Finding Aid to the St. Francis Square Cooperative, Inc. collection,
1957-2015,
SFH 62
Finding aid prepared by Carol Cuénod, with editing and encoding by Melissa Stone in 2012 and Tami J. Suzuki in 2021 and 2022.
San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library
100 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA, 94102
(415) 557-4567
info@sfpl.org
Dec. 15, 2022
Title: St. Francis Square Cooperative, Inc. collection
Date (inclusive): 1957-2015
Collection Identifier: SFH 62
Creator:
St. Francis Square Cooperative Inc.
Physical Description:
5 cartons
(5 cubic feet)
Contributing Institution:
San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library
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 Cuénod.
Physical Location: The collection is stored onsite.
Language of Materials: Collection materials are in
English.
Access
The collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
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.
Provenance
Donated by Carol Cuénod 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 Cuénod
- 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 Cuénod.
Additional newsletters and board minutes were donated by John Tsukahara in 2016.
Related Materials
There are approximately 1.5 cubic feet of records held at the ILWU Archives at the Anne Rand Research Library that document
the initial proposal; the process before the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency, which approved and awarded the proposal of
the ILWU-PMA Pension Fund; and ongoing documents and correspondence from the construction, sales period and early years of
St. Francis Square Cooperative.
Processing Information:
Carol Cuénod completed the processing of this collection in 2010. Tami J. Suzuki processed additional materials in 2021 and
2022.
Administrative History
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: Cuénod, 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.
Scope and Contents
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 Cuénod.
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.
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.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
St. Francis Square Cooperative Inc. -- Archives.
Housing, Cooperative.
Housing Development--California--San Francisco.
International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union -- History.
Japantown (San Francisco, Calif.)--History.
Pacific Maritime Association.
Redevelopment, Urban--San Francisco.
St. Francis Square Cooperative.
Urban renewal--California--San Francisco.
Western Addition (San Francisco, Calif.)--History.
Series 1
Founding Documents,
1957-1979
Physical Description:
10 folders
Scope and Contents
In this series will be found the original proposal to the ILWU-PMA Trustees and to the Redevelopment Agency, minutes of Agency's
meeting when the proposal was presented, and documents of its acceptance. A 1964 report summarizing the work of the St. Francis
Square sales office by Ruth Maguire, sales director, is a compilation of demographic statistics with sociological data, the
sum of which fulfilled the sponsor's objective "to build an interracial community for families of moderate income." The original
Articles of Incorporation from 1963 were given to each shareholder and contain the regulations under which St. Francis Square
operated during its first 40 years. Several amendments were made; some, but not all have been included. Here also is the ILWU-PMA
Longshore Redevelopment Corporation document for "Relocation in Redevelopment Area A-2," 1964 and the Agency's response to
it. Also included is the opposition to Redevelopment's plans for A-2 by Warehouse Union Local 6, ILWU and others.
Box 1, Folder 1
J. Paul St. Sure Oral History
1957
General Note
For information relating to St. Francis Square Cooperative Inc., see pages 639-642. These pages are an excerpt from the oral
history about Louis Goldblatt, who was the second president of the International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union(ILWU)'s
Longshoremen Redevelopment Corporation.
Box 1, Folder 1
Louis Goldblatt Oral History
1979
General Note
For information relating to St. Francis Square Cooperative Inc., see pages 790-801.
