San Francisco Museum and Historical Society

The San Francisco Historical Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation, interpretation, and presentation of the history of San Francisco and the surrounding Bay Area.[1] It is the official historical museum of San Francisco.[2]

The SFMHS conducts walking tours of San Francisco and holds monthly programs, tours, and special events.[3]

History

The San Francisco Historical Society was originally founded in 1988 by historian Charles A. Fracchia.[4] It is a membership-based organization focused on programs and publications,[5] and owns the Barbary Coast Trail walking tour. From 2002 until 2019, it was called the San Francisco Museum and Historical Society, created from the merger of two organizations.[6]

The Museum of the City of San Francisco was founded in 1991 by the late Gladys Hansen, former city archivist of San Francisco. It had a small exhibit space at The Cannery (a former Del Monte fruit-canning plant that is now a shopping center) until 2000, when it lost its lease.[7] It then had temporary exhibits at Pier 45 (near Fisherman's Wharf) and at San Francisco City Hall.[8]

The two organizations merged in February 2002.[9] One of the purposes of the merger was so that they could put together one proposal to renovate and operate the Old Mint as a history museum.[10] However, the Museum of the City of San Francisco's original web site, operated directly by Gladys Hansen, remained independent, and in 2003 renamed itself as the Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco.[11] Hansen's personal research collection of artifacts from the 1906 San Francisco earthquake also remained in her possession.[12]

The San Francisco Museum and Historical Society took over management of the Old San Francisco Mint in 2004, with plans to make it the museum's permanent home. The City of San Francisco proclaimed SFMHS as the official historical museum of San Francisco. [13] The organization spent about US$14 million to stabilize and partially renovate the building. However, the building still needed about US$60 million in additional work, and the City of San Francisco concluded the organization was not making progress quickly enough after 11 years of work, so it ordered the SFMHS to vacate the building in 2015.[14][15]

In 2019 the organization returned to its original name, The San Francisco Historical Society, which still has the mission to preserve, interpret, and present San Francisco history. SFHS remains active in the community and today has just under 2,000 members.

References
  1. "About the Society". San Francisco Museum and Historical Society. Retrieved February 23, 2014.
  2. "Resolution recognizing and supporting the San Francisco Museum and Historical Society as the official historical museum of the City and County of San Francisco (Resolution Number 145-02)" (PDF). San Francisco Board of Supervisors. January 29, 2002. Retrieved February 23, 2014.
  3. "About the Encyclopedia". Encyclopedia of San Francisco. San Francisco Museum and Historical Society. Retrieved February 24, 2014.
  4. "Charles A. Fracchia". San Francisco Museum and Historical Society. Archived from the original on March 2, 2014. Retrieved February 24, 2014.
  5. "Minutes of the September 12, 2002 meeting". Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees of the Fine Art Museums of San Francisco. September 12, 2002. Retrieved February 23, 2014. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  6. Nolte, Carl (June 30, 1999). "S.F. Trails Cross Paths: Supervisors are told two walks are one too many". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved February 23, 2014.
  7. Rubenstein, Steve (February 17, 2000). "S.F. Museum Packs It Up At Cannery". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved February 23, 2014.
  8. Epstein, Edward (June 2, 2003). "Dreaming of a city museum: An exhibit of S.F. history may find a home in the Old Mint". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved February 23, 2014.
  9. "Minutes of the November 14, 2002 Meeting". San Francisco Museum and Historical Society Advisory Committee. November 14, 2002. Archived from the original on January 31, 2009. Retrieved February 23, 2014. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  10. Martinfield, Seán (November 21, 2007). "The Old Mint – Breathing New Life Into "The Granite Lady"". San Francisco Sentinel. Retrieved February 23, 2014.
  11. "About the Museum". Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco. Archived from the original on August 23, 2003.
  12. "Minutes of the January 29, 2003 Meeting". San Francisco Museum and Historical Society Advisory Committee. January 29, 2003. Archived from the original on January 31, 2009. Retrieved February 23, 2014. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  13. "Our Plan". San Francisco Museum at the Mint. San Francisco Museum and Historical Society. Archived from the original on February 21, 2015.
  14. Nolte, Carl (March 21, 2015). "End of the line for S.F. group trying to restore the Old Mint". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
  15. Johnson, Lizzie (1 April 2016). "Category:Failed museum proposals in the United States". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
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