San Francisco History Days 2020 Participants

Here, you’ll find a full list of all participating exhibitors, speakers, sponsors, and tour guides who took part in San Francisco History Days 2020 on September 25-27, 2020. Clicking on individual participants takes you to their exhibitor page with featured fun as well as recordings from the weekend.

Find the full lineup of events for September 25-27, 2020 on our 2020 Programs page and be sure to visit our Authors + Artists page as well.

10th Cavalry Buffalo Soldiers 

Exhibitor

The 10th Cavalry, Company G of Northern California is a Buffalo Soldier living history nonprofit organization established in Sacramento in 1992. They work to foster patriotism, courage, and self-reliance in our youth. Specifically they re-create a Buffalo Soldier company during the years from 1866 to 1891 concentrated on the year 1874. They travel to Northern California schools, organizations, and will travel any place for events that help them tell the real story of the Buffalo Soldiers.

American Bookbinders Museum

Exhibitor

The American Bookbinders Museum tells the story of the book. We present the art and craft of western bookbinding from a hand process through 19th century mechanization, by preserving the tools, equipment and practices of bookbinding.

Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation

Exhibitor

Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation (AIISF) raises awareness of the experience of Immigration into America through the Pacific. AIISF collects and preserves the rich stories and personal journeys of thousands of immigrants, and shares them with visitors and everyone living in America through education initiatives and public programs.

The Arion Press, M&H Type, The Grabhorn Institute

Tour Guide

The Grabhorn Institute is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization committed to preserving and perpetuating the use of the last integrated type foundry, bookbinding, and letterpress printing facility in the United States as a living museum and educational center.

Berkeley Environmental Design Archives

Exhibitor

The Environmental Design Archives (EDA) is a non-profit research facility within the College of Environmental Design at the University of California, Berkeley committed to raising awareness of the architectural, landscape, and design heritage of Northern California and beyond, through collecting, preserving, and providing access to primary records of the built and designed environment.

Bikes to Books

Tour Guide

Bikes to Books was created in 2013 as an homage to the 1988 street-naming project spearheaded by City Lights Books founder and former San Francisco Poet Laureate, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, in which 12 San Francisco streets were renamed for famous artists and authors who’d once made San Francisco their home.  Our signature 7.1 mile bicycle tour of literary San Francisco combines San Francisco history, art, literature, cycling, and urban exploration—a diverting and unique way to celebrate the literary and adventurous spirit of San Francisco.

Black X Film Festival

Partner

The Black X Film Festival is a three-day online film festival (September 25-27, 2020) started by a collective of Black artists and allies to showcase Black creators. Through providing this free event of music and film, we showcase the radical multifaceted expressions of the Black experience by centering Black resilience and a commitment to anti-racism.​ As a partner of San Francisco History Days 2020, the are sharing a curated selection of films.

California Academy of Sciences

Exhibitor / Speaker

The mission of the California Academy of Sciences is to explore, explain, and sustain life.

California Historical Society

Sponsor / Host Committee

Founded in 1871, the California Historical Society is a nonprofit organization with a mission to inspire and empower people to make California’s richly diverse past a meaningful part of their contemporary lives.

Chinese Historical Society of America

Exhibitor

The Chinese Historical Society of America Museum is the oldest organization in the country dedicated to the interpretation, promotion, and preservation of the social, cultural and political history and contributions of the Chinese in America.

Colma Historical Association

Exhibitor

Founded to collect, preserve, and display documents and artifacts and disseminate information relating to the history of the Town of Colma.

Daly City History Guild Museum & Archive

Exhibitor

The purpose of the History Guild is to serve the community by maintaining the Colma and Daly City History Museum and preserving, displaying and sharing the history of Daly City.

The Emperor Norton Trust

Exhibitor

The Emperor Norton Trust is a nonprofit, founded in 2013, that works on a variety of fronts — research, education, advocacy — to honor the life and advance the legacy of Joshua Abraham Norton (1818–1880).

