Finding Aid to the Miraloma Park Improvement Club Records,
1926-2020,
SFH 478
Finding aid prepared by Tami J. Suzuki.
San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library
2023
100 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
sfhistory@sfpl.org
Title: Miraloma Park Improvement Club Records,
Date (inclusive): 1926-2020,
Identifier/Call Number: SFH 478
Creator:
Miraloma Park Improvement Club. (San Francisco, Calif.)
Physical Description:
7 boxes
(7 cubic feet)
Contributing Institution:
San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library
100 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 557-4567
info@sfpl.org
Abstract: Contains the organization's articles of incorporation and by-laws, minutes, correspondence, subject files and newsletters.
Physical Location: The collection is stored on site.
Language of Materials: Collection materials are in
English.
Access
The collection is available for use during San Francisco History Center hours, with photographs available during Photo Desk
hours. Collections that are stored offsite should be requested 48 hours in advance.
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. Photographs can
be photographed but cannot be photocopied.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Miraloma Park Improvement Club Records (SFH 478), San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public
Library.
Provenance
Donated to the San Francisco City Archives from the Miraloma Park Improvement Club on Nov. 3, 2017. Newsletters continue to
be added to the collection.
Related Material
See also the typescript, "Miraloma Park, a Suburb Within a City," Rosalie Kuwatch, 1984; and the untitled typescript by Jean
Kortum, 1992. Both are found in the San Francisco Ephemera Collection, in the Districts--Miraloma Park folder. See also "The
Changing Face of Mt. Davidson," Mary Duenwald and Greg Gaar,
Pacific, April 1980.
Separated Material
Photographs have been transferred to the San Francisco Historical Photograph Collection. Photos can be photographed but cannot
be photocopied.
The most recent (last two years) of
Miraloma Life
are in the San Francisco History Center's Periodicals collection.
Processing Information
Processed by Tami J. Suzuki.
Conservation Note
During processing, the collection was re-housed in acid-free boxes and folders.
Organizational History
Miraloma Park Improvement Club had its first meeting of residents on Aug. 22, 1930. MPIC's purpose is "to promote the individual
and collective interests [of all Miraloma Park residents]." The Garden Club* was started at the same time. By July 1946, the
combined clubs had a membership of 1000. Club president, C.A. Fountain, wrote in 1944: "Miraloma Park believes wholeheartedly
in the master plan and that San Francisco will be an outstanding, energetic city worthy of its illustrious children." Since
its inception, the organization has vigorously pursued benefits and the retention of neighborhood character. *The Garden Club
was dissolved in May of 1992.
An early project was getting public transportation service. Then-Mayor Angelo Rossi piloted the first city bus on July 23,
1939, from Forest Hill Station to Evelyn Way and Portola Drive. The club successfully petitioned for a school; temporary wooden
structures opened in 1940. In 1952, a new elementary school opened, with 400 students. Residents contributed by building playground
equipment.
The association has continuously published the monthly
Miraloma Life
newsletter since 1951. In 1980, MPIC prevented a proposed 7-11 store from being built. Significantly, the group wrote the
neighborhood's Residential Design Guidelines which were adopted by the City in 1999.
The land was originally part of Jose de Jesus Noe's 4443-acre land grant, Rancho San Miguel. The rancho was bought by Pioche,
Bayerque & Co. and Levi Parsons. Some of the land was sold to the French Benevolent Society in 1876, and Adolph Sutro purchased
1365 acres in 1880. This included Blue Mountain, which Sutro renamed Mt. Davidson in honor of the hill's surveyor, George
Davidson. Sutro immediately planted Eucalyptus trees. In 1911 realtors Baldwin & Howell's newly organized Residential Development
Corp bought 724 acres of San Miguel. Meyer Brothers bought the east slope of Mt. Davidson in 1925, when San Francisco's new
zone plan and developer-designed racial restrictions were in force. These restrictions, which excluded non-Whites from ownership,
were declared unenforceable under the Civil Rights Act of April 1968, but remained in the county records. In 1970 the U.S.
Attorney General declared recording of these restrictions illegal.
