Finding Aid to the Communities of the Outer Mission Organization Records
[1963]-1986
(bulk 1973-1978)
Finding aid prepared by Tami J. Suzuki
San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library
100 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA, 94102
(415) 557-4567
info@sfpl.org
June 26, 2014
Note
Sources: Thomas Moore and Marion Aird, former board members.
Title: Communities of the Outer Mission Organization Records
Date (inclusive): [1963]-1986
Date (bulk): 1973-1978
Collection Identifier: SFH 81
Creator:
Communities of the Outer Mission Organization
Physical Description:
3 boxes, 1 flat box
(2.33 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: Documents the organization's incorporation and activities including meetings and neighborhood actions, and publication of
the
Outer Mission News; through staff reports, agendas, petitions and flyers, communications with city officials, and photographs.
Physical Location: The collection is stored onsite.
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.
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], Communities of the Outer Mission Organization Records (SFH 81), San Francisco History Center, San
Francisco Public Library.
Provenance
Donated to the San Francisco Public Library, Excelsior Branch, by the COMO board following the organization's dissolution,
circa 1986. Transferred to the San Francisco History Center in March, 2014.
Digitized Content
Newspaper clippings were digitized and are available online at https://www.flickr.com/photos/76275427@N05/sets/72157649270644401/.
Materials Transferred
Photographs have been transferred to the San Francisco Historical Photograph Collection. Newspapers published by COMO, the
Alemany-Mission Advertiser (1979) and
Outer Mission News (1979-1984), have been cataloged.
Organizational History
Communities of the Outer Mission Organization (COMO) was established by residents, business people and Catholic church pastors
in 1973 in response to deterioration of the mostly working-class, Outer Mission district. COMO was a grass-roots organization
of over 150 groups including block clubs, area improvement clubs, church groups, and business associations. Aided by paid
staff in the early years, members worked collectively on issues of housing, neighborhood improvement, recreation, planning
and land use, and police services. Neighborhoods served included Bernal Heights, Cayuga, Crocker-Amazon, Excelsior, Portola
and New Mission Terrace.
Beginning in 1974, annual Community Congresses were convened to elect COMO leadership and plan the next year’s objectives.
Notably, they carried out a 44-day sit-in in 1978 at the city-run Alemany Aid Station, also known as the Alemany Hospital,
which was threatened with closure. Although some service was maintained as a result, the center was eventually closed.
In 1978, COMO included 214 organizations representing 70,000 residents. City officials including Mayors George Moscone and
Dianne Feinstein, supervisors and department managers addressed the organization and responded to their issues.
To keep residents informed, the organization published the
Outer Mission News (originally named the
Alemany-Mission Advertiser), from 1979 to 1984. By the early 1980s, the organization was all-volunteer and the board's main job was publishing the newspaper.
Several summer youth employment programs were created including mural painting. The first mural, in the Excelsior playground,
is still maintained by the city. With leadership aging out, the organization closed down near the end of 1986.
Scope and Contents
Collection includes the organization's business files, staff reports, meeting agendas, petitions and flyers, communications
with city officials, and photographs of annual Community Congresses. Subjects include housing and zoning, mental health facilities,
neighborhood improvement, recreation, planning and land use, police services, traffic, and property taxes.
Arrangement
The collection is organized into four series: 1: Business Files; 2: Member Organizations and Area Groups; 3: Issues; and 4:
Photographs. Arranged alphabetically by subject title.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Communities of the Outer Mission Organization. -- Archives
Community organization--California--San Francisco
Outer Mission (San Francisco, Calif.)
Processing Information
Processed by Tami J. Suzuki.
Series 1
Business Files
1972-1986
(bulk 1973-1978)
Arrangement
Arranged alphabetically by subject title.
Scope and Contents
Contains organizational papers including incorporation documents and bylaws, board minutes, staff reports, fundraising letters,
and a 1972 organizing letter penned by Father Howard Rasmussen of St. Elizabeth Catholic Church.
Box 1, Folder 1
All Peoples' Coalition Community Congress (Visitacion Valley),
1973-1974
Box 1, Folder 13
Bank Statements,
1981-1984
Box 1, Folder 14
Incorporation, Bylaws and Constitution,
1973-1979
Box 1, Folder 15
Non-profit Tax Status,
1973-1980
Box 1, Folder 16
Finance Committee,
1975-1976
Box 1, Folder 23
Community Congress,
1976-1978
Box 1, Folder 27
Foundations and Grants,
1977-1981
Box 1, Folder 28
Catholic Social Service,
1973-1976
Box 1, Folder 30
Movement for Economic Justice,
1973
Box 1, Folder 31
San Francisco Foundation,
1973-1977
Box 2, folders 69-74
Newspaper Clippings,
1969-1974
Box 1, Folder 34
Outer Mission News Advertising,
1979-1984
Box 1, Folder 35
Outer Mission News
Business,
1979
Series 2
Member Organizations and Area Groups
1968-1979
(bulk 1974-1978)
Scope and Contents
Contains mainly block club records and some area group files of meeting agendas, reports, and sign-up sheets.
Arrangement
Arranged alphabetically by subject title.
Box 1, Folder 43
Alice Chalmers Block Club,
1975-1978
Box 1, Folder 44
Athens-Vienna-Moscow Block Club,
1974-1976
General note
See Also Moscow-Athens Block Club
Box 1, Folder 45
Balboa High School,
1974-1976
Box 1, Folder 46
Bowdoin-Princeton-Sweeney-Silver,
1977
Box 1, Folder 48
Cayuga Improvement Association and Cayuga Senior Citizens,
1976
Box 1, Folder 49
Central Cayuga Block Club,
1974-1978
Box 1, Folder 50
Corpus Christi,
1973-1975
Box 2, Folder 1
Crocker Amazon II Block Club,
1976
Box 2, Folder 2
Crocker Amazon Area,
1977-1979
Box 2, Folder 3
Crocker Amazon/Southern Excelsior Area,
1974-1976
Box 2, Folder 4
DeLong-Shakespeare Block Club,
1976
Box 2, Folder 5
Dwight-Olmstead Block Club,
1974-1977
Box 2, Folder 6
Ediburgh-Madrid Block Club,
1975
Box 2, Folder 7
Edinburgh-Naples Block Club,
circa 1975
Box 2, Folder 8
Epiphany Parish,
1968-[1975?]
