Old City Hall of SF - Revision history

Ccarlsson: added new photo

2024-12-25T06:01:26Z

added new photo

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:01, 24 December 2024
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	''Photo: OpenSFHistory.org, wnp71.1570''		''Photo: OpenSFHistory.org, wnp71.1570''

			[[Image:Old-city-hall-c-1890s.jpg]]

			'''Old City Hall aerial view, c. 1890s.'''

			''Photo: Provenance unknown''

	[[Image:Market Street near 7th circa 1902 wnp13.090.jpg\|800px]]		[[Image:Market Street near 7th circa 1902 wnp13.090.jpg\|800px]]

Ccarlsson at 04:27, 11 November 2023

2023-11-11T04:27:29Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:27, 10 November 2023
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	[[Image:Old-city-hall-foundation-w-pioneer-monument-at-Hyde-and-Market.jpg\|800px]]		[[Image:Old-city-hall-foundation-w-pioneer-monument-at-Hyde-and-Market.jpg\|800px]]

	'''Old City Hall foundation, with Pioneer Monument at its former location at corner of 8th/~~Larkin~~/Market.'''		'''Old City Hall foundation, with Pioneer Monument at its former location at corner of 8th/Hyde/Market.'''

	''Photo: Shaping San Francisco''		''Photo: Shaping San Francisco''

Ccarlsson: added photos

2023-11-11T04:26:43Z

added photos

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:26, 10 November 2023
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	"The first 'city hall,' before 1840 was an office in a house, or the back room of a hotel which was moved around a lot because of fires and political corruption. By 1869, after a severe earthquake and with a constant influx of people, anyone with a stake in the future of San Francisco wanted to build a spectacular metropolis. So of course they needed a grand city hall. The new city hall was designed as a complex of buildings to be built on a triangular park, the former site of an old cemetery. The state appropriated the land and auctioned off portions of the property--the scheme was to raise a million and a half dollars for construction costs, and get it built in three years. Construction began in 1870, was finished 27 years later, in 1897, and cost six million dollars. Just nine years later it was all but destroyed by the earthquake and fire of 1906. It was a nineteenth-century thing; you give a contract to friends, or friends of friends. With seven chief architects, over twenty-seven years there was ineptitude after ineptitude. The materials were compromised; even the cast bricks were rumored to be shoddy. Fireplaces were built and later heating systems were installed. There were major sewage problems, the place was said to stink all the time. The floors didn't match up, chimneys didn't draw so the rooms were smokey, it was a mess. . . .		"The first 'city hall,' before 1840 was an office in a house, or the back room of a hotel which was moved around a lot because of fires and political corruption. By 1869, after a severe earthquake and with a constant influx of people, anyone with a stake in the future of San Francisco wanted to build a spectacular metropolis. So of course they needed a grand city hall. The new city hall was designed as a complex of buildings to be built on a triangular park, the former site of an old cemetery. The state appropriated the land and auctioned off portions of the property--the scheme was to raise a million and a half dollars for construction costs, and get it built in three years. Construction began in 1870, was finished 27 years later, in 1897, and cost six million dollars. Just nine years later it was all but destroyed by the earthquake and fire of 1906. It was a nineteenth-century thing; you give a contract to friends, or friends of friends. With seven chief architects, over twenty-seven years there was ineptitude after ineptitude. The materials were compromised; even the cast bricks were rumored to be shoddy. Fireplaces were built and later heating systems were installed. There were major sewage problems, the place was said to stink all the time. The floors didn't match up, chimneys didn't draw so the rooms were smokey, it was a mess. . . .

			[[Image:Old-city-hall-foundation.jpg]]

			'''Old City Hall foundation when excavation began for new 1990s Main Library.'''

			''Photo: Shaping San Francisco''

			[[Image:Old-city-hall-foundation-w-pioneer-monument-at-Hyde-and-Market.jpg\|800px]]

			'''Old City Hall foundation, with Pioneer Monument at its former location at corner of 8th/Larkin/Market.'''

			''Photo: Shaping San Francisco''

	The design was a Second Empire, French-style emerging in the 1860s in Paris when the monarchy was restored and Napoleon III was in power. Ironically, in 1871 during the Paris Commune, which was in part a rebellion against the monarchy, much of Paris burned. So oddly, this was the architectural style, the democratic ideal adopted for government buildings throughout America. . . . The property which had been sold to raise money remained empty for years and became sort of [[1877 unemployed in the sandlots\|impromptu demonstration areas]]--I don't think they had a strong sense of 'public space' at that time. So these lots became the forerunner of the plaza, I guess you could say. They were called the sand lots where workers would congregate and often marches started from there, until of course they plopped the Pioneer monument in the middle. . . ."		The design was a Second Empire, French-style emerging in the 1860s in Paris when the monarchy was restored and Napoleon III was in power. Ironically, in 1871 during the Paris Commune, which was in part a rebellion against the monarchy, much of Paris burned. So oddly, this was the architectural style, the democratic ideal adopted for government buildings throughout America. . . . The property which had been sold to raise money remained empty for years and became sort of [[1877 unemployed in the sandlots\|impromptu demonstration areas]]--I don't think they had a strong sense of 'public space' at that time. So these lots became the forerunner of the plaza, I guess you could say. They were called the sand lots where workers would congregate and often marches started from there, until of course they plopped the Pioneer monument in the middle. . . ."

