By Richard Ivanhoe, HANC President
For HANC’s July 9 meeting, we’re inviting you on a treasure hunt. No, we’re not providing a treasure for you to search for. Instead, we want you to help us identify historic treasures within HANC’s borders (Arguello to Divisadero / Castro and Fulton to 17th Street).
Here’s some background: SF Planning recently adopted “SF Survey Findings for the Haight Street, Cole Valley, and Divisadero Street Neighborhood Commercial Districts.” It can be downloaded from this website: https://sfplanning.org/project/sf-survey-citywide-cultural-resources-survey#survey-findings. In July, 2024, Planning adopted the “Citywide Historic Context Statement for Counterculture (1965-1975),” which can be downloaded at https://sfplanning.org/project/sf-histories-historic-context-statements#completed. Both of these are important documents, and we want to build on this work. The Survey is focused on Haight Street, from Central to Shrader. The Context Statement for Counterculture identifies many specific locations, but the locations have not been indexed within the document, and the Haight Ashbury has history both before and after the 1965-1975 time period. We want to identify historic resources in the last block of Haight Street (between Shrader and Stanyan) and we want our neighbors to help us identify historic treasures in the residential areas within HANC’s borders.
What is a historic treasure? Criteria for a San Francisco landmark include any of the following: Properties significant for their association with historic events, including the city’s social and cultural history; Properties significant for their association with a person or group important to the history of the city, state, or country; Properties significant for their architecture or design; Properties that are valued as visual landmarks, or that have special character or meaning to the city and its residents; Collections of properties or features that are linked by history, plan, aesthetics, or physical development. Criteria for the California Register of Historical Resources and for the National Register of Historic Places are similar.
Most importantly, and what we want to find out from you, is what do you consider a neighborhood historic treasure? You can research your own residence (or any other San Francisco address) at the Property Information Map (https://sfplanninggis.org/PIM/).
Please join us on Thursday, July 9 at 7 pm at the Park Branch Library or online to share stories and histories and to learn more about our neighborhood history. Bring your friends and neighbors. Information about how to join the meeting is in the accompanying article.