were. The results were magnificent, and the crystal structure of the stone was revealed. When Glenn sent out an email about the beauty of the steps, one of the supreme court justices replied that he had gotten on his hands and knees to look at the gemlike surface, and was amazed that he had been walking over that treasure for decades without noticing it.

Another gem of the building was the result of a little-known state law. Public bond-funded state buildings were required to reserve a small portion of their building budget for publicly-displayed art. When a building has a budget of hundreds of millions of dollars, that “small” portion becomes rather substantial. And it is even larger when a force multiplier exists.

The person in charge of the art program was the head of the California Arts Commission, Barbara George (the wife of then-Chief Justice Ronald George). Barbara was a vastly knowledgeable force within the art world, and she knew every artist of note in the state. She was able to call in favors, and the result was that the building was able to purchase several times the number of works that it would have been able to purchase at retail. Her imprint on the building’s art purchases created a museum-quality collection that is still enjoyed by the building’s workers and the visitors to the various state agencies sited there.

One art-related disappointment was a bank of telephones placed outside the Workers Compensation Appeals Board offices near the Golden Gate Avenue entrance. They were placed on a beautiful wood-paneled wall that had been eyed for a great impact piece of art. The arts committee was sorely let down. To ease the disappointment, Mr. Della-Monica had one of the didactic panels that explained each piece of art made for the telephone bank. It read, “Alexander Graham Bell – Telephone – 1998 – Mixed Media, Metal and Plastic.”

It was fun to watch visitors look at the didactic, then gingerly pick up a telephone receiver to see if the phones were actually real and working, or if they were non-working art pieces.

Other little-known facts:

The building was slated to be two stories higher, but it would have cast its shadow over the playground of a nearby school. Fourteen stories cleared the school.

The Workers Compensation Appeals Board heard an unusual case arising out of the construction of the building. The Earl Warren Building had previously been the home to many state agencies, with the Supreme Court on just one floor. Now it had the entire building, so the justices’ chambers were enlarged a bit and were on two floors. The old wood paneling was removed, cleaned of the old lead-bearing finishes, and put back together like a jigsaw puzzle. Interior stairwells were moved. In one case, there was a plywood sheet between two barricades over the old opening for one of those stairwells. A worker was told to remove the sheet of plywood, as the construction crew was there to begin filling the hole. The worker picked up the sheet and walked forward, falling through the hole. His injuries were covered under the State Comp rules, but he appealed, saying he was entitled to additional punitive compensation for employer negligence. The Workers Comp Appeals Board on the floors below his “accident” laughingly dismissed the appeal.

The concrete pour for the foundation was, at the time, the largest single monolithic concrete pour in San Francisco.

When the warm air in the Central Valley and over the San Francisco Bay rises, the cold air from the Pacific Ocean rushes through the Golden Gate and over the Hayes Street hill. The wind passes between the Federal Building and the Hiram Johnson Building with such force that pedestrians have to lean forward to make progress westward.

Less than four years after the initial occupancy, when the first seven floors were completed, there was a proposal to swap out all of the light fixtures. LED lights were not yet commercially available, but the new T5 bulbs were far more efficient than the old T12 bulbs. Every overhead light in the building was replaced, and the result was a payback within two years and resulting savings after that.

The technology gap was seen in other areas, as well. When the building was designed, for instance, the auditorium was slated to get the newest, greatest projection system in any state building of the time. A theater-quality video projector was installed, along with the latest development in video playback technology since VHS – the Laserdisc System. Of course, between the time that the building was designed and when it was built, Laserdisc was obsolete. But the plans were the plans, so the contractor had to go out and find a Laserdisc player to install. It was never used. A DVD player was purchased and retrofitted into the A/V room. The Laserdisc player was left as a monument to technological obsolescence.

The Ronald M. George State Office Complex is a San Francisco gem hidden in plain sight.

Making a Stink About the SF Zoo

2021-12-31T00:46:04Z

Glenn Della-Monica:

There are deeds so foul one can only contemplate doing them in the dead of night.

----
One midnight shift in the mid-1970s when I was on patrol as a California State Police sergeant with one of the officers I was supervising that fateful evening, we stumbled on one of those deeds.

We had just checked the California National Guard Armory at Fort Funston. It was one of the properties that belonged to the State of California in our patrol area, and we found it appropriately secure. There was literally no traffic out at that time of night in that area.

Probably headed for lunch at one of the all-night restaurants in town, like the Copper Penny, we passed by the side entrance to the San Francisco Zoo just as a truck pulled out. The traffic light turned red, so we pulled up behind the truck. It was a dump truck, and we assumed that there was a late-night paving project going on or something.

It wasn't a cold night, and we had the windows down. That turned out to be a near-fatal mistake.

Within seconds, we didn't know if we had been Maced, dosed with LSD, or attacked with nerve gas! Our eyes teared up, our throats constricted and our stomachs wanted to empty themselves through our ears.

We remained at the light as the truck pulled away, and soon our senses returned. We followed the truck at a safe distance, about fifty yards. When the truck made a turn, we saw the SF Zoo logo on the door and realized what had happened.