Box 1, Folder 2
ILWU Proposals for Western Addition Affordable Housing: to ILWU-PMA Trustees, Western Addition Redevelopment Project, including
minutes, ownership documents,
1960-1967
Box 1, Folder 3
Construction Phase, Land Price Negotiations, Financial Accounting of Project,
1961-1963
Box 1, Folder 4
Naming the Sidewalks within SFSQ,
1963 and 1967
Box 1, Folder 5
Report Summarizing Sales of All Apartments/Shares by Ruth Maguire,
1963
Box 1, Folder 6
Louis Goldblatt's Speech when SFSQ Became an Independent, Incorporated Cooperative,
1964
Box 1, Folder 7
Western Addition Redevelopment Relocation Reports A-1 & A-2,
1964
Western Addition Redevelopment A-2
Box 1, Folder 8
Western Addition Redevelopment A-2 ILWU Proposal for Relocation,
1964
Box 1, Folder 9
Western Addition Redevelopment A-2 Opposition to Redevelopment Agency's Relcoation Play by ILWU Local 6, SFSQ, NAACP,
1964
Box 1, Folder 10
Newspaper Articles on Redevelopment,
1960-1964
Series 2
Administration and Finance,
1963-2013
Physical Description:
45 folders
Scope and Contents
Articles of incorporation, bylaws, board of directors minutes of open board meetings, financial records and regulatory documents.
Includes a loose-leaf handbook compiled in 1989 and updated as needed, which gathers together the cooperative's history, a
list of policies voted by various boards of directors, and updates of governing documents. This handbook was used until 2004,
when St. Francis Square Cooperative Inc. repaid its mortgage to the HUD and became a market-rate cooperative. During arrangement
of this collection, the board minutes were removed from
The Friday Flyer,
a weekly publication from the administrative office of St. Francis Square Cooperative Inc., and placed in this series. Financial
records includes a run of annual reports and budgets. Other documents describe specific issues, such as excess income charges,
allocation of carrying charges, and a reserve study.
Box 1, Folder 11
Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws of St. Francis Square Apartments, Inc.,
1963
Box 1, Folders 12-13
Bylaw Amendments,
1987-2007
Box 1, Folder 14
St. Francis Square Cooperative Inc. Handbook,
1993
Box 1, Folder 15
Preparation for St. Francis Square Handbook,
1989-1993
Box 1, Folders 16-29
Board of Directors Minutes of Open Board Meetings,
1964-1991
Box 5, Folders 1-10
Board of Directors Minutes of Open Board Meetings,
1992-2012
Box 5, Folder 11
List of Board Members, 1964-2013
Box 5, Folders 12-13
Recall of Board of Directors,
1965 and 1973
Box 5, Folder 14
Special Membership Meetings,
1964 and 1998
Box 5, Folder 16
Rules and Regulations,
1966 and 1969 and 2007
Box 2, Folders 1-3
Annual Reports,
1968-2006 and 2008
Box 2, Folder 4
Annual Budgets
1979-1995 and 1999-2001
Box 2, Folder 5
Amortization Schedule of HUD-Insured Mortgage,
1964
Box 2, Folder 6
Finance: Tax Assessment Plan,
1965
Box 2, Folder 7
Excess Income Plan,
1963 and 1986
Box 2, Folder 8
Allocation of Carrying Charges-Square Footage vs Par Value,
1980 and 2007
Box 2, Folder 9
Replacement Reserve Study,
2004
Box 2, Folder 10
Forecasted Statement of Revenues,
2007
Box 2, Folder 11
Management/Administration,
1963 and 1964 and 1979-1990 and 2003
Box 2, Folder 12
Management: Building and Grounds Maintenance and Repair
1979-1997
Box 4, Folder 35
California Association of Housing Cooperatives,
2001-2004
Series 3
Committees,
1964-2014
Physical Description:
24 folders
Scope and Contents
This series is arranged in two subseries: Ongoing Committees, which conduct activities on a continuing basis each year; and
Historic Committees, which functioned until their assignments were completed. Some committees did not create written reports
and therefore have limited representation here. One example is the security committee, which conducted regular walking patrols
for many years, but their work was only recorded by verbal reports at board of directors meetings.
Since the finance committee's work included ongoing reports to shareholders, it is well-documented in this collection; however,
only a few of their records are included in this series--most of the finance committee's work, including preparation of the
annual budget, is documented in Series 2: Administration and Finance. Preparation for paying-off the HUD-insured mortgage
in 2004 began in 1998 when the "2004 Committee" was appointed. This committee's assignment was to gather information on condo
conversion, market-rate cooperatives and limited-equity cooperatives and report this information to shareholders.
