Finding Aid to the Sunset-Parkside Education and Action Committee (SPEAK) Records,
1968-2020,
SFH 497
Finding aid prepared by Tami J. Suzuki.
San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library
2020
100 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
sfhistory@sfpl.org
Title: Sunset-Parkside Education and Action Committee (SPEAK) records,
Date (inclusive): 1968-2020
Identifier/Call Number: SFH 497
Creator:
Sunset-Parkside Education and Action Committee.
Creator:
Sunset Architectural and Historical Resources Inventory Committee.
Physical Description:
6.2 cubic feet
(5 boxes, 1 manuscripts box)
Contributing Institution:
San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library
100 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 557-4567
info@sfpl.org
Abstract: Collection documents activities of a non-profit, neighborhood-based organization involved in planning, architecture, transportation,
historic preservation and education issues concerning the Sunset District of San Francisco.
Physical Location: The collection is stored on site.
Language of Material: Collection materials are in English.
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is available for use during San Francisco History Center hours, with photographs available during Photo Desk
hours.
Conditions Governing Use
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. Photographs can
be photographed but cannot be photocopied.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Sunset-Parkside Education and Action Committee (SPEAK) Records (SFH 497), San Francisco History
Center, San Francisco Public Library.
Provenance
Records were donated to the San Francisco Public Library by the Sunset-Parkside Education and Action Committee on Aug. 23,
2016.
Processing Information
Processed by Tami J. Suzuki.
Related Materials
Researchers are encouraged to see also the San Francisco History Center's subject files. SPEAK publications are also included
separately in the library's online public access catalog. Also cataloged is
A Parents' and Students' Guide to Our Senior Highs by Evelyn Galenski, 1977, one of a series of SPEAK reports on San Francisco's public schools.
Separated Materials
Photographs were transferred to the San Francisco History Center's Historical Photographs collection.
Historical Note
The Sunset-Parkside Education and Action Committee, or SPEAK, is an active neighborhood organization with a 50-year history
of involvement in neighborhood-based planning, architecture, and historic preservation issues. It was founded in 1969 by
a group of ministers and businessmen, to inform area residents "about matters of mutual concern in government and in the community
and improve the quality of life in the area and citywide." SPEAK had an architectural review role and communicated with both
project sponsors and city planners to achieve improved design and use of space. The agency sponsored an annual summer festival
featuring art, music and dance, as well as a candidates' night. At one point, the board met monthly and the general membership
met annually in May, as well as in October in election years.
In 2004, the group formed the Sunset Architectural and Historical Resource Inventory Committee and began a comprehensive survey
to identify Sunset neighborhood buildings that appeared to be eligible for official designation as state historic resources.
On Aug. 1, 2007, the San Francisco Landmarks Preservation Advisory Board endorsed Phase 1 of the Oceanside Survey, recognizing
nineteen properties as official historic resources. The board also endorsed SPEAK's Oceanside Historic Context Statement.
In Phase 2, 5100 properties built before 1925 were surveyed and documented. Several reports were produced. On May 2, 2012,
the San Francisco Planning Department's Historic Preservation Commission adopted Phase 2 of the Oceanside Historic Resources
Survey.
Scope and Contents
Includes incorporation papers, by-laws, tax returns, financial reports, minutes, correspondence, notes, petitions, news clippings,
some photographs, digital copies of files, and newsletters and reports published by the organization. Has a project review
of various neighborhood cases before the Planning Department, and files on landmarking work, a transit study, the Oceanside
Survey, and challenges to a proposed development at 1900 Sloat Boulevard.
Early topics include organizational goals, a housing survey, illegal parking of commercial vehicles, and a retirement plan
for employees. Sample topics from 1996 include an art program held in several Sunset schools funded by the San Francisco Art
Commission and administered by SPEAK; cellular antennae, a Neighborhood Special Use District, illegal dwelling units, and
a liquor license moratorium. Later topics include garbage rate increase, architectural surveys, open space, and loss of non-profit
status.
Arrangement
Organized into four series: Series 1. Organizational Records; Series 2. Chronological Files; Series 3. Special Projects; and
Series 4. Sunset Architectural and Historical Resource Inventory Committee (SAHRIC). Organized chronologically. The SAHRIC
series is organized into three subseries: Subseries 4A. Committee Records; Subseries 4B. Oceanside Survey: Phase 1; and Subseries
4C. Oceanside Survey: Phase 2.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Includes audiocassettes and computer discs (CDs) and diskettes.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Historic buildings -- California -- San Francisco
Neighborhoods -- California -- San Francisco -- History
Oceanside (San Francisco, Calif.) -- Buildings, structures, etc.
