Finding Aid to the San Francisco Department of Public Works Bureau of Engineering Records, SFH 458

Finding aid prepared by Tami J. Suzuki. Originally created in 2016. Revised in 2022 to include materials received in 2020 and 2022; and again in 2023 to include materials received in 2023.

San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library

100 Larkin Street

San Francisco, CA 94102

sfhistory@sfpl.org

URL: http://www.sfpl.org/sfhistory

Oct. 3, 2023

Title: Finding Aid to the San Francisco Department of Public Works Bureau of Engineering Records

Date (inclusive): 1881-[1986?],

Date (bulk): 1908-1944

Identifier/Call Number: SFH 458

Creator: San Francisco (Calif.). Public Works.

Creator: San Francisco (Calif.). Dept. of Public Works.

Creator: San Francisco (Calif.). Board of Public Works.

Creator: San Francisco (Calif.). Bureau of Engineering.

Physical Description: 41 cubic feet (43 boxes, 1 manuscripts box, 1 map folder)

Contributing Institution: San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library

100 Larkin Street

San Francisco, CA 94102

415-557-4567

info@sfpl.org

URL: http://sfpl.org/sfhistory

Abstract: Includes correspondence and project and subject files documenting public infrastructure construction in San Francisco, following the 1906 earthquake and fire.

Physical Location: The collection is stored off site.

Language of Material: Collection materials are in English.

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is available for use during San Francisco History Center hours. Collections that are stored off site should be requested 48 hours in advance.

Photographs cannot be photocopied. Gloves are required when handling photographs.

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.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], San Francisco Department of Public Works Bureau of Engineering Records (SFH 458), San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library.

Provenance

Transferred to the San Francisco City Archives from the San Francisco Department of Public Works. Additional materials transferred on Jun 26, 2020.

Related Materials

See also San Francisco Department of Public Works Proposed San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridges Records (SFH 87); San Francisco Department of City Planning Records (SFH 465); San Francisco Department of Public Works Photograph Collection (SFP 26); San Francisco Municipal Reports; and Report on Progress of the Works Program in San Francisco, January 1938.

See also the library's online public access catalog, particularly for departmental and bureau reports; and the San Francisco History Center's subject files.

See also M.M (Michael Maurice) O'Shaughnessy Papers, BANC MSS 92/808 c, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley. See also Marsden Manson Papers, BANC MSS C-B 416, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.

Processing Information

Processed by Tami J. Suzuki with preliminary processing by Shane Ebbert.

Materials Transferred

Some monographs were transferred to the library's book collection.

1989 Fact Book Summary, Redevelopment Program San Francisco

Annual Report of the Board of Public Works, City and County of San Francisco, 1912-13

Before the Committee on Public Lands of the United States Senate, Senate No. 2610, San Francisco: James H. Barry Co., 1913

Hetch Hetchy Dam Site Hearing Before the Committee on the Public Lands... Part 2, Washington DC: GPO, 1913

Hetch Hetchy Reservoir Site, Hearing Before the Committee on Public Lands, United States Senate, Sixty-Third Congress, First Session on H.R. 7207... Washington DC: GPO, 1913

Official Grades of the Public Streets City & County of San Francisco, Duplicate Records, M-Z and Numbered Avenues and Numbered Streets, San Francisco, no date

Report of the Department of Public Works for the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 1901, San Francisco

Report on Progress of the Works Program, Washington DC: Works Progress Administration, March 1937

Administrative History

San Francisco's Board of Public Works was created on January 8, 1900 by Article VI of the City Charter, directed by three commissioners. The original four bureaus were: Engineering, Streets, Building, and Light and Water Services. The department was initially tasked with organizing street construction and paving projects throughout the city.

According to the 1899-1900 report of the City Engineer, "Of the work urgently needed to be done by the city none is probably of greater importance than the systemization of the sewerage and drainage works to fit existing and projected sewers into the lines of main drainage and sewerage disposal, as proposed and adopted during the last year. "This work, as well as the work of extending street line surveys, setting monuments and establishing grades for streets in the outlying rapidly growing districts of the city (also urgently needed) is of a character not productive of revenue. All work of this class will be pushed forward as fast as the available funds will permit."

The August 1902 annual report notes that the department "may be expected to take on larger dimensions and to comprise additional bureaus, such as for a water system and municipal railways. It also notes expected growth of the City with incidental expansion in street operations. The Bureau of Engineering is described as "concerned with the most important features of municipal material interests." Furthermore, the bureau reports of the "coming ownership and administration by the City of all of the interests classed under the head of Public Utilities."