Other items of particular interest are the information guides put out by the publicity committee for prospective cooperative
members, as well as the crime notices and neighborhood WATCH member lists put out by the security committee.
To get a fuller scope of the shareholders' participation in co-op activities, reports can be found in the board of directors
minutes, the newsletters
Circling the Square
and
Friday Flyer
.
Subseries 3.1
Ongoing Committees,
1964-2013
Box 2, Folder 13
Committees and Members, Committee Procedures,
1986 and 2001
Box 2, Folder 15
10th & 15th Anniversaries,
1973 and 1978
Box 2, Folder 17
25th, 30th, 40th Anniversaries,
1988 and 1993 and 2004
Box 2, Folder 18
Dramatic Scripts, Song,
1988 and undated
Box 2, Folder 22
Turner Square Task Force,
2001-2011
Box 2, Folder 23
Conservation Committee,
1979-1984
Box 2, Folder 24
Election Committee,
1964-2000
Box 2, Folder 25
Finance Committee,
1970-1992
See also:
Annual Reports in Box 2, Folder 1.
Box 2, Folder 26
Publicity Committee,
1973-2007
See also:
Circling the Square
Box 2, Folder 27
Security Committee,
1978-1996 and undated
Box 2, Folder 28
Welcoming Committee,
1984-2013
Subseries 3.2
Historic Committees,
1968-2014
Box 2, Folder 29
Cooperators Council,
1968-1969
Box 2, Folder 30
Housing Committee: Loren Miller Homes Management,
1970
Box 2, Folder 31
Housing Committee: Sponsor Regal Pale Site Co-op,
1971
Box 2, Folders 32-34
Share-Loan Program,
1974 and 1987 and 1990-1993
Box 2, Folders 35-36
Solar Committee,
1981-2005
Box 2, Folder 37
Turner Square Trees,
1993-1994
Box 2, Folder 38
Turner Square Trees--Arborists Reports,
1993-1994
Box 2, Folder 39
Western Addition Tenants of Cooperative Housing (WATCH),
1978
Box 5, Folder 17
Ad hoc: Carol Cuénod, Donation of Square Records,
2009
Box 5, Folders 18-19
50th Anniversary Exhibition (San Francisco Public Library),
2012-2014
Series 4
Transition to Market-Rate Cooperative,
1966-2005
Physical Description:
10 folders
Scope and Contents
The board of directors directed St. Francis Square's conversion to a market-rate cooperative in 2004. With the final payment
of the SFSQ mortgage, HUD regulation ended and new governing documents had to be written, approved, and enacted by shareholders.
Materials include board reports, committee records from the 2004 Committee and other committees that were created as part
of the transition, and records relating to the revision of the St. Francis Square Cooperative's occupancy agreement.
Box 3, Folder 1
Minutes and Board Reports,
1995-2002
Box 3, Folder 2
Manual, "Planning the Future of St. Francis Square,"
2000
Box 3, Folder 3
Karen Tiedemann, Attorney
2001-2002
Box 3, Folder 4
Reference Material,
1990-1999
Box 3, Folder 5
Balloting Committee for "Vote for Preference,"
2002
Box 3, Folder 6
Various Committees,
1966-1987
Includes:
Building Representative Council (1980 - 1981), Educational (1967-1968), Excess/Low-Fixed Income Committee (1987), Laundry
Committee (1988), Legislative Committee (1966), Manager’s Screening Committee (1970), Operations Committee (1985)
Box 3, Folder 7
Transition to Market-Rate Cooperative,
2003-2005
Box 3, Folder 8
Revision of Occupancy Agreement,
2003
Box 3, Folder 9
Research Materials, Draft for
Planning for the Marketplace,
2003 and undated
Box 3, Folder 10
Planning for the Marketplace,
2004
Series 5
Members,
1966-2010
Physical Description:
4 folders
Scope and Contents
This series includes materials that document how members reached out to other members on several political activities, such
as support to the farm workers and opposition to the Vietnam War. This series also holds material by or about individual members.