Ccarlsson at 04:08, 26 December 2021

2021-12-26T04:08:19Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:08, 25 December 2021
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	[[The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) Hearing and Riot of 1960 \|Prev. Document]] [[New City Hall \|Next Document]]		[[The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) Hearing and Riot of 1960 \|Prev. Document]] [[New City Hall \|Next Document]]

	[[category:TenderNob]] [[category:Civic Center]] [[category:1870s]] [[category:1880s]] [[category:1890s]] [[category:1900s]] [[category:Earthquakes]] [[category:Buildings]]		[[category:TenderNob]] [[category:Civic Center]] [[category:1870s]] [[category:1880s]] [[category:1890s]] [[category:1900s]] [[category:Earthquakes]] [[category:Buildings]] [[category:Reclaiming San Francisco]]

Ccarlsson: added photo

2021-12-26T04:07:41Z

added photo

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:07, 25 December 2021
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	''Photo: Private Collection, San Francisco, CA''		''Photo: Private Collection, San Francisco, CA''

			[[Image:Elevated view easterly to what was then called New City Hall and Hall of Records, probably from the Odd Fellows Building at 7th and Market 1882 wnp71.1570.jpg\|800px]]

			'''Elevated view easterly to what was then called New City Hall and Hall of Records, probably from the Odd Fellows Building at 7th and Market, 1882.'''

			''Photo: OpenSFHistory.org, wnp71.1570''

	[[Image:Market Street near 7th circa 1902 wnp13.090.jpg\|800px]]		[[Image:Market Street near 7th circa 1902 wnp13.090.jpg\|800px]]

Ccarlsson: fixed video

2021-12-26T04:04:34Z

fixed video

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:04, 25 December 2021
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	''Photo: Private Collection, San Francisco, CA''		''Photo: Private Collection, San Francisco, CA''

	<iframe src="~~http~~://archive.org/embed/SanFranc1906_6" width="640" height="480" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="true" mozallowfullscreen="true" allowfullscreen></iframe>		<iframe src="https://archive.org/embed/SanFranc1906_6" width="640" height="480" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="true" mozallowfullscreen="true" allowfullscreen></iframe>

	'''Most of these 30 seconds are shot from 8th Street looking north towards where the Pioneer Monument sat in [[Marshall Square\|Marshall Square]]. In the early 1990s, the monument sat in the intersection of 8th/Market/Hyde from where it was moved to its current location in the street between the Main Library and the Asian Art Museum.		'''Most of these 30 seconds are shot from 8th Street looking north towards where the Pioneer Monument sat in [[Marshall Square\|Marshall Square]]. In the early 1990s, the monument sat in the intersection of 8th/Market/Hyde from where it was moved to its current location in the street between the Main Library and the Asian Art Museum.

Ccarlsson: added photo

2020-07-16T00:31:06Z

added photo

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:31, 15 July 2020
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	''Photo: Private Collection, San Francisco, CA''		''Photo: Private Collection, San Francisco, CA''

			[[Image:Market Street near 7th circa 1902 wnp13.090.jpg\|800px]]

			'''Market Street near 7th, c. 1902, with Old City Hall looming behind.'''

			''Photo: OpenSFHistory.org wnp13.090''

	<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cw7FzcqRXqE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>		<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cw7FzcqRXqE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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	The design was a Second Empire, French-style emerging in the 1860s in Paris when the monarchy was restored and Napoleon III was in power. Ironically, in 1871 during the Paris Commune, which was in part a rebellion against the monarchy, much of Paris burned. So oddly, this was the architectural style, the democratic ideal adopted for government buildings throughout America. . . . The property which had been sold to raise money remained empty for years and became sort of [[1877 unemployed in the sandlots\|impromptu demonstration areas]]--I don't think they had a strong sense of 'public space' at that time. So these lots became the forerunner of the plaza, I guess you could say. They were called the sand lots where workers would congregate and often marches started from there, until of course they plopped the Pioneer monument in the middle. . . ."		The design was a Second Empire, French-style emerging in the 1860s in Paris when the monarchy was restored and Napoleon III was in power. Ironically, in 1871 during the Paris Commune, which was in part a rebellion against the monarchy, much of Paris burned. So oddly, this was the architectural style, the democratic ideal adopted for government buildings throughout America. . . . The property which had been sold to raise money remained empty for years and became sort of [[1877 unemployed in the sandlots\|impromptu demonstration areas]]--I don't think they had a strong sense of 'public space' at that time. So these lots became the forerunner of the plaza, I guess you could say. They were called the sand lots where workers would congregate and often marches started from there, until of course they plopped the Pioneer monument in the middle. . . ."