C.E. Grunsky was San Francisco's first City Engineer. Marsden Manson was the City Engineer from 1908 to 1912. M.M. O'Shaughnessy was the City Engineer from 1912-1932.

Long known as the Department of Public Works or DPW, the agency is now known as San Francisco Public Works. It constructs, manages, designs, maintains and repairs the city's public buildings and infrastructure.

Background

These records include those from this same body under one previous name, San Francisco Board of Public Works, and one bureau name, San Francisco Bureau of Engineering. The Board of Public Works was created in 1900. The Bureau of Engineering was one of the four original bureaus. By 1902, the agency was also known as the Department of Public Works. As of 2014, the department is called San Francisco Public Works.

Scope and Contents

This collection documents the building of infrastructure in San Francisco following the 1906 earthquake, particularly during the administrations of City Engineers Marsden Manson and M.M. O'Shaughnessy. Later records are mainly drawings of Recreation and Parks Department projects. Includes correspondence, project reports, drawings, bids and specifications, surveys, articles, and photographs. Of note are documents on the dismantling and removal of the relief model of the city. Documentation on the Port of San Francisco, O'Shaughnessy Dam, and the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir are not included.

Arrangement

Organized into four series: Series 1. Correspondence; Series 2. Project Files; Series 3. Subject Files; and Series 4. Legal Files. Correspondence is organized into two subseries: Subseries 1A: Outgoing Correspondence; and Subseries 1B: Incoming Correspondence. Project Files are organized into ten subseries: Subseries 2A: Street Work/Renovation; Subseries 2B: Sewers; Subseries 2C: Bridges and Viaducts; Subseries 2D: Airport Development; Subseries 2E: South Basin-South Basin Canal Reclamation District; Subseries 2F: Water Supply and Auxiliary Water Supply System; Subseries 2G: Transit Tunnels; Subseries 2H: Naval Base Sites; Subseries 2I: Garbage Disposal; Subseries 2J: Parks, Playgrounds and Transportation; and Subseries 2K: Other Projects. Correspondence is arranged chronologically. The majority of the rest of the collection is arranged alphabetically by subject.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Public Works -- California -- San Francisco.

Bridges -- California -- San Francisco.

Bridges -- California -- San Francisco Bay -- Design and construction.

Storm sewers -- California -- San Francisco.

Streets -- California -- San Francisco.

Tunnels -- California -- San Francisco -- Design and construction.

Photographic prints -- 1900-1940.

Mills Field Municipal Airport.

San Francisco (Calif.). Public Works -- Archives.

San Francisco (Calif.). Dept. of Public Works -- Archives.

San Francisco (Calif.). Board of Public Works -- Archives.

San Francisco (Calif.). Bureau of Engineering -- Archives.

Series 1 Correspondence 1906-1973

Physical Description: 25.75 cubic feet (28 boxes, 3 folders)

Access

These documents cannot be photocopied because of the fragile nature of the binding.

Scope and Contents

Contains the city engineer's letters to and from vendors, municipalities, and businesses and residents. Includes work specifications and invoices.

Arrangement

Correspondence is organized into two subseries: Subseries 1A: Outgoing Correspondence; and Subseries 1B: Incoming Correspondence. Work specifications are featured. Documents are arranged chronologically and bound into volumes. Each volume has an index of either addressees or senders.

Subseries 1A Outgoing Correspondence 1906-1973

Physical Description: 70 Volumes (21 boxes)

Physical Description: 3 folders

Scope and Contents

Contains "Miscellaneous Correspondence from City Engineer," with letters to vendors, other muncipalities, and San Francisco businesses and residents. Each volume has an index of addressees. Volumes 1, 32 and 40, covering [?-October, 1906], June 22-Sept. 23, 1915, and Aug. 11, 1917-Jan. 12, 1918 are not included. Subjects include sidewalks widths, placement of trolley poles and underground cables, and receipt of claims for payment.