Freedom Archives

Exhibitor

The Freedom Archives is a non-profit educational archive located in San Francisco dedicated to the preservation and dissemination of historical audio, video and print materials documenting progressive movements and culture from the 1960s to the 1990s. Offering a youth development program focused on engagement with these historical materials and providing media production training, we also produce original documentaries and educational resources for use by schools and organizations as tools for community building and social justice work.

Friends of Civil War Alcatraz

Exhibitor / Speaker / Tour Guide

A group of historians interested in Civil War History, in particular the role of San Francisco in the Civil War Experience (circa 1861-1865), working in partnership with the National Park Service on Alcatraz Island and Fort Point. They provide educational, interpretive, conservation, research, planning, and park improvement projects.

Friends of the Geneva Car Barn & Powerhouse

Exhibitor

Since 2002, the non-profit Friends of the Geneva Car Barn and Powerhouse has been a dogged advocate for the historic landmark and its future use as a community center.

Girl Scouts of Northern California

Exhibitor

Girl Scouts make the world a better place by building girls of courage, confidence and character.  It’s our mission to provide you with fun, social, and unique opportunities so that you can do Girl Scouts the way you want. Along the way, you’ll see just how awesome you are at being yourself, being a leader, and making the world a better place!

Glen Park Neighborhoods History Project

Exhibitor / Speaker / Host Committee

The San Francisco neighborhoods of Glen Park, Glen Canyon, Sunnyside, Fairmount Heights, and Diamond Heights, located immediately south of Twin Peaks in San Francisco, have rich and diverse histories at risk of being forgotten with the passage of time and generations. The Glen Park Neighborhoods History Project works to rediscover our forgotten histories, document our living histories, and to share our histories with others to help preserve these histories for this and future generations.

Golden Gate National Recreation Area

Exhibitor

The mission of Golden Gate National Recreation Area is to preserve and enhance the natural, historic and scenic resources of the lands north and south of the Golden Gate for the education, recreation and inspiration of people today and in the future.

Guardians of the City

Exhibitor

Guardians of the City preserves and shares the history of San Francisco’s First Responders: the SF Fire Dept, SF Police Dept, SF Sheriff’s Dept, and Emergency Medical Services.

Heyday Books

Sponsor

Heyday is an independent, nonprofit publisher founded in 1974 in Berkeley, California. We are a diverse community of writers and readers, activists and thinkers. Heyday promotes civic engagement and social justice, celebrates nature’s beauty, supports California Indian cultural renewal, and explores the state’s rich history, culture, and influence. Heyday works to realize the California dream of equity and enfranchisement.

Home Movie Day Bay Area

Exhibitor / Speaker

Home Movie Bay Area is a group of volunteer moving image archivists based in the Bay Area who are dedicated to the celebration and preservation of home movies. They organize screenings throughout the year with an open invitation to bring in and share with the community your home movie memories. We take special care to inspect your films and videos before projection and can offer conservation advice.

The Institute for Historical Study

Sponsor

Is history a passion for you? Are you researching, writing, making a film, giving talks? If so, please consider joining the Institute for Historical Study—a community of independent writers, researchers, historians, archivists, videographers, and artists pursuing history-related endeavors. Through a wide range of ongoing programs, we share knowledge, ideas, and practical advice and also sponsor public events. Join us!

JFCS Holocaust Center

Exhibitor

The JCSF Holocaust Center is dedicated to the remembrance, research, documentation and education about the Holocaust. As Northern California’s primary resource for education about the Holocaust and genocide, our work increases awareness about Jewish history and the causes and consequences of antisemitism, racism, and discrimination. Through a deeper understanding of the Holocaust and patterns of genocide, our goal is to inspire moral courage and social responsibility in future generations.

LaborFest

Speaker

LaborFest is a month-long festival commemorating the 1934 San Francisco general strike with art, music, walks and educational event. They also host a simultaneous international labor film festival.

