St. Francis Square Cooperative, Inc. collection, 1957-2015

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Summary

Title:
St. Francis Square Cooperative, Inc. collection
Dates:
1957-2015
Creators:
St. Francis Square Cooperative Inc.
Abstract:
Cooperative records and publications that were distributed to shareholders by the board of directors, manager, and committees, together with additional articles, clippings, and other materials collected by shareholder, archivist and donor Carol CuƩnod.
Extent:
5 cartons (5 cubic feet)
Language:
Collection materials are in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], St. Francis Square Cooperative, Inc. Collection (SFH 62), San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library.

Background

Scope and content:

Cooperative records and publications that were distributed to shareholders by the board of directors, manager, and committees, together with additional articles, clippings, and other materials collected by shareholder, archivist, and donor Carol CuƩnod. Cooperative records include bylaws, minutes, financial reports, and committee records. Publications include a nearly-complete run of the St. Francis Square Cooperative's official publication Circling the Square (1966-2014), issues of the Friday Flyer (1983-2005, 2007, 2009-2010, and 2012-2013), and a member distributed flyer called The St. Francis Flyer (1964-1965), which covers events related to a recall of the board of directors. Except for the run of the official newsletter, Circling the Square, most of the folders in this series hold broken runs, i.e. a collection of similar documents, such as meeting minutes or reports, with some issues missing.

Materials received in 2021 included Circling the Square newsletter artwork and photographs, 1981-1999. Included is an index of photos published in the twentieth anniversary booklet as well as in newsletters published from 1983 to February 1996. There is also documentation of the fiftieth anniversary exhibition held at the San Francisco Public Library.

Of particular interest are background materials on the formation, construction, and development of the cooperative These include records relating to the Western Addition Redevelopment Project in 1964, which resulted in land being set aside for the development of the cooperative; and records concerning the Cooperative's original loan agreement with the Federal Housing Administration (later named the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD). Records detailing the Cooperative's transition to a market-rate cooperative leading up to and following its repayment of their HUD mortgage in 2004 are also included.

Biographical / historical:

St. Francis Square Cooperative, Inc. is a moderate-income housing development completed in 1963 as part of San Francisco's Western Addition Redevelopment A-1 Program. The A-1 Redevelopment Program, which was funded by the Federal Housing Administration, began in the mid-1950s with families and businesses being removed by eminet domain and properties being bulldozed. The first action in the heart of the demolition area was to widen Geary Street to an eight lane expressway to move traffic through the Fillmore into the Richmond District, with tunnels under Fillmore St. and Presidio/Masonic. The dislocated families and businesses were scattered with no foreseeable ability to return, for the cleared land lay fallow for several years.

As part of this program, three blocks were set aside for garden apartments that eventually became the St. Francis Square Cooperative. Construction of the co-op was sponsored by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU)/Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) Pension Fund. The idea for the co-op was conceived and developed by Louis Goldblatt, who was the ILWU International Secretary-Treasurer at the time. The principal business of the Pacific Maritime Association is to negotiate and administer maritime labor agreements in conjunction with the ILWU. In the 1950s, they negotiated a pension plan supervised by trustees from the ILWU and the PMA.

The ILWU-PMA Pension Fund trustees created a separate corporate entity for purposes of efficient supervision over the building of St. Francis Square. It became the official sponsor of the project, with William Glazier as the first president and Louis Goldblatt the second. The entity, called the ILWU Longshoremen Redevelopment Corporation, put together proposals to the ILWU-PMA in May of 1960 and the Western Addition Redevelopment Project in June of 1960. Hal Dunleavy and Associates served as the coordinator for this project.

Construction was financed under Section 221 (d) (3) of the U.S. Housing Code, which provided a 40-year mortgage at the subsidized rate of 3-1/8% and operated under a Regulatory Agreement of the Federal Housing Administration (FHA later changed to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)). Construction began in 1962 and was complete in 1963. The cooperative consists of 299 apartments in twelve three-story buildings, oriented around shared landscaped courtyards. Marquis & Stoller were the architects and Lawrence Halprin & Associates were landscape consultants.

Ownership in the cooperative is achieved by purchasing a share of the Corporation from the seller, which, after signing an occupancy agreement, entitles the new shareholder(s) to occupy an apartment. Residents are sometimes referred to as "cooperators," and residents abbreviate the development as "SFSQ." Each year, St. Francis Square Cooperative Inc. elects a board of directors, which is responsible for staffing and operations. The board holds open meetings each month and distributes its minutes to all shareholders. The board also appoints many committees to help carry out the co-op's financial, social, and special activities. Communication to members from the board, committees and management is by a weekly newsletter and flyers distributed to all members.

Sources: CuƩnod, C. "Redevelopment A-1 and Origin of St. Francis Square" (http://foundsf.org/index.php?title=Redevelopment_A-1_and_Origin_of_St._Francis_Square), retrieved from Shaping San Francisco website on 14 March 2012.

"Western Addition A-1" (http://www.sfredevelopment.org/index.aspx?page=64), retrieved from San Francisco Redevelopment website on 14 March 2012.

Acquisition information:

Donated by Carol CuƩnod on Feb. 11, 2010. This collection represents these distributed papers which several shareholders have donated. They were collected by the following members:

Miriam Rothschild Shareholder from 1963-2000 (deceased) Jean Littlejohn Shareholder from 1963-2008 (deceased) Norman Young Shareholder from 1963-current Howard "Duke" Rideaux Shareholder from 1963-current Carol CuƩnod Shareholder from 1963-2015 (deceased) Yayoi Tsukahara Shareholder from 1963-2013 (deceased)

In addition, selected documents as well as newspaper clippings were copied from the Anne Rand Memorial Library at the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) International Headquarters.

In 2021, Rita Alderucci donated additional materials that had been maintained by her mother, Carol CuƩnod.

Additional newsletters and board minutes were donated by John Tsukahara in 2016.

Processing information:

Carol CuƩnod completed the processing of this collection in 2010. Tami J. Suzuki processed additional materials in 2021 and 2022.

Arrangement:

This collection is arranged into seven series; Series 1: Founding Documents; Series 2: Administration and Finance; Series 3: Committees; Series 4: Transition to Market-Rate Cooperative; Series 5: Members; Series 6: Communications, News Articles and Publications; and Series 7: Awards and Studies.

Board minutes, originally found in St. Francis Square Cooperative Inc.'s Friday Flyer, have been removed and placed in Series 2.

Physical location:
Open for research. The collection is offsite and advance notice is required for retrieval. Material must be requested at least 4 business days in advance of visit.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Finding aid prepared by Carol CuƩnod, with editing and encoding by Melissa Stone in 2012 and Tami J. Suzuki in 2021 and 2022.
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace, 2021-07-22

Access and use

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research and available for use during San Francisco History Center hours. Photographs are available during Photo Desk hours. This collection must be requested at least 4 business days in advance of visit.

Terms of access:

All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the City Archivist. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the San Francisco Public Library as the owner of the physical items.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], St. Francis Square Cooperative, Inc. Collection (SFH 62), San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library.

Location of this collection:
San Francisco Public Library
100 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA 94102, US
Contact:
(415) 557-4567
sfhistory@sfpl.org
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