box 1, volume 2

Oct. 20, 1906-April 29, 1907

box 1, volume 3

April 22, 1907-Jan. 31, 1908

box 1, volume 4

Jan. 31-June 2, 1908

box 1, volume 5

June 2-Aug. 27, 1908

box 2, volume 6

Aug. 28-Dec. 30, 1908

box 2, volume 7

Dec. 31, 1908– May 3, 1909

box 2, volume 8

May 4-Aug. 4, 1909

box 2, volume 9

Aug. 5-Oct. 25, 1909

box 3, volume 10

Oct. 25, 1909-Jan. 28, 1910

box 3, volume 11

Jan. 28–March 3, 1910

box 3, volume 12

March 4–July 28, 1910

box 3, volume 13

Aug. 5-Dec. 3, 1910

box 4, volume 14

Nov. 29, 1910- April 10, 1911

box 39, volume 15

April 11- Nov. 29, 1911

box 40, volume 16

Nov. 1, 1911–Jan. 20, 1912

box 41, volume 17

Jan. 26-April 25, 1912

box 5, volume 18

April 25–June 24, 1912

box 5, volume 19

July 3-Sept. 27, 1912

box 5, volume 20

Sept. 25-Nov. 22, 1912

box 5, volume 21

Nov. 22–Dec. 23, 1912

box 6, volume 22

Dec. 26, 1912-April 19, 1913

box 6, volume 23

April 22-Aug. 18th 1913

box 6, volume 24

Aug. 20, 1913–Jan. 13, 1914

box 6, volume 25

Jan. 19–March 18, 1914

box 7, volume 26

March 20-May 22, 1914

box 7, volume 27

May 23–July 22, 1914

box 7, volume 28

July 23–Sept. 22, 1914

box 8, volume 29

Sept. 17-Dec. 14, 1914

box 8, volume 30

Dec. 14, 1914–April 7, 1915

box 8, volume 31

April 5-June 22, 1915

box 9, volume 33

Sept. 23-Dec. 8, 1915

box 9, volume 34

Dec. 7, 1915-March 7, 1916

box 9, volume 35

March 6-July 7, 1916

box 10, volume 36

Jan. 22-Oct. 24, 1916

box 10, volume 37

Oct. 31, 1916-Feb. 1, 1917

box 10, volume 38

Feb. 1-April 26, 1917

box 10, volume 39

April 26-Aug. 11, 1917

box 11, volume 41

Jan. 12-July 25, 1918

box 11, volume 42

July 25, 1918–February 20, 1919

box 11, volume 43

Feb. 20-July 10, 1919

box 11, volume 44

July 10-Dec. 23, 1919

box 12, volume 45

Dec. 23, 1919-May 28, 1920

box 12, volume 46

May 24-Nov. 5, 1920

box 12, volume 47

Nov. 6, 1920-April 7, 1921

box 12, volume 48

April 6-Aug. 23, 1921

box 13, volume 49

Dec. 23, 1919-May 28, 1920

box 13, volume 50

Dec. 28, 1921-April 28, 1922

box 13, volume 51

April 29-July 12, 1922

box 13, volume 52

July 13-Nov. 1, 1922

box 14, volume 53

April 30-Dec. 3, 1924

box 14, volume 54

Dec. 4, 1924-May 14, 1925

box 14, volume 55

May 25-Sept. 29, 1925

box 14, volume 56

Sept. 30, 1925-Jan. 20, 1926

box 15, volume 57

April 30-Dec. 3, 1924

box 15, volume 58

Dec. 4-May 14, 1925

box 15, volume 59

May 15-Sept. 29, 1925

box 15, volume 60

Sept. 30, 1925-Jan. 20, 1926

box 16, volume 61

Jan. 8-May 10, 1926

box 16, volume 62

May 11-Oct. 26, 1926

box 16, volume 63

Oct. 26, 1926-March 31, 1927

box 16, volume 64

March 31-Sept. 30, 1927

box 17, volume 65

Sept. 30, 1927-Feb. 20, 1928

box 17, volume 66

Feb. 17-May 28, 1928

box 17, volume 67

May 28-Oct. 15, 1928

box 17, volume 68

Oct. 15, 1928-March 9, 1929

box 18, volume 69

March 8-Aug. 17, 1929

box 18, volume 70

[Aug. 16, 1929-Feb. 17, 1930?]

box 18, volume 71

Feb. 20-Sept. 3, 1930

box 18, volume 72

Sept. 4, 1930-April 15, 1931

box 18, volume 73

April 16, 1931-Jan. 14, 1932

box 42, folder 1

Reuben Owens, Director of DPW 1963-1973

box 42, folder 2

Reports 1958-1966

box 42, folder 6

Romolo Place 1948-1963

Subseries 1B Incoming Correspondence 1907-1934

Physical Description: 28 Volumes (7 boxes)