	''~~--San~~ Francisco City Planner ''		''—San Francisco City Planner ''

	I study evolutionary theory, as well as human evolution, and the morphological characteristics of human ~~bone--what~~ it goes through--through time and a lifetime. It was the southeast corner of the Civic Center, the site of the old City Hall where the new library was built. But in the 1840s the entire area was the Yerba Buena ~~cemetery--the~~ city's first graveyard. Supposedly, they had moved the bodies in the 1850s, but it was suspected that some remains might still be found--so when they began the excavation for the library I was called to be on site in case there was an exhumation. We found no whole skeletons but some rib and fibula fragments. We found a lot of hand and finger bones, and teeth--things that slip through the cracks. Every day we would comb through the sand, the wind would blow all night and you'd return and see new exposed bones. We found most of it just north of an in-credible brick sewer--a piece of the old infrastructure still underneath the city. Around it we found a lot of Chinese coins, pipes, and jewelry bits, so I assume it was built by Chinese labor. The artifacts were found in the foundation, you don't know what happened. A lot of the things were personal items. Maybe they belonged to the people who worked at City Hall. . . .		[[Image:SF-trowel-obverse.jpg\|300px\|left]]

			'''Obverse of the ceremonial Masonic trowel that dedicated the cornerstone of the City Hall, 22nd February 1872 by Grand Master Leonidas E. Pratt. Property of the [http://www.masonicheritage.org Henry W. Coil Library & Museum of Freemasonry]'''

			I study evolutionary theory, as well as human evolution, and the morphological characteristics of human bone—what it goes through--through time and a lifetime. It was the southeast corner of the Civic Center, the site of the old City Hall where the new library was built. But in the 1840s the entire area was the Yerba Buena cemetery—the city's first graveyard. Supposedly, they had moved the bodies in the 1850s, but it was suspected that some remains might still be found--so when they began the excavation for the library I was called to be on site in case there was an exhumation. We found no whole skeletons but some rib and fibula fragments. We found a lot of hand and finger bones, and teeth--things that slip through the cracks. Every day we would comb through the sand, the wind would blow all night and you'd return and see new exposed bones. We found most of it just north of an in-credible brick sewer--a piece of the old infrastructure still underneath the city. Around it we found a lot of Chinese coins, pipes, and jewelry bits, so I assume it was built by Chinese labor. The artifacts were found in the foundation, you don't know what happened. A lot of the things were personal items. Maybe they belonged to the people who worked at City Hall. . . .

	~~[[Image:SF-trowel-obverse.jpg\|200px\|left\|thumb]]~~

	'''Obverse of the ceremonial Masonic trowel that dedicated the cornerstone of the City Hall, 22nd February 1872 by Grand Master Leonidas E. Pratt. Property of the [http://www.masonicheritage.org Henry W. Coil Library & Museum of Freemasonry]'''

Lisaruth: brought source of article to byline

2016-10-13T19:01:47Z

brought source of article to byline

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:01, 13 October 2016
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	'''<font face = Papyrus> <font color = maroon> <font size = 4>Historical Essay</font></font> </font>'''		'''<font face = Papyrus> <font color = maroon> <font size = 4>Historical Essay</font></font> </font>'''

	''by Susan Schwartzenberg''		''by Susan Schwartzenberg, from "Going Public: The San Francisco Civic Center" in'' Reclaiming San Francisco: History, Politics, Culture ''(City Lights: 1998)''