Monkeys, apes, tigers, elephants, lemurs, anteaters, and their other pals at the zoo all poop. Someone has to clean it out of the cages, and what is cleaned out has to be hauled somewhere where it can be composted or otherwise disposed of. That unfortunate duty was given to the driver of that truck.

The mélange of zoo poo was so intense that we had to back off another thirty or forty yards. We had no idea where that truck was headed, but we understood why it had to be done in the dead of night.

Everyone enjoys watching the animals at a zoo, but few think about all of the people who are behind the scenes who have to do things most of us can't imagine. My partner and I suddenly had a new appreciation for the people whose day begins when the zoo closes. The zoo couldn't open its doors to the public without them.

We just wished they had a "Keep Back 500 Feet" sign on the back of the truck.

If memory serves, we postponed lunch for a bit.

Making a Stink About the SF Zoo

2021-12-31T00:44:36Z

Glenn Della-Monica:

There are deeds so foul one can only contemplate doing them in the dead of night.

----
One night in the mid-1970s when I was on patrol as a California State Police sergeant with one of the officers I was supervising that fateful midnight shift, we stumbled on one of those deeds.

We had just checked the California National Guard Armory at Fort Funston. It was one of the properties that belonged to the State of California in our patrol area, and we found it appropriately secure. There was literally no traffic out at that time of night in that area.

Probably headed for lunch at one of the all-night restaurants in town, like the Copper Penny, we passed by the side entrance to the San Francisco Zoo just as a truck pulled out. The traffic light turned red, so we pulled up behind the truck. It was a dump truck, and we assumed that there was a late-night paving project going on or something.

It wasn't a cold night, and we had the windows down. That turned out to be a near-fatal mistake.

Within seconds, we didn't know if we had been Maced, dosed with LSD, or attacked with nerve gas! Our eyes teared up, our throats constricted and our stomachs wanted to empty themselves through our ears.

We remained at the light as the truck pulled away, and soon our senses returned. We followed the truck at a safe distance, about fifty yards. When the truck made a turn, we saw the SF Zoo logo on the door and realized what had happened.

Monkeys, apes, tigers, elephants, lemurs, anteaters, and their other pals at the zoo all poop. Someone has to clean it out of the cages, and what is cleaned out has to be hauled somewhere where it can be composted or otherwise disposed of. That unfortunate duty was given to the driver of that truck.

The mélange of zoo poo was so intense that we had to back off another thirty or forty yards. We had no idea where that truck was headed, but we understood why it had to be done in the dead of night.

Everyone enjoys watching the animals at a zoo, but few think about all of the people who are behind the scenes who have to do things most of us can't imagine. My partner and I suddenly had a new appreciation for the people whose day begins when the zoo closes. The zoo couldn't open its doors to the public without them.

We just wished they had a "Keep Back 500 Feet" sign on the back of the truck.

If memory serves, we postponed lunch for a bit.

Making a Stink About the SF Zoo

2021-12-31T00:30:30Z

Glenn Della-Monica: Zoo employees have to do things that would make the rest of us gag! A couple of cops find out the hard way.

== There are deeds so foul one can only contemplate doing them in the dead of night.
==

----
One night in the mid-1970s when I was on patrol as a California State Police sergeant with one of the officers I was supervising that fateful midnight shift, we stumbled on one of those deeds.

We had just checked the California National Guard Armory at Fort Funston. It was one of the properties that belonged to the State of California in our patrol area, and we found it appropriately secure. There was literally no traffic out at that time of night in that area.

Probably headed for lunch at one of the all-night restaurants in town, like the Copper Penny, we passed by the side entrance to the San Francisco Zoo just as a truck pulled out. the traffic light turned red, so we pulled up behind the truck. it was a dump truck, and we assumed that there was a late-night paving project going on or something.

It wasn't a cold night, and we had the windows down. That turned out to be a near-fatal mistake.

Within seconds, we didn't know if we had been Maced, dosed with LSD, or attacked with nerve gas! Our eyes teared up, our throats constricted and our stomachs wanted to empty themselves through our ears.

We remained at the light as the truck pulled away, and soon our senses returned. We followed the truck at a safe distance, about fifty yards. When the truck made a turn, we saw the SF Zoo logo on the door and realized what had happened.

Monkeys, apes, tigers, elephants, lemurs, anteaters, and their other pals at the zoo all poop. Someone has to clean it out of the cages, and what is cleaned out has to be hauled somewhere where it can be composted or otherwise disposed of. That unfortunate duty was given to the driver of that truck.

The mélange of zoo poo was so intense that we had to back off another thirty or forty yards. We had no idea where that truck was headed, but we understood why it had to be done in the dead of night.

Everyone enjoys watching the animals at a zoo, but few think about all of the people who are behind the scenes who have to do things most of us can't imagine. My partner and I suddenly had a new appreciation for the people whose day begins when the zoo closes. The zoo couldn't open it's doors to the public without them.