Scope and Contents

Contains "Miscellaneous Communications to City Engineer," with letters from vendors, other muncipalities, and San Francisco businesses and residents. Each volume has an index of senders. Volume 23, covering June 2, 1925-May 12, 1926 is not included. Subjects include sidewalk widths, convenience stations, invoices, payment of bonds, specifications for laying of tracks, possibility of a garage under Union Square, and street sign requests.

box 19, volume 1

April 18-May 23, 1907

box 19, volume 2

May 23, 1907-March 7, 1908

box 19, volume 3

March 8-Nov. 8, 1908

box 19, volume 4

Dec. 3, 1908-July 14, 1909

box 20, volume 5

May 13, 1909-Jan. 7, 1910

box 20, volume 6

Jan. 8-July 6, 1910

box 20, volume 7

July 18, 1910-Feb. 20, 1911

box 20, volume 8

[Feb. 20-Nov. 18, 1911?]

box 21, volume 9

Dec. 28, 1911-Jan. 24, 1912

box 21, volume 10

Feb. 14, 1912-Feb. 17, 1914

box 21, volume 11

Jan. 28-Oct. 25, 1913

box 21, volume 12

Nov. 21, 1913-May 21, 1915

box 22, volume 13

May 24, 1915-May 17, 1916

box 22, volume 14

May 24-Dec. 28, 1916

box 22, volume 15

Dec. 29, 1916-Jan. 23, 1918

box 22, volume 16

January 17, 1918 – April 26, 1919

box 23, volume 17

June 12, 1919-June 17, 1920

box 23, volume 18

June 14, 1920-April 14, 1921

box 23, volume 19

April 20, 1921-June 6, 1922

box 23, volume 20

May 26, 1922-June 27, 1923

box 24, volume 21

July 7, 1923-June 13, 1924

box 24, volume 22

June 27, 1924-June 2, 1925

box 24, volume 24

May 12, 1926- March 10, 1927

box 24, volume 25

March 10, 1927-March 5, 1928

box 25, volume 26

March 8, 1928-Feb. 19, 1929

box 25, volume 27

Feb. 21, 1929-March 22, 1930

box 25, volume 28

April 11, 1930-Oct. 2, 1931

box 25, volume 29

Sept. 39, 1931-Aug. 22, 1934

Series 2 Project Files 1884-1980 1908-1946

Physical Description: 11.2 cubic feet

Access

Photographs are included and cannot be photocopied. Gloves are required when handling photographs.

Related Collections

See also San Francisco Department of Public Works Photograph Collection (SFP 26) for images documenting the Bureau of Engineering projects from 1907 to the 1940s. See also the San Francisco Department of City Planning Records (SFH 465) for block profiles used to construct a 3-dimensional wooden model of the city, as well as negatives documenting the model's construction.

Scope and Contents

Contains correspondence, cost estimates, reports, data and specification sheets, maps, plans/drawings and photographs. Subjects include: capitalization, overpasses, undercrossings, acquisition of property, right-of-way, sidewalk widths and narrowing of sidewalks, ocean currents, landslides, storm water drains, proposed bridge crossings and airport sites, and streets, parks and playgrounds. Includes some non-San Francisco locations.

Some photographs fill gaps in the San Francisco Department of Public Works Photograph collection.

Projects are numbered, with a letter followed by numbers. There is no index. Some projects were re-numbered; for example, some "As" became "TAs. "F-93" became "A-527." Numbers may correspond with numbers in the San Francisco Department of Public Works Photograph Collection.

Arrangement

Project Files are organized into ten subseries: Subseries 2A: Street Work/Renovation; Subseries 2B: Sewers; Subseries 2C: Bridges and Viaducts; Subseries 2D: Airport Development; Subseries 2E: South Basin-South Basin Canal Reclamation District; Subseries 2F: Water Supply and Auxiliary Water Supply System; Subseries 2G: Transit Tunnels; Subseries 2H: Naval Base Sites; Subseries 2I: Garbage Disposal; Subseries 2J: Parks, Playgrounds and Transportation; and Subseries 2K: Other Projects.

Arranged mainly alphabetically within subseries.

