San Francisco Historical Society

Mission

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.

Featured Fun

For San Francisco History Days 2020, the San Francisco Historical Society presents a curated selection from their Online History Adventures portal and two self-guided walks that begin at their museum, located at 608 Commercial Street, and take you through Chinatown and The Barbara Coast.

Video 1. Arnold Genthe

This video by local historian Gloria Lenhart features the life and work of early San Francisco photographer Arnold Genthe. Genthe is most  famous for his photographs of Chinatown before 1906 and his photos of San Francisco in the aftermath of the 1906 earthquake and fire.

Genthe explored the shops, streets, and alleys of Chinatown when the neighborhood was just six blocks long by three blocks wide and home to more than 15,000 people; when gambling houses, shooting galleries, and opium dens existed alongside vegetable stands, small shops, and apartment buildings. Genthe’s portraits of the people of Chinatown provide a rare glimpse of everyday life in one of San Francisco’s oldest neighborhoods.

Video 2. Sutro’s Glass Palace

Local historian John Martini takes viewers on a virtual tour through Adolph Sutro’s glass palace–San Francisco’s gargantuan, improbable, one-of-a-kind amusement park and play land, built on the city’s western edge at Ocean Beach. You’ll visit the swimming pools of Sutro’s Baths, the ice-skating rink and museum, and the creaky little gondola that once offered aerial views of the crashing waves.

Video 3. Sunken Ships, Hidden Treasure

In this presentation, tour guide Thom Jackson takes us back in time to visit the “instant City” that sprung up on the shore of Yerba Buena Cove after the discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill. We’ll take a virtual stroll through the infamous Barbary Coast; visit the Long Wharf (which began at foot of Commercial Street); and find out where the ghostly remains of Gold Rush ships are buried beneath the modern Financial District.

Friday, September 25, 2020 at 1:00PM – (Virtual) Beaux-Arts Style in San Francisco 

Saturday, September 26, 2020 and Sunday, September 27, 2020 All Day – (In-Person) Self-Guided Walking Tour of Chinatown with the San Francisco Historical Society

This “Secrets of Chinatown” walking tour, developed by tour guide Gloria Lenhart, begins at the San Francisco Historical Society Museum in the heart of San Francisco’s historic urban core.  Download the City Explorer San Francisco mobile app onto a mobile device by scanning the QR code on the front gates of the museum at 608 Commercial Street, site of San Francisco’s first mint.

Then the walking tour leads you on a journey of discovery through Chinatown, one of San Francisco’s oldest neighborhoods. There are 15 stops along the route. Portsmouth Square (where the Goddess of Democracy lives), Wentworth Place, the Chinese Telephone Company, Tin How Temple, and St. Mary’s Square are just a few of the places you’ll visit on the tour. Historic photos of Chinatown in the 1890s and early 1900s by noted photographer Arnold Genthe accompany the tour. The app provides background information about many of the stops.

Quizzes, a map of the route, and street views of each stop via Google earth make this journey one you shouldn’t miss. It’s free, it’s fun, and you can enjoy the tour from the comfort of your armchair.

This event is free and no pre-registration is required. 

Saturday, September 26, 2020 and Sunday, September 27, 2020 All Day – (In-Person) Self-Guided Walking Tour of The Barbary Coast with the San Francisco Historical Society

This “Bohemians, Beats and the Barbary Coast” walking tour, developed by tour guide Gloria Lenhart, begins at the San Francisco Historical Society Museum in the heart of San Francisco’s historic urban core. Download the City Explorer San Francisco mobile app onto a mobile device by scanning the QR code on the front gates of the museum at 608 Commercial Street, site of San Francisco’s first mint.

There are 10 stops along the route. You’ll visit the Montgomery Block, the Belli Building, the Columbus Tower, and City Lights bookstore.  You’ll visit the Canessa Printing building, once home to the Black Cat Café, a gathering place for bohemian artists and one of the city’s first gay nightclubs.

Quizzes, audio recordings, a map of the route and street views of each stop via Google earth make this journey one you shouldn’t miss.  It’s free, it’s fun, and you can enjoy the tour from the comfort of your armchair.

This event is free and no pre-registration is required.