The Living New Deal

Exhibitor / Speaker

The Living New Deal aims to inventory, map, and publicize the achievements of the New Deal and its public works across all fifty states.

Marines’ Memorial Foundation

Participating Location / Tour Guide

Established in San Francisco in 1946, the mission of Marines’ Memorial is to honor the legacy of Military service through its Living Memorial and programs that Educate, Commemorate and Serve Veterans of all Branches of the US Military, their families and the community at large.

Mechanics’ Institute

Exhibitor / Speaker / Sponsor / Host Committee Member

The Mechanics’ Institute is a cultural center that includes a vibrant library, a world-renowned chess program and a full calendar of engaging events. Founded in 1854 to serve the educational and social needs of mechanics — artisans, craftsmen, and inventors — the Institute today is a favorite of avid readers, writers, downtown employees, chess players, and the 21st-century nomadic worker.

Museum of African Diaspora

Sponsor

MoAD, a contemporary art museum, celebrates Black cultures, ignites challenging conversations, and inspires learning through the global lens of the African Diaspora.

Museo Italo Americano 

Exhibitor

The mission of the Museo Italo Americano is twofold: to research, collect, and display works of Italian and Italian-American artists, and to promote educational programs for the appreciation of Italian art and culture, thereby preserving the heritage of Italian-Americans for future generations.

Museum of Craft and Design

Exhibitor

The Museum of Craft and Design (MCD) makes creativity accessible to everyone. Through inspired exhibitions and experiential programs, MCD explores the creative process and current perspectives in craft and design.

Museum of Performance + Design

Exhibitor

The mission of the Museum of Performance + Design is to keep the unfolding history of the performing arts in the San Francisco Bay Area alive. We collect, preserve, and make accessible materials on performance and theater design to support learning, appreciation, and creativity within a world-wide community of artists, researchers, and the general public.

Native Sons of the Golden West, Charitable Foundation

Exhibitor

The Native Sons of the Golden West Charitable Foundation is a non-profit corporation dedicated to helping children who are born with a cleft palate or a craniofacial birth defects.

Neighborhood Newspapers of San Francisco

Exhibitor / Host Committee

The Neighborhood Newspapers of San Francisco collection has been created by the San Francisco Department of Memory, community history groups in San Francisco who have come together to promote more collaboration around local history; to influence the discourse of local history; to amplify work done by local historians that is often isolated work; and to share resources around local history gathering and dissemination.

New Mission Terrace Improvement Association

Exhibitor

New Mission Terrace Improvement Association (NMTIA) is a volunteer-led organization dedicated to advocating for residents of Mission Terrace. Members work to create and sustain a sense of community by sponsoring social events and volunteer opportunities which support the health and safety of our neighbors and neighborhood.

Oral History Center of the Bancroft Library, UC Berkeley

Exhibitor / Speaker

The Oral History Center (OHC) is a research unit of the Bancroft Library at UC Berkeley. Established in 1953, the OHC has been responsible for compiling one of the largest and most widely-used oral history collections in the country. Many of California’s high-profile citizens, from governors to artists and industrialists, have been interviewed by our office — work the office now conducts nationwide. The OHC is a soft money operation, funded by endowments and donations.

Pardee Historic Home Museum

Exhibitor

Oakland’s Pardee Home Museum is one of California’s architectural and historical treasures. From the outside, the beauty of the house and gardens is striking enough—and once you get inside, you’ll be astonished by the unique interiors and artifacts from around the world. Be prepared to discover its outstanding historical importance as the home of one of the East Bay’s most influential families.

Planet Drum Foundation

Exhibitor / Participating Location

The Planet Drum Foundation seeks to promote or encourage ecologically sustainable living founded on an understanding of one’s bioregion (life-place), a geographic area of interconnected natural systems and their characteristics. Planet Drum’s bioregional approach includes both the ecological and human-cultural aspects of a place in determining appropriate actions for a sustainable future.

