How the Women's Building Came To Be - Revision history

Ccarlsson: added Molly video

2019-09-19T02:08:45Z

added Molly video

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:08, 18 September 2019
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	As it turned out, the location at 160 South Van Ness was not to be because the group was unable to come up with the five thousand dollars needed to keep the property off the market. But it didn’t stop the women. For many, just the experience of looking at and imaging that potential space built a momentum that was not to be derailed. The Film Series benefits were already in place, with five programs. The first, held at McKenna Theater at San Francisco State University featured films about notable women, including ''Colette, Night’s Darkness, a Day’s Sail'' (about Virginia Woolf), ''Anne Sexton, Rainbow Black'' (about Sarah Webster Fabio) and ''Gwendowlyn Brooks''. The rest of the film series was held at the Roxie Theater, a collectively run independent theater on 16th street near Mission. Each set of films had a theme, with the second and third focused on local female filmmakers, the fourth on films about women activists, and the final set focused on women artists. Titles included Allie Light’s ''Possum Trot'', outtakes from ''The Word is Out'', ''Angela Davis, Portrait of a Revolutionary'' and ''Frida Kahlo''. Individual donations were beginning to pour in, and dozens of women and organizations were involved in the project. The SFWC had sought high-profile endorsers to give more legitimacy to the project and to bolster foundation grant proposals. Proclamations in support of the prospective Women’s Building came from the National Organization for Women, Supervisor Carol Ruth Silver Mission Cultural Center and Advocates for Women. Organizations who made tentative or firm commitments to rent space in a new building continued to grow, including the Coalition for the Medical Rights of Women, Union Wage, Women’s Alcohol Coalition, Women Against Violence in Pornography and the Media, Black Women Organized for Action, Lesbian Law Project, Organization of Women Architects and Older Women’s Project.</blockquote>		As it turned out, the location at 160 South Van Ness was not to be because the group was unable to come up with the five thousand dollars needed to keep the property off the market. But it didn’t stop the women. For many, just the experience of looking at and imaging that potential space built a momentum that was not to be derailed. The Film Series benefits were already in place, with five programs. The first, held at McKenna Theater at San Francisco State University featured films about notable women, including ''Colette, Night’s Darkness, a Day’s Sail'' (about Virginia Woolf), ''Anne Sexton, Rainbow Black'' (about Sarah Webster Fabio) and ''Gwendowlyn Brooks''. The rest of the film series was held at the Roxie Theater, a collectively run independent theater on 16th street near Mission. Each set of films had a theme, with the second and third focused on local female filmmakers, the fourth on films about women activists, and the final set focused on women artists. Titles included Allie Light’s ''Possum Trot'', outtakes from ''The Word is Out'', ''Angela Davis, Portrait of a Revolutionary'' and ''Frida Kahlo''. Individual donations were beginning to pour in, and dozens of women and organizations were involved in the project. The SFWC had sought high-profile endorsers to give more legitimacy to the project and to bolster foundation grant proposals. Proclamations in support of the prospective Women’s Building came from the National Organization for Women, Supervisor Carol Ruth Silver Mission Cultural Center and Advocates for Women. Organizations who made tentative or firm commitments to rent space in a new building continued to grow, including the Coalition for the Medical Rights of Women, Union Wage, Women’s Alcohol Coalition, Women Against Violence in Pornography and the Media, Black Women Organized for Action, Lesbian Law Project, Organization of Women Architects and Older Women’s Project.</blockquote>

			<iframe src="https://archive.org/embed/mollymartinonwomensbldgandpolicecontroversy" width="640" height="480" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="true" mozallowfullscreen="true" allowfullscreen></iframe>

			'''Molly Martin, interviewed in February 2019, discusses working on the Women's Building as an electrician, and then the controversy over women entering the SF Police Department as officers, and its relationship to jobs and women's work.'''