The quiet neighborhood was built southwest of Twin Peaks, after the opening of the Twin Peaks Tunnel in 1917. Built on the
north, east and south slopes of Mt. Davidson, Miraloma Park has a southeastern view. The first section was built near Portola
Drive beginning in the 1930s, following logging of Sutro's forests and subsequent development of other areas of the Sutro
estate includinsg Westwood Park, Westwood Highlands and St. Francis Wood. Miraloma Park construction progressed downhill through
the 1950s. The developer, Meyer Brothers, referred to it as a "controlled-development subdivision." Early homes were Mediterranean
style with Spanish tile roofs. Later homes had straight lines with shingle roofs. A total of 2400 single-family homes, most
with deep backyards, were completed. Curving streets followed the hill's contour in the style of the City Beautiful movement.
A 38-acre public park crests Mt. Davidson, the highest point in San Francisco. A 103-foot-high cross, stop the hill, is visible
from most of San Francisco.
The clubhouse on Del Vale Avenue was donated by the developer and dedicated Nov. 10, 1940, upon the development's halfway
mark. Since 1979, the clubhouse has been rented to Miraloma Park residents as well as non-profit organizations. The neighborhood
has maintained high owner-occupied housing and low crime.
Scope and Contents
Contains the club's incorporation papers and by-laws, meeting minutes, and committee and subject files, newsletters and a
few photographs. Early items dealt with a temporary school and later permanent structure, clubhouse, neighborhood census,
police service, bus service, and the city-wide tree planting campaign (in 1939.) Later topics include beautification of the
clubhouse landscaping, graffiti, and the garden tour. More recent subjects include clubhouse repairs, the proposed CVS store
design, and the "D" grade received by Miraloma Park by the SF Park Alliance Playground (in 2012). Subjects also include Sunnyside
Playground development, the Garden Club, Beautification Committee, Streets and Transportation Committee, speeding on Teresita
Boulevard, traffic signals, residential zoning, residential design, open space, and airplane noise, multiple dwelling units
and apartment houses. Drafts of the Residential Design Guidelines for Miraloma Park, written by the club and approved by the
City in 1999, are in the collection.
Arrangement
Organized into three series: 1. Legal Files; 2. Board and Membership Files; and 3.
Miraloma Life
Newsletter. Board and Membership Files series is organized into four subseries: Subseries 2A: Minutes; Subseries 2B: Membership
Files; Subseries 2C: Correspondence; and Subseries 2D: Committee and Subject Files. Within series and subseries, arranged
chronologically.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Miraloma Park (San Francisco, Calif.) -- History.
Neighborhoods-California-San Francisco.
Miraloma Park Improvement Club. (San Francisco, Calif.) -- Archives.
Series 1
Legal Files
1935-2016
Scope and Contents
Contains the club's governing papers and documents regarding the clubhouse and parking lot.
Articles of Incorporation
1940-1989
Clubhouse Property and Parking Lot
1942-2016
box 1, folder 15
Deed to Block 2944-A
1942
Parking Lot Lease (with City)
box 1, folder 21
Permit Lawsuit: Lindell Company
1943
Series 2
Board and Membership Files
1926-2017
Arrangement
Organized chronologically.
Scope and Contents
Contains meeting minutes, membership records, correspondence, and committee and subject files.
Subseries 2A
Minutes
1930-2017
Scope and Contents
Minutes begin with the first meeting of a proposed improvement club for the Miraloma Park district, on Aug. 22, 1930. The
club met and continues to meet monthly, with a break in the months of July and August.
Early items dealt with a temporary school and later permanent structure, clubhouse structure, neighborhood census, police
service, and the city-wide tree planting campaign (in 1939.) Some membership information is included. Later topics include
beautification of the clubhouse landscaping, graffiti, garden tour, and the club president resignation (in 1989). More recent
subjects include clubhouse repairs, the proposed CVS store design, and the "D" grade received by Miraloma Park by the SF Park
Alliance Playground (in 2012).
There are regular meeting minutes for the first eight years. From 1958 to 1992, there are Board of Directors minutes as well
as general meeting meetings. From 1993 there are only board minutes.
Some gaps exist. Some years are incomplete, and there are no minutes for the years 1954-1957, 1978-1981, 1983, and 1986-1987.
Beginning in 2013, the board began publishing minutes on its (private) website.
Arrangement
Organized chronologically. From 1958 to 1992, Board of Directors minutes are followed by general meeting meetings.
General Minutes
1930-1953
Missing Documents
There are no minutes from 1954 through 1957.
box 1, folder 25
Meeting Notices
1938-1941
Board of Directors and Regular Membership Minutes
1958-1992
Missing Documents
There are no minutes for the years 1978-1981, 1983, and 1986-1987.