Also included here is Carol Cuénod's presentation to the Bay Area Labor History Workshop titled "SFSQ, ILWU & Affordable Housing
in Western Addition Redevelopment A-2." One folder holds obituary notices.
Box 3, Folder 11
Political Activities Outside St. Francis Square,
1966-1970
Box 3, Folder 12
Material from or about Individual Members,
1980-1986
Box 3, Folder 13
Carol Cuénod: Presentation to Bay Area Labor History Workshop "SFSQ, ILWU and Affordable Housing in Western Addition Redevelopment,"
2010
Series 6
Communications, News Articles and Publications,
1960-2015
Physical Description:
71 folders
Scope and Contents
Circling the Square
is edited by the publicity committee and funded by order of the board of directors. It first began in 1966 as a monthly mimeographed
sheet and has continued with various formats and frequency of publication. Currently it is published approximately four times
a year. This collection holds a nearly-complete run and documents a great deal of the Square's history. Almost every activity
since 1966 has been reported.
The publicity committee also published booklets for the twentieth, twenty-fifth, thirtieth, and fortieth anniversaries. Included
are photographs and artwork used in the twentieth anniversary booklet and in newsletters published from 1983 to February of
1996.
The
Friday Flyer
is printed and distributed weekly. It is from the administrative office and gives notice of current information from the manager,
a calendar of events for committee and board meetings, and information from the board (including its minutes, which have been
removed and placed in Series 2).
There are nine original issues (including duplicates) and one photocopied issue of the
St. Francis Flyer, which was published independently by a group of
cooperators (residents) in 1964 and 1965. There is limited coverage of events when the board of directors was recalled. Also included
are several newspaper articles from various outside publications, such as
The ILWU Dispatcher.
Special Handling
Gloves must be worn when handling photographs. Photos cannot be photocopied.
Box 3, Folder 15
Occasional Material from Boards of Directors, Managers & Members,
1960s-1980s
Box 3, Folder 16
Newspaper Clippings from
The ILWU Dispatcher,
1960-1985
Box 3, Folder 17
Newspaper Clippings, Various Publications,
1963-1964 and 1993
Box 3, Folder 42
Newspaper Clippings,
1961-1963
Box 3, Folder 18
St. Francis Square Home News
(published by Sales Office),
1963-1964
Box 3, Folder 19
The St. Francis Flyer,
1964-1965
Box 3, Folders 20-37
Circling the Square
(official publication of SFSQ),
1966-2015
Box 5, Folder 21
Circling the Square
Master File, List of Photos,
1983-February 1996
Box 5, Folders 22-29
Circling the Square
Master File, Photos and Artwork,
1981-1999
Box 5, Folder 30
Anniversary Booklets,
1983-2005
Box 3, Folder 38
Weekly Flyer (on
Circling the Square
letterhead),
1977-1979
Box 3, Folder 39
Weekly Flyer (no letterhead),
1980
Series 7
Awards and Studies,
1961-1993
Physical Description:
3 folders
Scope and Contents
Correspondence and news articles reporting awards and statements of praise. The booklet,
Sustaining Urban Excellence: Learning from the Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence, 1987-1993,
pages 119-123, reports a study over a 23-year period. Clare Cooper's article, "St. Francis Square: Attitudes of Its Residents,"
AIA Journal,
December 1971, focuses on how the physical design affected the interaction of the residents. The article also contains a response
from Robert Marquis, the architect. A draft of Cooper's entire paper (78-plus pages) is at the ILWU Anne Rand Research Library.
Box 4, Folder 32
Rudy Breuner Award for Urban Excellence,
1987-1993
Box 4, Folder 33
Article: "St. Francis Square: Attitudes of its Residents,"
1971
Article Citation:
Cooper, Clare. "St. Francis Square: Attitudes of its Residents,"
AIA Journal,
December 1971
Box 4, Folder 34
Design Analysis of St. Francis Square Co-op and Geneva Towers,
1968