			''Video: Shaping San Francisco''

	<hr>		<hr>

Ccarlsson at 05:15, 21 March 2017

2017-03-21T05:15:02Z

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	<font size=4>Beginnings</font size>		<font size=4>Beginnings</font size>

	If you looked at the San Francisco Women’s Building today, you would see a traditional nonprofit organization with a small staff, a volunteer board, and an annual budget of about one million dollars. The only thing that stands out is that they own the building, valued at $7-8 million. The programs of the Women’s Building are relatively modest – information and referral, educational services relating to jobs, taxes and legal rights, and low rent office space for emerging organizations.		If you looked at the San Francisco [[THE WOMEN'S BUILDING\|Women’s Building]] today, you would see a traditional nonprofit organization with a small staff, a volunteer board, and an annual budget of about one million dollars. The only thing that stands out is that they own the building, valued at $7-8 million. The programs of the Women’s Building are relatively modest – information and referral, educational services relating to jobs, taxes and legal rights, and low rent office space for emerging organizations.

	But there is nothing modest about the contributions of the scores of organizations that have been housed at the building and incubated over the years through the sponsored project program. A list of these groups, probably incomplete, can be found in appendix 1. It reads like a virtual Who’s Who of the organizations that make up the San Francisco Bay Area women’s movement. In terms of size, public visibility and impact on public policy, many of these groups far surpass The Women’s Building. And as a good mother, The Women’s Building is content with her contribution. Participants may at times chafe over the lack of recognition, but there has been no serious impulse to mortgage the building in order to launch a big glamorous, and expensive program that would grow the organization.		But there is nothing modest about the contributions of the scores of organizations that have been housed at the building and incubated over the years through the sponsored project program. A list of these groups, probably incomplete, can be found in appendix 1. It reads like a virtual Who’s Who of the organizations that make up the San Francisco Bay Area women’s movement. In terms of size, public visibility and impact on public policy, many of these groups far surpass The Women’s Building. And as a good mother, The Women’s Building is content with her contribution. Participants may at times chafe over the lack of recognition, but there has been no serious impulse to mortgage the building in order to launch a big glamorous, and expensive program that would grow the organization.

Ccarlsson: added photo

2017-03-21T05:14:00Z

added photo

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	But there were also sexist barriers to institution-building. Some community organizations were able to access the institutional resources of churches and unions to get started. In many cases, however, these institutions were unavailable to advocates of women’s liberation. So short-term campaigns and local community-based organizations often began as informal collectives, with varying degrees of internal structure and regulation. For a group funded largely by its own membership and/or small donations from its base, internal systems of accountability sufficed, with no need to establish a formal relationship to the state. However, once substantial amounts of money became involved, greater accountability was also called for. For any effort hoping to obtain grants from private foundations or public funds or offering tax deductions to large donors, formal corporate status was a necessity. Some groups went through the hoops to obtain, and then maintain, their own nonprofit corporate status with the government; others looked for an existing nonprofit organization with a similar mission to sponsor their efforts. For organizing around women’s issues, this latter was often not an option.		But there were also sexist barriers to institution-building. Some community organizations were able to access the institutional resources of churches and unions to get started. In many cases, however, these institutions were unavailable to advocates of women’s liberation. So short-term campaigns and local community-based organizations often began as informal collectives, with varying degrees of internal structure and regulation. For a group funded largely by its own membership and/or small donations from its base, internal systems of accountability sufficed, with no need to establish a formal relationship to the state. However, once substantial amounts of money became involved, greater accountability was also called for. For any effort hoping to obtain grants from private foundations or public funds or offering tax deductions to large donors, formal corporate status was a necessity. Some groups went through the hoops to obtain, and then maintain, their own nonprofit corporate status with the government; others looked for an existing nonprofit organization with a similar mission to sponsor their efforts. For organizing around women’s issues, this latter was often not an option.

			[[Image:Women's-Building-2013-by-Adam-Fagen.jpg]]

			'''Women's Building 18th Street north facade.'''