San Francisco (Calif.) -- Buildings, structures, etc.
Sunset District -- San Francisco -- (Calif.) -- Buildings, structures, etc.
Sunset-Parkside Education and Action Committee -- Archives
Sunset Architectural and Historical Resources Inventory Committee -- Archives
box 1
Series 1
Organizational Records
1968-2015
Scope and Contents
Includes incorporation papers, by-laws, tax returns, and newsletters and reports published by the organization. Minutes are
not included.
Arrangement
Roughly chronologically organized.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Includes a CD and a computer diskette.
Establishment of Organization
Incorporation Papers
1970-1974
By-laws and Amendments
1981-2013
Tax Papers and Returns
1970-1977
Physical Description:
7 folders
Treasurer's Reports
1928-2012
Related Materials
Quarterly and annual financial statements can be found in the Chronological Files series.
Board of Directors
1993-2012
Community Organizing Background Papers
1968-1977
Citizen Participation Thesis by Inge Horton
1968-1977
Citizen Participation in a Voluntary Community Organization
1979
Neighborhood Beautification Projects
1991-1993
Facilities Rentals
2000-2003
Membership Lists
2004-2006
Membership Database
2003
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
1 computer diskette, Access 2000.
Minutes and Newsletters
2003-2015
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
1 CD.
SPEAK News Letter
1969-1975
SPEAK Up Date
1990-2015
Physical Description:
2 folders
Housing in the Sunset, A Community in Transition
1974
Architectural and Historical Resources of the Sunset District, Sixteen Notable Buildings
[2005]
Architectural and Historical Resources of the Sunset District, The Oceanside Neighborhood
2007
Historic Context Statement of the Oceanside, A Neighborhood of the Sunset District San Francisco
2007
Architectural and Historical Resources of the Sunset District, The Oceanside Neighborhood, Final Report of the Oceanside Survey
2012
Series 2
Chronological Files
1971-2020
Scope and Contents
Contains board minutes, correspondence, and some financial reports. There are only a few minutes from 1971-1976; these are
called "results." Documentation of board minutes begins in 1995 and are incomplete. Early topics include organizational goals,
a housing survey, illegal parking of commercial vehicles, and a retirement plan for employees. The agency sponsored an annual
summer festival featuring art, music and dance, as well as a candidates' night. Sample topics from 1996 include an art program
held in several Sunset schools administered by SPEAK; cellular antennae, a Neighborhood Special Use District, illegal dwelling
units, and a liquor license moratorium. Later topics include garbage rate increase, architectural surveys, open space, and
loss of non-profit status. Includes newsletters of Coalition for San Francisco Neighborhoods, of which SPEAK has been a long-term
member. Includes a 1991 college internship paper, "An Architectural Analysis: The Richmond and Sunset Districts."
There are no documents from 1977 to 1985. SPEAK is trying to locate early files, especially of its Sunset Parkside Education
Committee, SPEC, and the Safety Committee called the SAC.
Arrangement
Roughly chronologically arranged.
box 1
Chronology
1968-1978
Note
Compiled by Inge Horton.
box 2
Coalition for San Francisco Neighborhoods
1997-2013
Series 3
Special Projects
1971-2014
Scope and Contents
Documents SPEAK's efforts on new buildings, building alterations, and permits pending at the Planning Department. Includes
correspondence, notes, newsclippings, petitions, and a few photographs. Has a project review of various neighborhood cases,
and files on landmarking work, art workshops, a transit study, and challenges to a proposed development at 1900 Sloat Boulevard.
The organization managed art teachers in San Francisco public schools. The Oceanside Survey was a years-long special project
that was administered by a SPEAK sub-committee. That work is documented in Series 4.
Arrangement
Roughly chronologically arranged.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Includes audiocassettes and CDs.
box 2
Project Review-Projects: Residential Code Agreements
Project Review
1989-2010
Physical Description:
2 folders
Related Materials
1 photograph removed to Box 6, Folder 1.