Box 2, Folder 10
Excelsior Playground,
1974-[1976]
Box 2, Folder 11
Geneve Avenue Merchants,
1974-1975
Box 2, Folder 12
Geneva Methodist Church,
1974
Box 2, Folder 13
Geneva-Sickles and Alemany-Mission Block Clubs,
1976
Box 2, Folder 14
Hillcrest Blocks,
1973-1976
Box 2, Folder 15
Hilltop Block Club,
1975-1979
Box 2, Folder 16
Lisbon-Madrid Block Club,
1973-1979
Box 2, Folder 17
Luther Burbank PTA Action Group,
1974-1979
Box 2, Folder 18
Madison-Gambier Block Club,
1977-1978
Box 2, Folder 20
Mission Viaduct Improvement Club,
1975-1976
Box 2, Folder 21
Moscow-Athens Block Club,
1975
General note
See Also Athens-Vienna-Moscow Block Club
Box 2, Folder 22
Munich-Prague Block Club,
1975-1976
Box 2, Folder 23
Naples-Rolph Block Club,
1974-1976
Box 2, Folder 24
Neighborhood Organizations,
1976-1978
Box 2, Folder 25
New Mission Terrace Improvement Association,
1974
Box 2, Folder 26
Ney-Maynard-Trumbull Block Club,
1978
Box 2, Folder 27
North Excelsior Area,
1974-1975
Box 2, Folder 28
Paris-London Block Club,
1974-1978
Box 2, Folder 30
Portola Parents for Childcare,
1974
Box 2, Folder 31
Prague-Curtis Block,
1977
Box 2, Folder 32
Rae-Ellington Block,
1976
Box 2, Folder 33
Seville-Cordova-Rolph Block Club,
1974-1976
Box 2, Folder 34
Silver-Hale Block Club,
1974-1976
Box 2, Folder 35
Somerset-Goettingen Block Club,
1974
Box 2, Folder 36
South Excelsior Area,
1977-1978
Box 2, Folder 37
Theresa-Cotter Block Club,
1976
Box 2, Folder 38
United Excelsior Area,
1974-1978
Box 2, Folder 39
Vienna-Naples-Edinburgh Block Club,
1977
Box 2, Folder 40
Woodrow Wilson High School,
1975-1976
Box 2, Folder 41
Yale-Wayland Block Club,
1975-1979
Series 3
Issues
[1963]-1986
(bulk 1975-1977)
Scope and Contents
Contains communications with city officials, flyers, petitions, sign-up sheets, reports, guidelines, and newspaper clippings
on topics including the Alemany Hospital (Aid Station) closure, property taxes, a proposed senior center, and facilities for
mental health patients.
Arrangement
Arranged alphabetically by subject title.
Box 2, Folder 43
Alemany Hospital, AKA Alemany Aid Station,
1977-1979
General note
See Also Photos--Alemany Hospital.
Box 2, Folder 44
Luther Burbank Junior High School Print Shop,
1978
Box 2, Folder 45
Citizens Committee on Community Development,
1978-1982
Box 2, Folder 46
Community Organizing,
1968-1975
Box 2, Folder 47
Crocker Amazon Playground,
circa 1976
Box 2, Folder 48
District Elections,
[1976?]-1977
Box 2, Folder 49
General Information,
1977-1979
Box 2, Folder 50
Geneva Avenue Improvement,
1976
Box 2, Folder 51
Geneva Social Development Center,
1978-1979
Box 2, Folder 55
Municipal Railway (MUNI) Plan,
1975-1979
Box 2, Folder 57
Property Taxes,
1975-1976
Box 2, Folder 58
Recreation and Park Department,
1974-1975
Box 2, Folder 60
Safety Awareness for Everyone (SAFE),
1977
Box 2, Folder 64
Trees and Sidewalks,
1974
Box 2, Folder 65
Vienna Street Guest House,
1973-1974
Box 2, Folder 67
Youth Development Project,
1967
Series 4
Photos
1974-[1984?]
Scope and Contents
Includes many prints of the First Community Congress (held Nov. 17, 1974). Delegates are seen voting, and political officials
present include Assemblymen Leo T. McCarthy and John L. Burton and (state) Senator Milton Marks, Jr. Includes an album of
color snapshots of the Second Community Congress (held March 27, 1976), with one image of Supervisor Harvey Milk. Also includes
one color and several black-and-white images of the Alemany Emergency Hospital and an action to preserve the service; as well
as images of Dan White and Dr. Mervyn F. Silverman. Includes one 35-mm color negative strip of the Second Community Congress,
and and six B&W strips depicting graffiti. A single 6"x10" B&W negative shows participants after a work day at Crocker Amazon
Park.
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 of
the Second Community Congress are by Charlie Wambeke.
Box 3, Folder 1
Negatives: First Community Congress and Crocker Amazon Work Day,
1974-[198-]
Box 3, Folders 2-3, Box 4, (Scrapbook)
Community Congress,
1974-1976
Box 3, Folder 4
Meetings and Activities,
[1974?-1984?]
Box 3, Folder 5
Alemany Hospital, AKA Alemany Aid Station,
[1978-1979]
General note
See Also Issues--Alemany Hospital.