Arrangement
Organized chronologically, with general meeting minutes following board minutes.
Board of Directors Minutes
1993-2017
box Mixed Photos, folder A
[Safety Night?] Photograph
[Nov. 16, 1995?]
Attendance Record
1954-1988
Subseries 2B
Membership Files
1979-1986
Scope and Contents
Has member lists and records of payments. Originally $1 per member, the dues are now $15.
box 2, folder 34
Form Letters and Cards
1986
Subseries 2C
Correspondence
1959-1999
Scope and Contents
Contains letters to and from the board. Subjects include Sunnyside Playground development, speeding on Teresita Boulevard,
traffic signals, and multiple dwelling units and apartment houses.
box 2, folder 35
Traffic Channels/Portola Drive
1959-1961
Subseries 2D
Committee and Subject Files
1926-1990
Arrangement
Organized chronologically, then alphabetically within years.
Scope and Contents
Has committee documentation and research files. Topics include the Garden Club, Beautification Committee, Streets and Transportation
Committee, residential zoning, open space, and airplane noise. Drafts of the Residential Design Guidelines for Miraloma Park,
written by the club and approved by the City in 1999, are also found here.
The Garden Club met for sixty years beginning in 1932. The club sponsored a flower show, photo contest, garden talks and a
card party.
box Mixed Photos, folder B
Groger Garden Photographs
1929-1938
box 3, folder 13
MPIC News Articles
1926-1941
box 3, folder 14
Molimo Street Expansion
[1949?]
box 3, folder 15
Miraloma Park Subdivision Maps
1927-1959
box Mixed Photos, folder C
Miraloma School and St. Brendan's Class Photographs
1955-1959
box 3, folder 16
Developer's Declarations
1926-1959
box 3, folder 17
Clubhouse Landscape Layout
1962
box 3, folder 18
Beautification Committee
1970-1971
box 3, folder 22
San Francisco Twin Bicentennial
1974-1976
box 3, folder 23
Balboa Reservoir: Bus Yard
1976
box 3, folder 24
Streets and Transportation Committee
1973-1978
box 3, folder 25
Landslide Hazard Areas
1980
box 3, folder 26
Mt. Davidson Article
1980
box 3, folder 27
Residential Zoning Study
1974-1984
box 3, folder 29
Cresta Vista Development Opposition
1989
box 3, folder 34
Mt. Davidson Cross
1989-1996
box 3, folder 35
Clubhouse Landscaping
1993
box Mixed Photos, folder D
box Mixed Photos, folder E
Holiday Cook-off
[1993-1994]
box 3, folder 36
Newspaper Articles
1972-1994
box Mixed Photos, folder F
Sunnyside Conservatory Photos
[1995]
box 3, folder 39
Neighborhood History
[19--]-1997
box 3, folder 40
Neighborhood Garden Project
1998
Residential Design Guidelines
1979-1999
box 3, folder 41
City Planning Brochure
1979
box 3, folder 42
Miraloma Park Drafts
1994-1995
box 3, folder 43
Miraloma Park, Height Limits
1995
box 3, folder 48
Meyer Bros. Brochure
[19--]
box Mixed Photos, folder G
Mt. Davidson and O'Shaughnessy Hollow Photographs
[199-?]
Series 3
Miraloma Life
Newsletter
1951-2020
Scope and Contents
Has club's official publication which began publishing in March 1951, with the purpose of disseminating information about
the activities, endorsements and business of the organization. The monthly publication continues to be printed and delivered
to all residents of the neighborhood, free of charge. The paper takes a break during the months of July and August. Some newsletters
are missing.
News items covered club activities such as the Christmas Party and Merchants Night, as well as activities of the Miraloma
Church, Miraloma School, and area clubs including folk dancers, Scouts, Campfire Girls. Topics included objection to the moving
of two homes on Portola Drive to the neighborhood; the successful negotiation of a proposed 2-family dwelling to a single-family
house; and amnesty of in-law units.
Related Materials
See also the San Francisco History Center's periodicals collections for the most recent two years of
Miraloma Life.
The newsletter is available on the organization's website for issues beginning January 2005; see http://www.miralomapark.org/category/miralomalife/
.
box 4, folder 1
Guidelines and Advertising
[1951?]-1989
