Collection Guide
Collection Title:
Collection Number:
Get Items:
Tsukahara Family Collection on St. Francis Square Cooperative,
SFH 706
View entire collection guide
Search this collection
Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library
Title: Tsukahara Family Collection on St. Francis Square Cooperative,
Date (inclusive): 1950-2014,
Collection Identifier: SFH 706
Creator:
Tsukahara, Taro (Tom) (1912-1980).
Creator:
Tsukahara, Yayoi Cecilia (1920-2013).
Creator:
Tsukahara, Michael K.
Physical Description:
2 cartons, 2 manuscripts boxes, 1 oversized flat box, 1 map drawer
(3 cubic feet)
Date (inclusive): 1950-2014
Abstract: Records collected and/or created by original St. Francis Square Cooperative shareholders, Tom and Yayoi Tsukahara, and Michael
Tsukahara, their son.
Physical Location: The collection is stored off site.
Language of Material: Collection materials are in
English and Japanese.
The collection is available for use during San Francisco History Center hours. Collections that are stored offsite should
be requested 48 hours in advance.
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.
[Identification of item], Tsukahara Family Collection on St. Francis Square Cooperative (SFH 706), San Francisco History Center,
San Francisco Public Library.
Received from John Tsukahara, son of Tom and Yayoi Tsukahara, on Feb. 26, 2016.
Biographical and Historical Statement
Taro "Tom" and Yayoi Tsukahara were original shareholders of the St. Francis Square Cooperative housing development, which
was opened in 1963. SFS was envisioned by the Lou Goldblatt as a moderate-income community with a culturally diverse membership.
It was sponsored by the International Longshoreman and Warehouse Union/Pacific Maritime Association Pension Fund.
Tom was an ILWU steward and founding SFS board member and leader, serving on the board and many committees over the decades.
Significantly, Tom contributed to the beautification of the grounds by planting flowers and creating a rock garden. A long-time
Western Addition resident, he served in the all-Nisei combat regiment during World War II, receiving the Bronze Star and a
direct commission. The Tsukaharas raised their three sons at SFS. Tom died in 1980. A plaque was placed in the Tom Tsukahara
Garden in his memory.
Yayoi was born in Japan and studied in the United States through the Fulbright program. After earning an advanced degree,
she worked in the field of clinical cytopathology. She was a very active shareholder, serving on the board and various committees.
She maintained an extensive collection of SFS documents and kept copious notes. Yayoi died in 2013.
Son Michael also served on the board as well as the finance committee.
Collection includes personal communications with the board and other residents, financial statements of the organization,
committee documents, photographs, and files on SFS projects and issues. Papers were nearly all collected by Yayoi Tsukahara.
Includes her notes on SFS matters.
Includes a CD and 8mm videocassette.
See also SFH 62, St. Francis Square Cooperative, Inc. Collection. Newsletters and board minutes from the Tsukahara collection
were used to implement the SFS Cooperative collection.
There are approximately 1.5 cubic feet of records held at the ILWU Archives at the Anne Rand Memorial Library (in San Francisco)
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.
The Master Plan (for San Francisco and the Bay Area): Why and How It was Started, Who's Behind It and What It's Done in Destroying
Our Communities While Benefitting the Rich,
by Carole Hayashino, et. al., 1975.
Processed by Tami J. Suzuki.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Housing, Cooperative.
Housing Development -- California -- San Francisco.
International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union -- History.
Redevelopment, Urban -- San Francisco.
St. Francis Square Cooperative -- History.
Urban renewal -- California -- San Francisco.
Western Addition (San Francisco, Calif.) -- History.