We just wished they had a "Keep Back 500 Feet" sign on the back of the truck.

Who knew California had a State Police?

2021-03-02T05:09:12Z

Glenn Della-Monica: /* Organization and Uniforms */

== Why there were State Police in San Francisco ==

In California, those who have powers of arrest beyond those of private citizens are known as ''peace officers.'' In San Francisco, over the years there have been scores of job titles at the city, county, state and federal levels that have had peace officer powers. Some are well known, such as the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD), the San Francisco County Sheriff's Office (SFSO), the California Highway Patrol (CHP) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Some are or were almost unknown to those not having direct contact with them.

One such agency was the California State Police (CSP). [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_State_Police#History] Well known at the State Capitol in Sacramento, its officers were usually mistaken for the CHP in other cities, including San Francisco. Headquartered there at the Earl Warren State Building (bounded by McAllister St, Polk St, Hyde St and Golden Gate Ave), the CSP was tasked with the provision of police services on State property.

Dating back to the first two officers tasked by the legislature with protecting the State Capitol in 1887, the mission of the CSP grew over the years to providing police services to state properties throughout California that did not have their own enforcement branch. State colleges and universities, for example, have their own police departments. The Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), the Employment Development Department (EDD) and most other state agencies relied on the CSP to provide protection, investigate crimes and make arrests on their property.

In San Francisco, state property included the large Earl Warren State Building in Civic Center, the various properties owned by the California Department of Transportation (CalTrans) and literally dozens of agencies spread throughout The City.
One of the more ironic duties was the almost-yearly report an officer would have to take after a driver at the DMV, there to take his or her driving test, ran their car into or even through the wall of the building.

== Organization and Uniforms ==

The State Police uniforms prior to the 1970s featured tan shirts and green pants. In the previous era, the officers in San Francisco and other cities reported to the local Regional Building Manager. The reorganization around the 1970s created a separate organization, still in the Department of General Services, but with a headquarters and a Chief in Sacramento. The uniform changed at that time to tan pants with a green and gold stripe down the leg. It looked fairly close to the CHP uniform, which sometimes led to the public's confusion.

At the time of the reorganization, the old title of State Policeman was changed to State Police Officer. This was in anticipation of a new change that was sweeping state service: the hiring of female officers. The CSP's San Francisco Field Office hired two of the first female officers in that agency.

A decade-and-a-half or so after the tan uniform, with its newly-designed patch, was adopted, a green shirt was adopted as an optional uniform item.

Another huge change was the adoption of the optional brown Montanna Peak or "Smokey the Bear" hat, also known as a "campaign hat." The CHP later adopted a gray-blue version of the hat.

The CSP had regional commanders in charge of several field offices, with field offices in major cities, along with the California Aquaduct. The SF Field Office reported to the regional commander headquartered in Oakland.

== The Transbay Transist Terminal ==
One of the places where the most Bay Area residents saw the CSP was at the Transbay Transit Terminal, also known as the East Bay Terminal and the TTT. The facility was owned by CalTrans, and the CSP was thus contacted by Caltrans to provide police services at that sprawling, three-story bus terminal at 425 Mission Street (where the new Salesforce Transit Center is now located).

Tens of thousands of commuters passed through the TTT every weekday, with AC Transit being the main transportation provider. Continental Trailways and a bus service to the Oakland Amtrak Station were also located there.

With that many people passing through, the CSP encountered everything from drunk-and-disorderly complaints to murder. In the 1970s a pipe bomb went off on the first floor, which was investigated by state, city and federal law enforcement agencies.

In 1974, the AC Transit Strike, which lasted over sixty days, resulted in picketing, which was monitored and regulated by the CSP. Ironically, the only really violent confrontation between the pickets and the CSP, which made the local press, happened the day before the contract was signed.

Another major protest that made the news was during the first days of Desert Storm when the SFPD provided assistance to the CSP to clear protestors who were blocking access for buses from the SF/Oakland Bay Bridge to the TTT.

The TTT had the only substation of the SF Field Office, complete with a locker room and a holding cell. The cell was for temporary incarceration only, as arrested people had to be booked at the SFSO's facility at the SF Hall of Justice on Bryant St, where SFPD also booked their suspects.

== Civic Center ==
The building that housed the CSP's San Francisco Field Office was at 350 McAllister St. Before the Loma Prieta Earthquake, that state building complex housed the California Supreme Court among many other state agencies. Many Californians do not know that the Court is headquartered in San Francisco, not Sacramento.

While the Supreme Court maintained it's own small group of bailiffs, the CSP was asked to provide the uniformed presence for the court's "en banc" hearings, which were generally open to the public.

Also in the realm of dignitary protection, the CSP had a dedicated unit at the State Capitol for the protection of the Governor and other state officials. It operated much like the Secret Service, and was actually trained by the latter agency. In San Francsico, the Governor had a satellite office, and the SF Field Office often responded to handle protests, coordinate visits from the Governor as additional resources for the Protective Services Detail and investigate potential threats. During periods of uncertainty, the local CSP office provided transportation for state officials and personal protection at their residences.