	[[Image:tendrnob$old-city-hall-1905.jpg]]		[[Image:tendrnob$old-city-hall-1905.jpg]]
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	I study evolutionary theory, as well as human evolution, and the morphological characteristics of human bone--what it goes through--through time and a lifetime. It was the southeast corner of the Civic Center, the site of the old City Hall where the new library was built. But in the 1840s the entire area was the Yerba Buena cemetery--the city's first graveyard. Supposedly, they had moved the bodies in the 1850s, but it was suspected that some remains might still be found--so when they began the excavation for the library I was called to be on site in case there was an exhumation. We found no whole skeletons but some rib and fibula fragments. We found a lot of hand and finger bones, and teeth--things that slip through the cracks. Every day we would comb through the sand, the wind would blow all night and you'd return and see new exposed bones. We found most of it just north of an in-credible brick sewer--a piece of the old infrastructure still underneath the city. Around it we found a lot of Chinese coins, pipes, and jewelry bits, so I assume it was built by Chinese labor. The artifacts were found in the foundation, you don't know what happened. A lot of the things were personal items. Maybe they belonged to the people who worked at City Hall. . . .		I study evolutionary theory, as well as human evolution, and the morphological characteristics of human bone--what it goes through--through time and a lifetime. It was the southeast corner of the Civic Center, the site of the old City Hall where the new library was built. But in the 1840s the entire area was the Yerba Buena cemetery--the city's first graveyard. Supposedly, they had moved the bodies in the 1850s, but it was suspected that some remains might still be found--so when they began the excavation for the library I was called to be on site in case there was an exhumation. We found no whole skeletons but some rib and fibula fragments. We found a lot of hand and finger bones, and teeth--things that slip through the cracks. Every day we would comb through the sand, the wind would blow all night and you'd return and see new exposed bones. We found most of it just north of an in-credible brick sewer--a piece of the old infrastructure still underneath the city. Around it we found a lot of Chinese coins, pipes, and jewelry bits, so I assume it was built by Chinese labor. The artifacts were found in the foundation, you don't know what happened. A lot of the things were personal items. Maybe they belonged to the people who worked at City Hall. . . .

	~~''from "Going Public: The San Francisco Civic Center" in Reclaiming San Francisco: History, Politics, Culture (City Lights: 1998)''~~

	[[Image:SF-trowel-obverse.jpg\|200px\|left\|thumb]]		[[Image:SF-trowel-obverse.jpg\|200px\|left\|thumb]]

Ccarlsson: added Glenn Lym's video

2016-08-10T19:58:32Z

added Glenn Lym's video

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:58, 10 August 2016
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	''Photo: Private Collection, San Francisco, CA''		''Photo: Private Collection, San Francisco, CA''

			<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cw7FzcqRXqE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

			'''Scapegoat: The 1871-1906 City Hall'''

			''Video: Glenn Lym''

	[[Image:Old city hall drawing ef1a2d766685f99e043c93a91200496f.jpg]]		[[Image:Old city hall drawing ef1a2d766685f99e043c93a91200496f.jpg]]
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	''from "Going Public: The San Francisco Civic Center" in Reclaiming San Francisco: History, Politics, Culture (City Lights: 1998)''		''from "Going Public: The San Francisco Civic Center" in Reclaiming San Francisco: History, Politics, Culture (City Lights: 1998)''

	[[Image:SF-trowel-obverse.jpg\|~~360px~~\|left\|thumb]]		[[Image:SF-trowel-obverse.jpg\|200px\|left\|thumb]]

	'''Obverse of the ceremonial Masonic trowel that dedicated the cornerstone of the City Hall, 22nd February 1872 by Grand Master Leonidas E. Pratt. Property of the [http://www.masonicheritage.org Henry W. Coil Library & Museum of Freemasonry]'''		'''Obverse of the ceremonial Masonic trowel that dedicated the cornerstone of the City Hall, 22nd February 1872 by Grand Master Leonidas E. Pratt. Property of the [http://www.masonicheritage.org Henry W. Coil Library & Museum of Freemasonry]'''

Lisaruth: changed photo credits to Private Collection

2014-06-09T22:24:18Z

changed photo credits to Private Collection

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:24, 9 June 2014
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	'''Old City Hall, built over 25 years, occupied the area where the [[WEEDS \|New Main Library]] is today. It was destroyed in the 1906 earthquake and fire (see video below).'''		'''Old City Hall, built over 25 years, occupied the area where the [[WEEDS \|New Main Library]] is today. It was destroyed in the 1906 earthquake and fire (see video below).'''

	''Photo: ~~Greg Gaar~~ Collection, San Francisco, CA''		''Photo: Private Collection, San Francisco, CA''

	[[Image:Old city hall drawing ef1a2d766685f99e043c93a91200496f.jpg]]		[[Image:Old city hall drawing ef1a2d766685f99e043c93a91200496f.jpg]]
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	'''Old City Hall, destroyed in 1906 earthquake. After its collapse, it was discovered that it had been built very shoddily; many walls were full of sand.'''		'''Old City Hall, destroyed in 1906 earthquake. After its collapse, it was discovered that it had been built very shoddily; many walls were full of sand.'''

	''Photo: ~~Greg Gaar~~ Collection, San Francisco, CA''		''Photo: Private Collection, San Francisco, CA''

	<iframe src="http://archive.org/embed/SanFranc1906_6" width="640" height="480" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="true" mozallowfullscreen="true" allowfullscreen></iframe>		<iframe src="http://archive.org/embed/SanFranc1906_6" width="640" height="480" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="true" mozallowfullscreen="true" allowfullscreen></iframe>