MUNI Streetcars on Sunset Boulevard
1971
Physical Description:
5 folders
Separated Materials
3 photographs removed to Box 6, Folder 1.
Housing in the Sunset Report
1974
Art Workshops and Festival
1989-2014
Physical Description:
2 folders
Residential Code Amendments
1993-1995
Physical Description:
2 folders
box 4
Projects: 2900 Sloat Boulevard
1994-2006
Separated Materials
Photographs removed to Box 6, Folder 2.
Correspondence
Physical Description:
5 folders
Board of Supervisors
Physical Description:
2 folders
Planning Commission Hearing
Feb. 23, 1995
Physical Description:
3 folders
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Includes 2 audiocassettes.
Owners Signed Appeal Forms
Statements of Opposition
Physical Description:
2 folders
Letters, Originals for Reproduction
Vivian and Joel Materials
Newspaper Ad and Articles
Alternative Drawings and Model
Neighbors and Associations
Physical Description:
3 folders
Plot Maps and Radius List
box 2
Projects: Architectural Survey-Tourism Improvement District
Architectural Survey of Sunset
1998-1999
Shriners Hospital Rehabilitation
1997-1999
Physical Description:
2 folders
Sullivan House Landmarking
1998-2000
Golden Gate Park Master Plan
1999-2000
Ocean Beach Task Force
1999-2000
Doggie Diner Dog Landmarking
2000
19th Avenue Revitalization Project
2001-2002
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Includes 1 CD.
Conservatory of Music Landmarking
2003
Parkside School Demolition
2007
Tourism Improvement District
2008
box 3
Projects: Housing Element-19th Avenue Transit Study
Housing Element of the San Francisco Master Plan, Revisions
2008-2009
Parkmerced Redevelopment
2008-2010
Recreation and Open Space Element of San Francisco General Plan
2009
Ortega Library, Demolition Appeal
2009
Golden Gate Park/Beach Chalet Soccer Fields
2009-2014
Physical Description:
2 folders
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Includes 1 CD of Beach Chalet Athletic Fields Renovation, Draft Environmental Impact Report, SF Planning Department, 2011
Golden Gate Park Legal Defense Fund
2012
19th Avenue Transit Study
2013-2014
Series 4
Sunset Architectural and Historical Resource Inventory Committee (SAHRIC)
2004-2014
Historical Note
In 2004, SPEAK formed the Sunset Architectural and Historical Resource Inventory Committee, SAHRIC, to initiate a comprehensive
assessment of the Sunset's historic resources, and "to protect them from demolition and insensitive alterations and additions."
SPEAK commissioned the Oceanside Survey to assemble historic information about the buildings in the beachside community that
developed at the turn of the (19th) century, in the area roughly bounded by Golden Gate Park, 37th Avenue, and Sloat Boulevard.
This distinct neighborhood of small houses and beach cottages was referred to as the Oceanside from approximately 1900 into
the 1920s. Fewer than ten percent of the dwellings have survived relatively intact. By the 1930s, the area was considered
part of the larger Sunset District. In addition to inventorying the buildings, SAHRIC explored whether the subjects qualified
as an historic district or as historic resources.
Approximately twenty residential buildings were studied in Phase 1 which included publication of the
Historic Context Statement of the Oceanside in 2007. In 2008, SPEAK initiated Phase 2 of the architectural study of surviving Oceanside buildings. On May 2, 2012, the
San Francisco Planning Department's Historic Preservation Commission adopted Phase 2 of the Oceanside Historic Resources Survey.
SPEAK/SAHRIC published the following booklets:
Architectural and Historical Resources of the Sunset District, Sixteen Notable Buildings, [2005]
Architectural and Historical Resources of the Sunset District, The Oceanside Neighborhood, 2007
Historic Context Statement of the Oceanside, A Neighborhood of the Sunset District San Francisco, 2007
Architectural and Historical Resources of the Sunset District, The Oceanside Neighborhood, Final Report of the Oceanside Survey, 2012
Separated Materials
Photographs have been removed to Box 6.
Scope and Contents
Includes committee minutes and notes, and documentation of the Oceanside Survey including correspondence, photographs, results
of Phase 1 and 2 surveys,* and state historic district and resource forms known as Department of Parks and Recreation forms,
or DPRs. Published reports are mainly found in Series 1. *The survey phases were alternatively called Parts 1 and 2.