The SF Field Office had a dispatch center in the lobby of 350 McAllister St for many years. There was an officer who sat there and answered questions from the public between police calls. It was remodeled into a closed office by the 1980s, and professional Dispatchers were hired to staff the Bay-Area-wide dispatch area's communication center.

Demonstrations, from protests over the Public Utility Commission's closed hearings to demonstrations against one governor or another, were monthly occurrences at the State's Civic Center properties. One of the most noted was the evening of the day Governor Deukmejian vetoed the Gay Rights Bill. Thousands of protesters gathered in Civic Center and other parts of the city, and a large group tried to break into the entrance to the State Building at 455 Golden Gate Avenue. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AB101_Veto_Riot AB101 Riot]

== Consulate of the Soviet Union Detail ==
For years, the US Department of State's Diplomatic Security Service contracted with the State Police to provide 24/7/365 protection for the Soviet Consulate at 2790 Green St in Pacific Heights. A marked State Police cruiser was parked outside for many years until the fall of the Soviet Union, when the detail ended.

== Loma Prieta Earthquake Aftermath ==
After the Loma Prieta Earthquake, the San Francisco Field Office had to relocate out of the damaged Civic Center Complex, and was housed in a rented facility just south of Market Street. It still provided patrols of state property in San Francisco and details at locations such as the EDD's Unemployment Insurance Office.

== The End of an Era ==

There were long-term plans to put the SF Field Office back in the Civic center Complex upon its renovation, but the plans were abandoned when it was decided to merge the CSP into the much larger (by a factor of almost twenty at the end) CHP. Many personnel left the CSP prior to the final merger ceremony on July 12, 1995. The former State Police Officers who wished to do so took a course at the CHP Academy and became members of the larger organization as the newly-minted "CHP Officer" series. the CHP had formerly been known as "Traffic Officers."

It is ironic that when the Earl Warren Building was renovated as part of the Civic Center State Building reconstruction in the late 1990s [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earl_Warren_Building Earl Warren Building], the CHP was contracted to provide a law enforcement officer at the building in addition to the privately-contracted security service there. The building manager when the new million-square-foot complex opened was former CSP Captain Glenn Della-Monica. The CHP officers assigned to the building were mostly former CSP officers who had previously worked under Capt. Della-Monica pre-merger, and they greeted him as "Captain." This confused many building tenants who did not know his past.

It did, however, bring the history of the State Police in the San Francisco State Building full circle. In the days when the State Police officers were under the command of the local building manager, the manager at the time, Mr. Helliskoff, had the officers come to attention when he passed and address him as "captain."

Who knew California had a State Police?

2021-03-02T05:08:10Z

Glenn Della-Monica: /* Organization and Uniforms */

== Why there were State Police in San Francisco ==

In California, those who have powers of arrest beyond those of private citizens are known as ''peace officers.'' In San Francisco, over the years there have been scores of job titles at the city, county, state and federal levels that have had peace officer powers. Some are well known, such as the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD), the San Francisco County Sheriff's Office (SFSO), the California Highway Patrol (CHP) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Some are or were almost unknown to those not having direct contact with them.

One such agency was the California State Police (CSP). [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_State_Police#History] Well known at the State Capitol in Sacramento, its officers were usually mistaken for the CHP in other cities, including San Francisco. Headquartered there at the Earl Warren State Building (bounded by McAllister St, Polk St, Hyde St and Golden Gate Ave), the CSP was tasked with the provision of police services on State property.

Dating back to the first two officers tasked by the legislature with protecting the State Capitol in 1887, the mission of the CSP grew over the years to providing police services to state properties throughout California that did not have their own enforcement branch. State colleges and universities, for example, have their own police departments. The Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), the Employment Development Department (EDD) and most other state agencies relied on the CSP to provide protection, investigate crimes and make arrests on their property.

In San Francisco, state property included the large Earl Warren State Building in Civic Center, the various properties owned by the California Department of Transportation (CalTrans) and literally dozens of agencies spread throughout The City.
One of the more ironic duties was the almost-yearly report an officer would have to take after a driver at the DMV, there to take his or her driving test, ran their car into or even through the wall of the building.

== Organization and Uniforms ==

The State Police uniforms prior to the 1970s featured tan shirts and green pants. In the previous era, the officers in San Francisco and other cities reported to the local Regional Building Manager. The reorganization around the 1970s created a separate organization, still in the Department of General Services, but with a headquarters and a Chief in Sacramento. The uniform changed at that time to tan pants with a green and gold stripe down the leg. It looked fairly close to the CHP uniform, which sometimes led to the public's confusion.

At the time of the reorganization, the old title of State Policeman was changed to State Police Officer. This was in anticipation of a new change that was sweeping state service: the hiring of female officers. The CSP's San Francisco Field Office hired two of the first female officers in that agency.

A decade or so after the tan uniform, with its newly-designed patch, was adopted, a green shirt was adopted as an optional uniform item.