			''Photo by Adam Fagen, 2013''

	It was to begin to fill this need that a number of Bay Area women’s organizations met, including the National Organization for Women (NOW), [[Daughter of Bilitis\|Daughters of Bilitis]], and San Francisco Women’s Liberation. In 1969, they applied for and were granted nonprofit status for a new organization, San Francisco Women’s Centers (SFWC). The founders didn’t want yet another organization that would exist for itself. Rather, they wanted an organizational structure, with a governmental recognition as a non-profit, with the goal of supporting existing organizations and helping to nurture new organizing efforts on behalf of women. The 1969 incorporation papers were signed by Jean Crosby, Karen Folger Jacobs, Dorothy Martin, Jennifer Gardner, Brenda Brush, and Pat Condry. With incorporation in place, they wrote a grant proposal and went in search of money.		It was to begin to fill this need that a number of Bay Area women’s organizations met, including the National Organization for Women (NOW), [[Daughter of Bilitis\|Daughters of Bilitis]], and San Francisco Women’s Liberation. In 1969, they applied for and were granted nonprofit status for a new organization, San Francisco Women’s Centers (SFWC). The founders didn’t want yet another organization that would exist for itself. Rather, they wanted an organizational structure, with a governmental recognition as a non-profit, with the goal of supporting existing organizations and helping to nurture new organizing efforts on behalf of women. The 1969 incorporation papers were signed by Jean Crosby, Karen Folger Jacobs, Dorothy Martin, Jennifer Gardner, Brenda Brush, and Pat Condry. With incorporation in place, they wrote a grant proposal and went in search of money.

Ccarlsson: Ccarlsson moved page “Maestrapeace” on the Women's Building to How the Women's Building Came To Be

2017-03-21T04:55:35Z

Ccarlsson moved page “Maestrapeace” on the Women's Building to How the Women's Building Came To Be

← Older revision	Revision as of 21:55, 20 March 2017
(No difference)

Ccarlsson at 04:52, 21 March 2017

2017-03-21T04:52:01Z

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	Superficially at least, the Women’s Building Project of the Bay Area was just another in the series of sponsored projects. But in fact it was very different. Over the years, numerous organizations initially sponsored by the SFWC had evolved into their own distinct institutions. Occasionally, women involved in the core of the SFWC left to become involved with newly formed organizations, but the strength of the Centers’ core was never damaged. To the contrary, its role in helping to jump-start new organizations was what kept the SFWC rejuvenated on a regular basis.		Superficially at least, the Women’s Building Project of the Bay Area was just another in the series of sponsored projects. But in fact it was very different. Over the years, numerous organizations initially sponsored by the SFWC had evolved into their own distinct institutions. Occasionally, women involved in the core of the SFWC left to become involved with newly formed organizations, but the strength of the Centers’ core was never damaged. To the contrary, its role in helping to jump-start new organizations was what kept the SFWC rejuvenated on a regular basis.

	At least twice before in its short life, the SFWC had thrown a substantial amount of its own resources into launching new projects. In the case of the credit union (see chapter one), the Centers worked with women from three other organizations to charter and establish the project, and thereafter the credit union relied on its own resources to hire a staff. As related previously, credit union went through several of its own crises in its five-year life, and as a legal charter member the SFWC stepped forward to participate in resolving the problems, and eventually closing it down. This work, though undoubtedly stressful to the individuals involved, did not seriously strain the functioning of the SFWC’s collective. The other project that drew substantial resources from the SFWC was the 1976 Conference on women and violence. This was also a coalition effort involving half a dozen other organizations and numerous individuals. It was also for a specific event with an end date. Including the follow up work publishing the book of poetry and preparing the video and audio tapes, it was an 18 month project. In the short run, it was an exhausting campaign for virtually all involved, including the core of the SFWC. In the longer term, however, the effort expanded and diversified the community base of the San Francisco Women’s Center. Once the collective rested and regrouped through the work of the Planning Committee, the Women’s Centers entered into a stable couple years. It was during this period of relative stability that the project to buy a building for the women’s community began.		At least twice before in its short life, the SFWC had thrown a substantial amount of its own resources into launching new projects. In the case of the credit union (see chapter one), the Centers worked with women from three other organizations to charter and establish the project, and thereafter the credit union relied on its own resources to hire a staff. As related previously, credit union went through several of its own crises in its five-year life, and as a legal charter member the SFWC stepped forward to participate in resolving the problems, and eventually closing it down. This work, though undoubtedly stressful to the individuals involved, did not seriously strain the functioning of the SFWC’s collective. The other project that drew substantial resources from the SFWC was the 1976 Conference on women and violence. This was also a coalition effort involving half a dozen other organizations and numerous individuals. It was also for a specific event with an end date. Including the follow up work publishing the book of poetry and preparing the video and audio tapes, it was an 18 month project. In the short run, it was an exhausting campaign for virtually all involved, including the core of the SFWC. In the longer term, however, the effort expanded and diversified the community base of the San Francisco Women’s Center. Once the collective rested and regrouped through the work of the Planning Committee, the Women’s Centers entered into a stable couple years. It was during this period of relative stability that the project to buy a building for the women’s community began.

