Finding Aid to Pastorino (Blanche) Papers, 1944-1999, bulk (bulk 1972-1995)

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Summary

Title:
Blanche Pastorino Papers
Dates:
1944-1999, bulk (bulk 1972-1995)
Creators:
Pastorino, Blanche
Abstract:
Blanche Pastorino was the proprietor of Galerie de Blanche (1959-1988), an art gallery restaurant located in San Francisco's Mission Creek neighborhood. Although the restaurant closed in 1988, Pastorino continued leasing the 4th Street and Channel Street pier from the Port of San Francisco until 1998 – maintaining the pier garden as a public space, locally known as Blanche's Garden.
Extent:
4 cartons, 1 OS flat box (5 Cubic Feet)
Language:
Collection materials are in English .
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Blanche Pastorino Papers (SFH 40), San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library.

Background

Scope and content:

Contains personal papers of Blanche Pastorino and papers related to Galerie de Blanche and Blanche's Garden, including correspondence, press clippings, press releases, photographs, photo negatives, videocassettes, scrapbook, original art, event programs, guestbooks, newsletters, magazines, architectural plan of the garden, comic strips, ephemera, petitions, and a master's thesis. Of note is a Ruth Asawa sketchbook which contains drawings dated between 1986 and 1991.

Biographical / historical:

Blanche Barbara Pastorino (nÊe Demarc) was born in California on February 21, 1909. Pastorino worked as a government stenographer between the 1930s and 1950s. She married Joseph Albert O'Reilly, a clerk, in 1932. She remarried to John L. Pastorino, a fishermen and union leader, and was widowed in 1965. Pastorino opened her art gallery restaurant, Galerie de Blanche, at 4th and Channel Street pier in 1959. The restaurant remained in operation until 1988. Despite the restaurant's closure, Pastorino continued to lease the 4th and Channel Street pier to maintain the pier garden, which came to be known as Blanche's Garden. Blanche's Garden was open to the public from 1988 to 1998. Pastorino died in San Francisco on January 27, 1996, at the age of 87.

The clay red shack at the 4th and Channel St. was initially "Jack's Lunch" before becoming "Galerie de Blanche" in 1959. For 28 years, Galerie de Blanche served up its signature shrimp cocktails to patrons such as Ruth Asawa, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Imogen Cunningham, and many more loyal customers of all stripes. After nearly three decades of operation, Galerie de Blanche gave up its restaurant lease while maintaining the lease to the pier garden. For the following ten years, "Blanche's Garden" served as a community space and a museum of San Francisco memorabilia. 100-year-old crab cookers from Fisherman's Wharf and original coin carts from the first San Francisco Mint took on a new life as flowerpots. Pastorino received the 1989 San Francisco County Fair Flower Show's Alfred Stettler Award in recognition of her extraordinary efforts to beautify the Mission Creek neighborhood. Blanche's Garden shut down on June 20, 1998, and the pier property was returned to the Port of San Francisco.

Acquisition information:
Gift
Processing information:

Processed by Gianna Brassil, student intern, 2025.

During processing, the entire collection was re-foldered and re-housed in acid-free folders and boxes. Some metal staples remain.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged in 2 series. Series 1: Galerie de Blanche; Series 2: Blanche's Garden.

Physical location:
Open for research. The collection is stored onsite.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Finding aid composed by Gianna Brassil
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2025-05-14 18:30:26 +0000 .

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. Video cassette materials may only be accessed digitally. The videocassette materials in this collection have not yet been digitized.

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. Copyright clearance required for any original artwork by Ruth Asawa. The Estate of Ruth Asawa holds copyright.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Blanche Pastorino Papers (SFH 40), 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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