Potrero Hill Archives Project 

Tour Guide

The Potrero Hill Archives Project began in 1986 collecting oral histories of long-time residents, historic photos and really anything connected to Potrero Hill history. They hold a History Night each fall, lead walking tours, and have written two Arcadia books on Hill history.

Presidio Historical Association 

Exhibitor / Speaker

Their mission is to promote understanding and preservation of the history of the Presidio of San Francisco as reflected in its stories, structures, sites and people.

Presidio Trust 

Exhibitor / Speaker

In partnership with the National Park Service and the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, and at no cost to taxpayers, the Presidio Trust brings alive the unique historic, natural, and recreational assets of the Presidio for the inspiration, education, health, and enjoyment of all people.

San Bruno Mountain Watch

Exhibitor

San Bruno Mountain Watch provides opportunities for the public to take care of and learn about San Bruno Mountain.

San Francisco Bay Area Jewish Genealogical Society

Exhibitor

The San Francisco Bay Area Jewish Genealogical Society (SFBAJGS) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the development, preservation, and distribution of Jewish genealogical knowledge and materials, and the sharing of techniques and tools, with others who may be researching their Jewish roots.

San Francisco City Guides

San Francisco Civil War Round Table

Exhibitor

The mission of the San Francisco Civil War Round Table is to promote a positive learning environment for those interested in learning about the Civil War.

San Francisco Ghost Sign Mapping Project

Exhibitor / Tour Guide

The San Francisco Ghost Sign Mapping Project aims to identify, document, research, map, and track the status of San Francisco’s remaining hand painted advertising signage.

San Francisco Heritage

Exhibitor / Speaker / Tour Guide / Host Committee

Since 1971, San Francisco Heritage has been leading the civic discussion about the compatibility of rapid change with protecting our past. Heritage is a membership organization with a mission to preserve and enhance San Francisco’s unique architectural and cultural identity. This includes advocacy for historic resources, education programs, and tours and rental of the 1886 Haas-Lilienthal House.

San Francisco Historical Society

Exhibitor / Tour Guide / Host Committee

The San Francisco Historical Society’s mission is to preserve, interpret, present, and disseminate historical data, information, and knowledge relating to the City and County of San Francisco so as to enhance the experience of living in or visiting San Francisco.

San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park

Exhibitor / Tour Guide

Through preservation and interpretation of historic ships, extensive museum collections, traditional maritime skills, and its San Francisco Bay setting, San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park brings America’s maritime legacy to life and promotes the understanding and enjoyment of the nation’s West Coast maritime heritage.

SFMTA Photo Archive

Tour Guide

The SFMTA Photo Department and Archive is both a working photography lab and an archives housing a collection of historic images taken by San Francisco transit photographers dating back to 1903.

San Francisco Neon

Partner / Tour Guide

San Francisco Neon advocates for preserving historic neon signs with tours, talks, exhibits, consultations, and events including Neon Speaks is an annual festival and symposium on neon restoration. The mission of San Francisco Neon and Neon Speaks is to educate and advocate for the artistic legacy of historic neon signs: an enduring archive of design, craft, community , and city history.

San Francisco Planning Department

Exhibitor

The mission of the San Francisco Planning Department, under the direction of the Planning Commission, shapes the future of San Francisco and the region by: generating an extraordinary vision for the General Plan and in neighborhood plans; fostering exemplary design through planning controls; improving our surroundings through environmental analysis; preserving our unique heritage; encouraging a broad range of housing and a diverse job base; and enforcing the Planning Code.

San Francisco Public Library

Exhibitor / Sponsor

The mission of the San Francisco History Center is to illuminate the founding, growth and development of the City by providing primary and secondary resources. Located on the 6th floor of the Main Library, the Center serves all library users and levels of interest, from the merely curious to those engaging in scholarly research. Because of the Center’s archival function, it also administers the collections of the Hormel LGBTQIA Center.