Another huge change was the adoption of the optional brown Montanna Peak or "Smokey the Bear" hat, also known as a "campaign hat." The CHP later adopted a gray-blue version of the hat.

The CSP had regional commanders in charge of several field offices, with field offices in major cities, along with the California Aquaduct. The SF Field Office reported to the regional commander headquartered in Oakland.

== The Transbay Transist Terminal ==
One of the places where the most Bay Area residents saw the CSP was at the Transbay Transit Terminal, also known as the East Bay Terminal and the TTT. The facility was owned by CalTrans, and the CSP was thus contacted by Caltrans to provide police services at that sprawling, three-story bus terminal at 425 Mission Street (where the new Salesforce Transit Center is now located).

Tens of thousands of commuters passed through the TTT every weekday, with AC Transit being the main transportation provider. Continental Trailways and a bus service to the Oakland Amtrak Station were also located there.

With that many people passing through, the CSP encountered everything from drunk-and-disorderly complaints to murder. In the 1970s a pipe bomb went off on the first floor, which was investigated by state, city and federal law enforcement agencies.

In 1974, the AC Transit Strike, which lasted over sixty days, resulted in picketing, which was monitored and regulated by the CSP. Ironically, the only really violent confrontation between the pickets and the CSP, which made the local press, happened the day before the contract was signed.

Another major protest that made the news was during the first days of Desert Storm when the SFPD provided assistance to the CSP to clear protestors who were blocking access for buses from the SF/Oakland Bay Bridge to the TTT.

The TTT had the only substation of the SF Field Office, complete with a locker room and a holding cell. The cell was for temporary incarceration only, as arrested people had to be booked at the SFSO's facility at the SF Hall of Justice on Bryant St, where SFPD also booked their suspects.

== Civic Center ==
The building that housed the CSP's San Francisco Field Office was at 350 McAllister St. Before the Loma Prieta Earthquake, that state building complex housed the California Supreme Court among many other state agencies. Many Californians do not know that the Court is headquartered in San Francisco, not Sacramento.

While the Supreme Court maintained it's own small group of bailiffs, the CSP was asked to provide the uniformed presence for the court's "en banc" hearings, which were generally open to the public.

Also in the realm of dignitary protection, the CSP had a dedicated unit at the State Capitol for the protection of the Governor and other state officials. It operated much like the Secret Service, and was actually trained by the latter agency. In San Francsico, the Governor had a satellite office, and the SF Field Office often responded to handle protests, coordinate visits from the Governor as additional resources for the Protective Services Detail and investigate potential threats. During periods of uncertainty, the local CSP office provided transportation for state officials and personal protection at their residences.

The SF Field Office had a dispatch center in the lobby of 350 McAllister St for many years. There was an officer who sat there and answered questions from the public between police calls. It was remodeled into a closed office by the 1980s, and professional Dispatchers were hired to staff the Bay-Area-wide dispatch area's communication center.

Demonstrations, from protests over the Public Utility Commission's closed hearings to demonstrations against one governor or another, were monthly occurrences at the State's Civic Center properties. One of the most noted was the evening of the day Governor Deukmejian vetoed the Gay Rights Bill. Thousands of protesters gathered in Civic Center and other parts of the city, and a large group tried to break into the entrance to the State Building at 455 Golden Gate Avenue. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AB101_Veto_Riot AB101 Riot]

== Consulate of the Soviet Union Detail ==
For years, the US Department of State's Diplomatic Security Service contracted with the State Police to provide 24/7/365 protection for the Soviet Consulate at 2790 Green St in Pacific Heights. A marked State Police cruiser was parked outside for many years until the fall of the Soviet Union, when the detail ended.

== Loma Prieta Earthquake Aftermath ==
After the Loma Prieta Earthquake, the San Francisco Field Office had to relocate out of the damaged Civic Center Complex, and was housed in a rented facility just south of Market Street. It still provided patrols of state property in San Francisco and details at locations such as the EDD's Unemployment Insurance Office.

== The End of an Era ==

There were long-term plans to put the SF Field Office back in the Civic center Complex upon its renovation, but the plans were abandoned when it was decided to merge the CSP into the much larger (by a factor of almost twenty at the end) CHP. Many personnel left the CSP prior to the final merger ceremony on July 12, 1995. The former State Police Officers who wished to do so took a course at the CHP Academy and became members of the larger organization as the newly-minted "CHP Officer" series. the CHP had formerly been known as "Traffic Officers."

It is ironic that when the Earl Warren Building was renovated as part of the Civic Center State Building reconstruction in the late 1990s [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earl_Warren_Building Earl Warren Building], the CHP was contracted to provide a law enforcement officer at the building in addition to the privately-contracted security service there. The building manager when the new million-square-foot complex opened was former CSP Captain Glenn Della-Monica. The CHP officers assigned to the building were mostly former CSP officers who had previously worked under Capt. Della-Monica pre-merger, and they greeted him as "Captain." This confused many building tenants who did not know his past.

It did, however, bring the history of the State Police in the San Francisco State Building full circle. In the days when the State Police officers were under the command of the local building manager, the manager at the time, Mr. Helliskoff, had the officers come to attention when he passed and address him as "captain."