	As it turned out, the project to buy a building came to be the defining characteristic of the SF Women’s Centers in the decades to come. In fact, had the SFWC not purchased the building in 1979, it is very likely that the it would have come to an end before the end of the 80’s. Had the women in the collective waited much longer to make the decision to buy, they would have run into rapidly rising real estate prices that probably would have been beyond the capacity of a group already struggling to pay a few hundred dollars per month in rent.		As it turned out, the project to buy a building came to be the defining characteristic of the SF Women’s Centers in the decades to come. In fact, had the SFWC not purchased the building in 1979, it is very likely that the it would have come to an end before the end of the 80’s. Had the women in the collective waited much longer to make the decision to buy, they would have run into rapidly rising real estate prices that probably would have been beyond the capacity of a group already struggling to pay a few hundred dollars per month in rent.
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	As it turned out, the location at 160 South Van Ness was not to be because the group was unable to come up with the five thousand dollars needed to keep the property off the market. But it didn’t stop the women. For many, just the experience of looking at and imaging that potential space built a momentum that was not to be derailed. The Film Series benefits were already in place, with five programs. The first, held at McKenna Theater at San Francisco State University featured films about notable women, including ''Colette, Night’s Darkness, a Day’s Sail'' (about Virginia Woolf), ''Anne Sexton, Rainbow Black'' (about Sarah Webster Fabio) and ''Gwendowlyn Brooks''. The rest of the film series was held at the Roxie Theater, a collectively run independent theater on 16th street near Mission. Each set of films had a theme, with the second and third focused on local female filmmakers, the fourth on films about women activists, and the final set focused on women artists. Titles included Allie Light’s ''Possum Trot'', outtakes from ''The Word is Out'', ''Angela Davis, Portrait of a Revolutionary'' and ''Frida Kahlo''. Individual donations were beginning to pour in, and dozens of women and organizations were involved in the project. The SFWC had sought high-profile endorsers to give more legitimacy to the project and to bolster foundation grant proposals. Proclamations in support of the prospective Women’s Building came from the National Organization for Women, Supervisor Carol Ruth Silver Mission Cultural Center and Advocates for Women. Organizations who made tentative or firm commitments to rent space in a new building continued to grow, including the Coalition for the Medical Rights of Women, Union Wage, Women’s Alcohol Coalition, Women Against Violence in Pornography and the Media, Black Women Organized for Action, Lesbian Law Project, Organization of Women Architects and Older Women’s Project.</blockquote>		As it turned out, the location at 160 South Van Ness was not to be because the group was unable to come up with the five thousand dollars needed to keep the property off the market. But it didn’t stop the women. For many, just the experience of looking at and imaging that potential space built a momentum that was not to be derailed. The Film Series benefits were already in place, with five programs. The first, held at McKenna Theater at San Francisco State University featured films about notable women, including ''Colette, Night’s Darkness, a Day’s Sail'' (about Virginia Woolf), ''Anne Sexton, Rainbow Black'' (about Sarah Webster Fabio) and ''Gwendowlyn Brooks''. The rest of the film series was held at the Roxie Theater, a collectively run independent theater on 16th street near Mission. Each set of films had a theme, with the second and third focused on local female filmmakers, the fourth on films about women activists, and the final set focused on women artists. Titles included Allie Light’s ''Possum Trot'', outtakes from ''The Word is Out'', ''Angela Davis, Portrait of a Revolutionary'' and ''Frida Kahlo''. Individual donations were beginning to pour in, and dozens of women and organizations were involved in the project. The SFWC had sought high-profile endorsers to give more legitimacy to the project and to bolster foundation grant proposals. Proclamations in support of the prospective Women’s Building came from the National Organization for Women, Supervisor Carol Ruth Silver Mission Cultural Center and Advocates for Women. Organizations who made tentative or firm commitments to rent space in a new building continued to grow, including the Coalition for the Medical Rights of Women, Union Wage, Women’s Alcohol Coalition, Women Against Violence in Pornography and the Media, Black Women Organized for Action, Lesbian Law Project, Organization of Women Architects and Older Women’s Project.</blockquote>