Subseries 2A Street Work/Renovation 1915-1958 1920s-1930s

Physical Description: 3.3 cubic feet

Scope and Contents

Materials related to the construction and maintenance of streets, boulevards, and avenues. Contains correspondence, cost estimates, contracts, data and specification sheets, information sheets, maps, plans/drawings, permits, ordinances, journal articles, and photographs. Subjects include overpasses, undercrossings, elevated walks, property acquisition, spur tracks, right-of-way, sidewalk widths and narrowing, public comfort stations, shrubbery and lawn sprinklers, street-cleaning platforms, concrete balustrades, excavations and fills, grading, viaducts, and borings. Includes projects outside San Francisco.

Of note: O'Shaughnessy's paper on the Ocean Beach Esplanade, a popular boulevard which skirts the ocean along the city's westerly boundary for more than 3 miles. Also, covers the Fillmore Street light arches. There is a 1938 letter from Laurel Hill Cemetery Association to lot-holders regarding the removal of the cemetery, according to an ordinance approved by San Francisco voters in 1937. There is at least one mention of fraud (Sloat Boulevard).

Arrangement

Arranged alphabetically by project (street) title.

box 26, folder 1-31

Alemany Boulevard 1942

box 42, folder 3

Construction Photos 1954-1956

Restriction

Gloves required.

box 26, folder 32

Alvarado St: Valencia to Guerrero 1924

box 26, folder 33

Army Street Widening: Bartlett to San Jose 1939-1946

box 26, folder 34-35

Ashburton Place Crossover (Raphael Weill & Co.) 1927

box 26, folder 36

Avalon Ave 1923-1924

box 26, folder 37

Beach Street 1923

box 26, folder 38-43, box 27, folder 1-2

Bernal Cut 1926-1930

box 27, folder 3-4

Blue Mountain Rd (thru Sutro Forest) 1930-1941

box 27, folder 5-7

Brannan and Ninth Streets Vicinity 1925-1927

box 27, folder 8

Castro Street between 29th And Day Streets 1926-1930

box 27, folder 9

Claremont Circle 1925

box 27, folder 10, box 27, folder 11-13

Coso Avenue, Prospect to Winfield 1928

box 27, folder 14

Detroit Street 1920-1927

box 27, folder 15-16

Douglass Street Stairway to States Street 1930-1933

box 27, folder 17

Eighth Street Extension, Townsend to 16th Street 1931-1940

box 27, folder 18-19

Elizabeth Street 1924-1927

box 27, folder 20-21

Elk Street Extension 1925-1927

box 27, folder 22-24

Esplanade (Ocean Beach) 1925-1938

box 27, folder 25

Esplanade Photos

box 27, folder 26

Fillmore Street, Electric Light Arches 1925-1936

box 27, folder 27

27 Fort Mason Bay Road 1933

box 27, folder 28

48th Avenue, Balboa to Sutro Heights Avenue 1924

box 27, folder 29

Fremont Street, Harrison to Bryant 1930

Harrison Street

box 27, folder 30

Spur Track, Alameda and Harrison 1927

box 27, folder 31

Central Warehouse, Harrison to 15th 1930

box 27, folder 32

Henry Street Extension near Roosevelt Way 1930-1936

box 27, folder 33

Houston Street, Jones to Columbus 1930-1931

box 27, folder 34-36

Hyde Street between Chestnut and Bay Streets 1930-1932

box 27, folder 37

Jones and Jefferson Streets: Street Cleaning Platform 1924-1925

box 27, folder 38

Julius Street, Lombard to Whiting 1924

box 27, folder 39-47

Junipero Serra Boulevard 1926-1940

Kearny Street

box 28, folder 1

and Union Square Ave (northwest corner, sidewalk) 1925

box 28, folder 2

and Bush (southeast corner, sidewalk) 1925

box 28, folder 3

and Sutter Streets (southeast corner; Sutter Hotel sidewalk) 1925

box 28, folder 4

and California Streets (southwest corner, sidewalk)

box 28, folder 5

and Bush Streets (northeast corner, sidewalk) [1925?]

box 28, folder 6

916 Kearny Street at Columbus Avenue (southwest corner, sidewalk) 1921-1926

box 28, folder 7

106-112 Kearny St (sidewalk) 1926

box 28, folder 8

and Washington Streets (northwest corner, sidewalk), 1926

box 28, folder 9

and Jackson Streets, (southwest corner, sidewalk) 1926

box 28, folder 10

Street (west side) and Sutter Street (south side; sidewalk) 1926

box 28, folder 11

and Sutter Streets (southwest corner, sidewalk) 1926

box 28, folder 12

Street, De Young Building [1926?]