Who knew California had a State Police?

2021-02-27T20:57:13Z

Glenn Della-Monica: /* The End of an Era */

== Why there were State Police in San Francisco ==

In California, those who have powers of arrest beyond those of private citizens are known as ''peace officers.'' In San Francisco, over the years there have been scores of job titles at the city, county, state and federal levels that have had peace officer powers. Some are well known, such as the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD), the San Francisco County Sheriff's Office (SFSO), the California Highway Patrol (CHP) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Some are or were almost unknown to those not having direct contact with them.

One such agency was the California State Police (CSP). [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_State_Police#History] Well known at the State Capitol in Sacramento, its officers were usually mistaken for the CHP in other cities, including San Francisco. Headquartered there at the Earl Warren State Building (bounded by McAllister St, Polk St, Hyde St and Golden Gate Ave), the CSP was tasked with the provision of police services on State property.

Dating back to the first two officers tasked by the legislature with protecting the State Capitol in 1887, the mission of the CSP grew over the years to providing police services to state properties throughout California that did not have their own enforcement branch. State colleges and universities, for example, have their own police departments. The Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), the Employment Development Department (EDD) and most other state agencies relied on the CSP to provide protection, investigate crimes and make arrests on their property.

In San Francisco, state property included the large Earl Warren State Building in Civic Center, the various properties owned by the California Department of Transportation (CalTrans) and literally dozens of agencies spread throughout The City.
One of the more ironic duties was the almost-yearly report an officer would have to take after a driver at the DMV, there to take his or her driving test, ran their car into or even through the wall of the building.

== Organization and Uniforms ==

The State Police uniforms prior to the 1970s featured tan shirts and green pants. In the previous era, the officers in San Francisco and other cities reported to the local Regional Building Manager. The reorganization around the 1970s created a separate organization, still in the Department of General Services, but with a headquarters and a Chief in Sacramento. The uniform changed at that time to tan pants with a green and gold stripe down the leg. It looked fairly close to the CHP uniform, which sometimes led to the public's confusion.

At the time of the reorganization, the old title of State Policeman was changed to State Police Officer. This was in anticipation of a new change that was sweeping state service: the hiring of female officers. The CSP's San Francisco Field Office hired two of the first female officers in that agency.

A decade or so after the tan uniform, with its newly-designed patch, was adopted, the shirt color was changed to green.

Another huge change was the adoption of the optional brown Montanna Peak or "Smokey the Bear" hat, also known as a "campaign hat." The CHP later adopted a gray-blue version of the hat.

The CSP had regional commanders in charge of several field offices, with field offices in major cities, along with the California Aquaduct. The SF Field Office reported to the regional commander headquartered in Oakland.

== The Transbay Transist Terminal ==
One of the places where the most Bay Area residents saw the CSP was at the Transbay Transit Terminal, also known as the East Bay Terminal and the TTT. The facility was owned by CalTrans, and the CSP was thus contacted by Caltrans to provide police services at that sprawling, three-story bus terminal at 425 Mission Street (where the new Salesforce Transit Center is now located).

Tens of thousands of commuters passed through the TTT every weekday, with AC Transit being the main transportation provider. Continental Trailways and a bus service to the Oakland Amtrak Station were also located there.

With that many people passing through, the CSP encountered everything from drunk-and-disorderly complaints to murder. In the 1970s a pipe bomb went off on the first floor, which was investigated by state, city and federal law enforcement agencies.

In 1974, the AC Transit Strike, which lasted over sixty days, resulted in picketing, which was monitored and regulated by the CSP. Ironically, the only really violent confrontation between the pickets and the CSP, which made the local press, happened the day before the contract was signed.

Another major protest that made the news was during the first days of Desert Storm when the SFPD provided assistance to the CSP to clear protestors who were blocking access for buses from the SF/Oakland Bay Bridge to the TTT.

The TTT had the only substation of the SF Field Office, complete with a locker room and a holding cell. The cell was for temporary incarceration only, as arrested people had to be booked at the SFSO's facility at the SF Hall of Justice on Bryant St, where SFPD also booked their suspects.

== Civic Center ==
The building that housed the CSP's San Francisco Field Office was at 350 McAllister St. Before the Loma Prieta Earthquake, that state building complex housed the California Supreme Court among many other state agencies. Many Californians do not know that the Court is headquartered in San Francisco, not Sacramento.

While the Supreme Court maintained it's own small group of bailiffs, the CSP was asked to provide the uniformed presence for the court's "en banc" hearings, which were generally open to the public.

Also in the realm of dignitary protection, the CSP had a dedicated unit at the State Capitol for the protection of the Governor and other state officials. It operated much like the Secret Service, and was actually trained by the latter agency. In San Francsico, the Governor had a satellite office, and the SF Field Office often responded to handle protests, coordinate visits from the Governor as additional resources for the Protective Services Detail and investigate potential threats. During periods of uncertainty, the local CSP office provided transportation for state officials and personal protection at their residences.