			<hr>
	''Mothering the Movement, the Story of the San Francisco Women’s Building'', by Sushawn Robb Published in 2012 by Outskirts Press. For more details, go to [http://sushawn.com/ here.]		[[Image:Mothering-the-Movement cover.jpg\|200px\|left]] ''Mothering the Movement, the Story of the San Francisco Women’s Building'', by Sushawn Robb Published in 2012 by Outskirts Press. For more details, go to [http://sushawn.com/ here.]

	[[Great Expectations: The Women's Action Coalition\|Prev. Document]] [[The Parlor Houses of Jessie Hayman\|Next Document]]		[[Great Expectations: The Women's Action Coalition\|Prev. Document]] [[The Parlor Houses of Jessie Hayman\|Next Document]]

	[[category:Women]] [[category:1970s]] [[category:1980s]] [[category:1990s]] [[category:buildings]] [[category:Public Art]] [[category:Murals]] [[category:Mission]]		[[category:Women]] [[category:1970s]] [[category:1980s]] [[category:1990s]] [[category:buildings]] [[category:Public Art]] [[category:Murals]] [[category:Mission]]

Ccarlsson at 03:55, 21 March 2017

2017-03-21T03:55:03Z

Show changes

Ccarlsson: fixed navigation for new page

2011-04-12T16:22:29Z

fixed navigation for new page

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	[[Great Expectations: The Women's Action Coalition\|Prev. Document]] [[~~Prostitute March 1917~~\|Next Document]]		[[Great Expectations: The Women's Action Coalition\|Prev. Document]] [[The Parlor Houses of Jessie Hayman\|Next Document]]

	[[category:Women]] [[category:1970s]] [[category:1980s]] [[category:1990s]] [[category:buildings]] [[category:Public Art]] [[category:Murals]]		[[category:Women]] [[category:1970s]] [[category:1980s]] [[category:1990s]] [[category:buildings]] [[category:Public Art]] [[category:Murals]]

Ccarlsson at 23:31, 18 January 2009

2009-01-18T23:31:57Z

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	[[Great Expectations: The Women's Action Coalition\|Prev. Document]] [[Prostitute March ~~1914~~\|Next Document]]		[[Great Expectations: The Women's Action Coalition\|Prev. Document]] [[Prostitute March 1917\|Next Document]]

	[[category:Women]] [[category:1970s]] [[category:1980s]] [[category:1990s]] [[category:buildings]] [[category:Public Art]] [[category:Murals]]		[[category:Women]] [[category:1970s]] [[category:1980s]] [[category:1990s]] [[category:buildings]] [[category:Public Art]] [[category:Murals]]

Ccarlsson at 23:25, 18 January 2009

2009-01-18T23:25:24Z

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	'''<font face = Papyrus> <font color = maroon> <font size = 4>Primary Source</font></font> </font>'''		'''<font face = Papyrus> <font color = maroon> <font size = 4>Primary Source</font></font> </font>'''

	''The Women's Building''		[http://womensbuilding.org/content/ ''The Women's Building'' ]

	[[Image:Wimmin%24womens-bldg-mural.jpg]]		[[Image:Wimmin%24womens-bldg-mural.jpg]]

Ccarlsson: Protected "“Maestrapeace” on the Women's Building": primary source [edit=sysop:move=sysop]

2009-01-18T23:24:09Z

Protected "“Maestrapeace” on the Women's Building": primary source [edit=sysop:move=sysop]

← Older revision	Revision as of 16:24, 18 January 2009
(No difference)