box 28, folder 13

Kirkwood and Mendell Slide 1940

box 28, folder 14

Larkin and Francisco Streets 1915-1924

box 28, folder 15-16

Laurel Hill (Cemetery) Boulevards 1934-1938

box 28, folder 17

Leo Street Extension 1933

box 28, folder 18

Liberty and 21st Streets, Municipal Railroad Retaining Wall 1915-1930

box 28, folder 19-20

Lincoln Park Boulevard 1925-1928

box 28, folder 21

Lincoln Way Viaduct over Sunset Boulevard 1931

box 28, folder 22

Lombard near Leavenworth, Sidewalk Alterations 1925-1928

Market Street:

box 28, folder 23

Basement Alternations 1941-1942

box 28, folder 24

Curb Setback 1930-1939

box 28, folder 25

Low Level 1942

box 28, folder 26

Miscellaneous 1924

box 28, folder 27

Post-type Safety Station at Stockton Street 1925-1927

box 42, folder 5

Widening

box 28, folder 28

Metcalf and Eddy 1923

box 28, folder 29-30

Mission Street Widening, Daly City to Colma 1931-1932

box 28, folder 31

Montcalm Street Pictures [19--]

box 28, folder 32

Montgomery and Green Street Sidewalks 1927-1928

box 28, folder 33

19th Street Extension Photographs 1932

box 28, folder 34

Noriega Street 1930

box 28, folder 35

Olympus Way 1934

box 28, folder 36

Ord Street Steps 1930-1933

box 28, folder 37

Palmetto Street 1925

box 28, folder 38

Pine and Montgomery Streets, Northwest Corner [19--]

box 28, folder 39

Point Lobos Avenue: Cost Report and Description 1922

box 28, folder 40

Pulgas Road, Redwood City 1925-1926

box 28, folder 41

Rastall Report on Public Improvements, Castro, 16th, Mission and 24th Streets 1919

box 28, folder 42

Richmond [District] Street Cleaning Platform 1925-1926

box 28, folder 43-44

Roosevelt Way 1910-1928

box 28, folder 45

Rosenkranz Street Steps 1930-1931

box 28, folder 46-47

Santiago Street 1928-1941

box 28, folder 48

2nd Street, North of Bryant, Sidewalk 1925

box 28, folder 49

Sharp Park Road, San Mateo County 1929-1935

box 28, folder 50-51

Sloat Boulevard to Lake Merced 1931-1939

box 28, folder 52

Southern Heights Boulevard/Avenue 1926-1932

box 28, folder 53

States Street 1921-1925

box 28, folder 54-59

Sunset Boulevard/Parkway 1926-1932

box 28, folder 60

Sunset Boulevard/Parkway Photos circa 1930

box 29, folder 1

3rd and Brannan Streets 1925

box 29, folder 2

Tiffany Avenue Extension 1929

box 29, folder 3

Trumbell Street Widening 1930-1935

box 29, folder 4

25th Avenue 1931-1941

box 29, folder 5

Twin Peaks Boulevard 1924-1926

box 29, folder 6

Utah and 19th Street Improvement 1928

box 29, folder 7

Vallejo Street 1931

box 29, folder 8

Van Ness Extension, From Market to Howard 1931

box 42, folder 3

Construction Photos

Restriction

Gloves required.

box 29, folder 9-10

Vermont Street, 20th and 22nd Streets Vermont Street, 20th and 22nd Streets

box 29, folder 11

Wolfe Street Extension to Mullen Street and Peralta Avenue 1923-1924

box 29, folder 12

Worcester Avenue and Junipero Serra Boulevard 1924

Subseries 2B Sewers 1884-1947 1911-1933

Physical Description: 1 cubic foot

Scope and Contents

Documents the development and construction of San Francisco's sewer system. Contains Board of Public Works resolutions, contracts, maps, drawings, reports, articles, cost estimates, specifications, correspondence, notices of contract awards (newspaper clippings), and photographs. Subjects include testing for bacteria in beach water, ocean currents, storm water drains/inlets, clogged outfall, flow measurements, warning signs, and an easement on the estate of Adolph Sutro (Mile Rock Tunnel).