The SF Field Office had a dispatch center in the lobby of 350 McAllister St for many years. There was an officer who sat there and answered questions from the public between police calls. It was remodeled into a closed office by the 1980s, and professional Dispatchers were hired to staff the Bay-Area-wide dispatch area's communication center.

Demonstrations, from protests over the Public Utility Commission's closed hearings to demonstrations against one governor or another, were monthly occurrences at the State's Civic Center properties. One of the most noted was the evening of the day Governor Deukmejian vetoed the Gay Rights Bill. Thousands of protesters gathered in Civic Center and other parts of the city, and a large group tried to break into the entrance to the State Building at 455 Golden Gate Avenue. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AB101_Veto_Riot AB101 Riot]

== Consulate of the Soviet Union Detail ==
For years, the US Department of State's Diplomatic Security Service contracted with the State Police to provide 24/7/365 protection for the Soviet Consulate at 2790 Green St in Pacific Heights. A marked State Police cruiser was parked outside for many years until the fall of the Soviet Union, when the detail ended.

== Loma Prieta Earthquake Aftermath ==
After the Loma Prieta Earthquake, the San Francisco Field Office had to relocate out of the damaged Civic Center Complex, and was housed in a rented facility just south of Market Street. It still provided patrols of state property in San Francisco and details at locations such as the EDD's Unemployment Insurance Office.

== The End of an Era ==

There were long-term plans to put the SF Field Office back in the Civic center Complex upon its renovation, but the plans were abandoned when it was decided to merge the CSP into the much larger (by a factor of almost twenty at the end) CHP. Many personnel left the CSP prior to the final merger ceremony on July 12, 1995. The former State Police Officers who wished to do so took a course at the CHP Academy and became members of the larger organization as the newly-minted "CHP Officer" series. the CHP had formerly been known as "Traffic Officers."

It is ironic that when the Earl Warren Building was renovated as part of the Civic Center State Building reconstruction in the late 1990s [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earl_Warren_Building Earl Warren Building], the CHP was contracted to provide a law enforcement officer at the building in addition to the privately-contracted security service there. The building manager when the new million-square-foot complex opened was former CSP Captain Glenn Della-Monica. The CHP officers assigned to the building were mostly former CSP officers who had previously worked under Capt. Della-Monica pre-merger, and they greeted him as "Captain." This confused many building tenants who did not know his past.

It did, however, bring the history of the State Police in the San Francisco State Building full circle. In the days when the State Police officers were under the command of the local building manager, the manager at the time, Mr. Helliskoff, had the officers come to attention when he passed and address him as "captain."

Who knew California had a State Police?

2021-02-27T20:53:11Z

Glenn Della-Monica: Created page with " == Why there were State Police in San Francisco == In California, those who have powers of arrest beyond those of private citizens are known as ''peace officers.'' In San Fr..."

== Why there were State Police in San Francisco ==

In California, those who have powers of arrest beyond those of private citizens are known as ''peace officers.'' In San Francisco, over the years there have been scores of job titles at the city, county, state and federal levels that have had peace officer powers. Some are well known, such as the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD), the San Francisco County Sheriff's Office (SFSO), the California Highway Patrol (CHP) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Some are or were almost unknown to those not having direct contact with them.

One such agency was the California State Police (CSP). [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_State_Police#History] Well known at the State Capitol in Sacramento, its officers were usually mistaken for the CHP in other cities, including San Francisco. Headquartered there at the Earl Warren State Building (bounded by McAllister St, Polk St, Hyde St and Golden Gate Ave), the CSP was tasked with the provision of police services on State property.

Dating back to the first two officers tasked by the legislature with protecting the State Capitol in 1887, the mission of the CSP grew over the years to providing police services to state properties throughout California that did not have their own enforcement branch. State colleges and universities, for example, have their own police departments. The Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), the Employment Development Department (EDD) and most other state agencies relied on the CSP to provide protection, investigate crimes and make arrests on their property.

In San Francisco, state property included the large Earl Warren State Building in Civic Center, the various properties owned by the California Department of Transportation (CalTrans) and literally dozens of agencies spread throughout The City.
One of the more ironic duties was the almost-yearly report an officer would have to take after a driver at the DMV, there to take his or her driving test, ran their car into or even through the wall of the building.

== Organization and Uniforms ==

The State Police uniforms prior to the 1970s featured tan shirts and green pants. In the previous era, the officers in San Francisco and other cities reported to the local Regional Building Manager. The reorganization around the 1970s created a separate organization, still in the Department of General Services, but with a headquarters and a Chief in Sacramento. The uniform changed at that time to tan pants with a green and gold stripe down the leg. It looked fairly close to the CHP uniform, which sometimes led to the public's confusion.

At the time of the reorganization, the old title of State Policeman was changed to State Police Officer. This was in anticipation of a new change that was sweeping state service: the hiring of female officers. The CSP's San Francisco Field Office hired two of the first female officers in that agency.

A decade or so after the tan uniform, with its newly-designed patch, was adopted, the shirt color was changed to green.