Arrangement
Organized into three subseries: Subseries 4A. Committee Records; Subseries 4B. Oceanside Survey: Phase 1; and Subseries 4C.
Oceanside Survey: Phase 2. Arranged roughly chronologically.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Includes CDs and computer diskettes.
box 3
Subseries 4A
Committee Records
2004-2014
Minutes
2004-2010
Physical Description:
2 folders
Correspondence and Notes
2008-2010
Grant Applications
2005-2010
Accounting
2005-2009
Physical Description:
2 folders
Incorporation and Tax-Exempt Documents
1974-2014
Published Reports
[2005]-2012
Physical Description:
2 folders
box 3
Subseries 4B
Oceanside Survey: Phase 1
2004-2007
Correspondence
2004-2007
Separated Materials
1 photograph removed to Box 6, Folder 3.
Photographs by Lorri Ungaretti, 2004, removed to Box 6, Folder 4.
Photographs, negatives and 2 CDs removed to Box 6, Folders 5-6.
Gerbode Foundation Grant
2005
Bill Kostura Submittals
2004-2006
Photographs
2007
Separated Materials
4 negatives removed to Box 6, Folder 7.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
3 CDs included.
Initial Reconnaissance Survey
2004-2005
St. John of God Catholic Church
2004
Block Maps
no date
Physical Description:
2 folders
Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) Forms, Superseded
2005-2006
Historic Preservation Fund Committee
2005-2006
Oceanside Historic Context Statement
2005-2007
Oceanside Booklet
2006
Separated Materials
1 photo removed to Box 6, Folder 8.
Planning Department Survey Advisors Group Peer Review Response
2006
Letters to Affected Property Owners
2007
Material for Display Boards
2007
Annual Meeting Presentation
May 2007
Digital Files of Reports, Minutes, Photographs, DPRs
2006-2007
Physical Description:
2 folders
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Consists of 13 CDs and 2 computer diskettes.
box 5
Subseries 4C
Oceanside Survey: Phase 2
2004-2012
General
Nominations for California Historic Landmarks and Points of Interest are prepared on Department of Parks and Recreation forms
known as DPRs.
Pinehurst Lodge
2004-2011
Separated Materials
23 photos removed to Box 6, Folder 10.
Historic Preservation Fund Application
2005-2009
Grant Application to San Francisco Beautiful
2008-2013
Potential Historic Districts
2009
Letters to Affected Property Owners
2010
Notes
2010-2012
Physical Description:
2 folders
Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) Form Corrections
2012
Letters to Affected Property Owners and Tenants
2012
Survey Adoption
June 2012
Property Information Map Findings
November 2012
Community Meeting and Planning Code Amendments
2012
Distribution List of Final Report
2013
Historic Resource Nomination Documentation
2005-2012
General
Nominations for California Historic Landmarks and Points of Interest are prepared on Department of Parks and Recreation forms
known as DPRs.
Oceanside Neighborhood Historic Resources Inventory of Individual Houses, Phase One, March 2007
2005-2006
Oceanside Survey, Phase Two:
Eligible Properties, DPR 523A Forms
2008-2009
Physical Description:
3 folders
Note
Contains DPR 523 Form A of all properties developed 1925 and earlier in the survey area, and a few outstanding modern properties.
Eligible Historic Resources, DPR 523 Form A, B, C or D
2008-2009
Physical Description:
2 folders
Not Eligible Properties, DPR 523 Forms A, B, C or D
2008-2012
Eligible Historic Districts, DPR 523 Forms A, B and 5D Forms
2008-2012
Digital Files of Publications and Survey
2005-2012
Physical Description:
4 folders
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Contains 24 CDs.
Note
Includes Historic Context Statement of the Oceanside, 2010; Final Report of the Oceanside Survey, 2012; DPR forms and photos,
and presentation by Inge Horton, 2005-2012. Also includes Oceanside Survey: Adopted Survey Forms, Case Report, and Motion,
San Francisco Planning Department, May 2012, which has 508 completed DPR 523-series forms for inclusion in the California
Historical Resources Information System database.
Existence and Location of Copies
The Oceanside Survey (May 2012) forms are also available online at http://www.sf-planning.org/index.aspx?page=3071. However,
the Planning Department's website does not include motion for adoption, nor letter to State Office of Historic Preservation.