St. Mary’s Park Improvement Club

Exhibitor

St. Mary’s Park Improvement Club is a residential neighborhood organization. It was organized in 1941 to preserve St. Mary’s Park heritage. Its purpose is to promote public improvements, maintenance and safety in St. Mary’s Park, and to foster community spirit, for the benefit of present and future generations.

Shaping San Francisco

Tour Guide / Host Committee

Serving the City for 25 years, Shaping San Francisco is a participatory community history project documenting overlooked stories of San Francisco.  We define history as a creative act in the present, informing how we would like to live in the future. Our digital archive and historical walking and bicycle tours bring people together to learn how the City is shaped through the efforts of engaged citizens and from a perspective rooted in its overlooked and forgotten histories

Society of California Pioneers

Exhibitor / Speaker

Established in 1850, The Society of California Pioneers is dedicated to the study and enjoyment of California art, history, and culture. Founded by individuals arriving in California before 1850 and thriving under the leadership of several generations of their direct descendants, The Society has continuously served the academic community and the public. Today, as a nonprofit organization, it operates a research library and a museum, both housed in one of the iconic Montgomery Barracks Buildings on The Presidio of San Francisco.

SOMA Pilipinas, San Francisco Filipino Cultural District

Exhibitor / Speaker

CULTURAL CELEBRATION : To increase the visibility and celebrate the contributions of the Filipino community in SOMA, San Francisco, California and the Diaspora; to sustain our legacy cultural institutions and events; and to develop our cultural arts, assets, and, place-making.

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT : To prevent the displacement of Filipino residents, protect our historic and cultural assets, help develop and sustain our legacy institutions and support our anchor community organizations while improving the living conditions of the whole community.

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL JUSTICE : To develop initiatives for the Filipino community to thrive, and to support our community’s struggle for dignity, equity and rightful recognition.

Tenderloin Museum

Partner / Tour Guide

The mission of the Tenderloin Museum is to promote the history and character of the Tenderloin neighborhood by offering education, artistic and charitable activities that support the neighborhood’s current vibrancy, future potential, & economic development.

Thinkwalks

Tour Guide

Encouraging public exploration of natural water and how the city came to be a city from a natural space.

Treasure Island Museum

Participating Location / Speaker / Tour Guide

The Treasure Island Museum’s mission is to preserve the island’s rich history and inform residents and visitors of the historical relevance to our world today. We also seek to invest in the island’s future through educational programs and community partnerships and inspire a new generation with the Bay Area’s spirit of ingenuity embodied by Treasure Island.

United Irish Cultural Center

Exhibitor / Speaker / Host Committee

The UICC promotes Irish history and culture in San Francisco. It is a center for All Things Irish in SF.

Victorian Alliance of San Francisco

Exhibitor

The Victorian Alliance is a not-for-profit organization committed to the preservation and restoration of Victorian and other historic structures, particularly within the city of San Francisco.  Our mission is to support the restoration and preservation of historic buildings, landscapes, and artifacts through advocacy and education.

Walking San Francisco, 49 Mile Scenic Drive

Tour Guide

The goal of Walking San Francisco is to introduce a new generation to SF’s historic 49 Mile Scenic Drive by turning it into a green, healthy WALKING adventure and telling the SF history all along the route.

Western Neighborhoods Project

Exhibitor / Speaker / Host Committee

Western Neighborhoods Project (WNP) was founded in 1999 to preserve and share the history and culture of San Francisco’s western districts. Through walks, talks, videos, podcasts, public events, community involvement, and an extensive web site, WNP tells the story of the Richmond, Sunset, Ingleside, and West of Twin Peaks neighborhoods. Since 2015, they also manage an auxiliary program called OpenSFHistory that preserves, digitizes, and makes available to the public online a large archive of historical San Francisco images from that span 1850s to the 1990s.