Another huge change was the adoption of the optional brown Montanna Peak or "Smokey the Bear" hat, also known as a "campaign hat." The CHP later adopted a gray-blue version of the hat.

The CSP had regional commanders in charge of several field offices, with field offices in major cities, along with the California Aquaduct. The SF Field Office reported to the regional commander headquartered in Oakland.

== The Transbay Transist Terminal ==
One of the places where the most Bay Area residents saw the CSP was at the Transbay Transit Terminal, also known as the East Bay Terminal and the TTT. The facility was owned by CalTrans, and the CSP was thus contacted by Caltrans to provide police services at that sprawling, three-story bus terminal at 425 Mission Street (where the new Salesforce Transit Center is now located).

Tens of thousands of commuters passed through the TTT every weekday, with AC Transit being the main transportation provider. Continental Trailways and a bus service to the Oakland Amtrak Station were also located there.

With that many people passing through, the CSP encountered everything from drunk-and-disorderly complaints to murder. In the 1970s a pipe bomb went off on the first floor, which was investigated by state, city and federal law enforcement agencies.

In 1974, the AC Transit Strike, which lasted over sixty days, resulted in picketing, which was monitored and regulated by the CSP. Ironically, the only really violent confrontation between the pickets and the CSP, which made the local press, happened the day before the contract was signed.

Another major protest that made the news was during the first days of Desert Storm when the SFPD provided assistance to the CSP to clear protestors who were blocking access for buses from the SF/Oakland Bay Bridge to the TTT.

The TTT had the only substation of the SF Field Office, complete with a locker room and a holding cell. The cell was for temporary incarceration only, as arrested people had to be booked at the SFSO's facility at the SF Hall of Justice on Bryant St, where SFPD also booked their suspects.

== Civic Center ==
The building that housed the CSP's San Francisco Field Office was at 350 McAllister St. Before the Loma Prieta Earthquake, that state building complex housed the California Supreme Court among many other state agencies. Many Californians do not know that the Court is headquartered in San Francisco, not Sacramento.

While the Supreme Court maintained it's own small group of bailiffs, the CSP was asked to provide the uniformed presence for the court's "en banc" hearings, which were generally open to the public.

Also in the realm of dignitary protection, the CSP had a dedicated unit at the State Capitol for the protection of the Governor and other state officials. It operated much like the Secret Service, and was actually trained by the latter agency. In San Francsico, the Governor had a satellite office, and the SF Field Office often responded to handle protests, coordinate visits from the Governor as additional resources for the Protective Services Detail and investigate potential threats. During periods of uncertainty, the local CSP office provided transportation for state officials and personal protection at their residences.

The SF Field Office had a dispatch center in the lobby of 350 McAllister St for many years. There was an officer who sat there and answered questions from the public between police calls. It was remodeled into a closed office by the 1980s, and professional Dispatchers were hired to staff the Bay-Area-wide dispatch area's communication center.

Demonstrations, from protests over the Public Utility Commission's closed hearings to demonstrations against one governor or another, were monthly occurrences at the State's Civic Center properties. One of the most noted was the evening of the day Governor Deukmejian vetoed the Gay Rights Bill. Thousands of protesters gathered in Civic Center and other parts of the city, and a large group tried to break into the entrance to the State Building at 455 Golden Gate Avenue. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AB101_Veto_Riot AB101 Riot]

== Consulate of the Soviet Union Detail ==
For years, the US Department of State's Diplomatic Security Service contracted with the State Police to provide 24/7/365 protection for the Soviet Consulate at 2790 Green St in Pacific Heights. A marked State Police cruiser was parked outside for many years until the fall of the Soviet Union, when the detail ended.

== Loma Prieta Earthquake Aftermath ==
After the Loma Prieta Earthquake, the San Francisco Field Office had to relocate out of the damaged Civic Center Complex, and was housed in a rented facility just south of Market Street. It still provided patrols of state property in San Francisco and details at locations such as the EDD's Unemployment Insurance Office.

== The End of an Era ==

There were long-term plans to put the SF Field Office back in the Civic center Complex upon its renovation, but the plans were abandoned when it was decided to merge the CSP into the much larger (by a factor of almost twenty at the end) CHP. Many personnel left the CSP prior to the final merger ceremony on July 12, 1995.

It is ironic that when the Earl Warren Building was renovated as part of the Civic Center State Building reconstruction in the late 1990s [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earl_Warren_Building Earl Warren Building], the CHP was contracted to provide a law enforcement officer at the building in addition to the privately-contracted security service there. The building manager when the new million-square-foot complex opened was former CSP Captain Glenn Della-Monica. The CHP officers assigned to the building were mostly former CSP officers who had previously worked under Capt. Della-Monica pre-merger, and they greeted him as "Captain." This confused many building tenants who did not know his past.

It did, however, bring the history of the State Police in the San Francisco State Building full circle. In the days when the State Police officers were under the command of the local building manager, the manager at the time, Mr. Helliskoff, had the officers come to attention when he passed and address him as "captain."