Arrangement

Organized by sewer or district; arranged alphabetically. Project files are followed by research files; arranged alphabetically.

box 29, folder 13

Alemany Boulevard District 1931-1945

box 29, folder 14-24

Baker's Beach District 1884-1934

Cities:

box 29, folder 25

Columbus, OH 1924

box 29, folder 26

Long Beach, CA 1924-1927

box 29, folder 27

Coso Avenue-Aztec Street, Stoneman Street District Pictures [empty folder]

General

Folder cover only. No contents exist.

box 29, folder 28

18th Avenue Wall at Presidio 1940-1945

box 29, folder 29

Fillmore Street

box 29, folder 30

Fulton Street and 48th Avenue 1913-1923

box 29, folder 31

Golden Gate Park, 30th Avenue, Proposed 1911-1913

box 29, folder 32

Great Highway, Ortega to Sloat Boulevard 1924-1925

box 29, folder 33

Hawkins-Trocadero, Estimate 1925

box 29, folder 34

Howard-Mission Street Condition 1921

box 29, folder 35

Ingleside Outlet, Section C 1911

box 29, folder 36

Irrigation Districts: Merced, Bonds 1925

box 29, folder 37

Islais Creek Storm, Investigation of Decking Failure 1934

box 29, folder 38

Junipero Serra [19--]

box 29, folder 39

Kirkham Street 1925

box 29, folder 40

Lake Merced Lands, Spring Valley Water Company 1911

box 29, folder 41-47

Marina Tract/District 1924-1947

box 29, folder 48-49, map-case 20

Mile Rock Tunnel 1911-1941

box 29, folder 50

Relief Home Drainage (Laguna Honda) 1929

box 29, folder 51

Roosevelt Way, Side 1927

box 29, folder 52-53

Sunset, Northerly District 1925-1933

box 30, folder 1

Thirtieth Avenue, Sunset District 1925-1933

Research Files

box 30, folder 2

Alameda County: Sewerage Disposal Systems at Livermore, Pleasanton, and U.S. Veterans Hospital; and Chlorination System of the Spring Valley Water Company 1926-1933

box 30, folder 3

Clementina Street, Investigation of Disposal of Residue from Acetylene Manufactures 1924

box 30, folder 4

Commercial Street Pumping Plant, Investigation of Method to Remove Sewer Odors 1921

box 30, folder 5

Disposal of Sewage 1926

box 30, folder 6

Sewage Screen 1932

box 30, folder 7

Sewage System Maps 1899-1913

box 42, folder 8

Standard Details

box 30, folder 8-10

Subdivisions, Regulations on 1939-1941

Subseries 2C Bridges and Viaducts 1916-1944

Physical Description: 2 cubic feet

Related Collection

See also San Francisco Department of Public Works Proposed San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridges Records (SFH 87).

Scope and Contents

Drawings, reports, information sheets and change orders, photographs, progress schedules, bids, and computation sheets, correspondence, bonds, War Department permits, and newspaper clippings. Also includes San Francisco/Oakland Bay Bridge research and proposals. There is considerable documentation of the Third Street Bridge. Projects outside San Francisco are also covered, notably, the Dumbarton Bridge--the first bridge built south of the Golden Gate, connecting San Francisco and the upper Peninsula to the east side of the bay. Subjects include proposed crossings, bridge approaches, painting, widening existing structure, tolls, capitalization, and drilling/boring.

Some projects were renumbered. For example, F-93 became A-527; A-608 became TA-608; A-841, renumbered A-816.51.

Arrangement

Arranged alphabetically, by project (bridge or viaduct) title.

box 30, folder 11-14

Bay Cities Bridge Corporation: Proposed Rail and Highway Crossing, San Francisco to Alameda 1925

box 30, folder 15-19

Beale and Harrison Streets 1927-1944

box 30, folder 20

Carquinez Bridge 1925

box 30, folder 21

Columbia River Interstate Bridge Final Report 1918

box 30, folder 22-29

Dumbarton Bridge 1916-1927

box 30, folder 30

18th Street Bridge 1916-1927

box 30, folder 31-34

Golden Gate Bridge 1919-1938

box 30, folder 35

Hudson River Bridge 1926-1928

box 30, folder 36

Marwick Bridge Plan (San Francisco to Oakland) 1925

box 30, folder 37

19th Street Bridge (at Tennessee Street) 1927

box 30, folder 38-45, box 31, folder 1-6

San Francisco (to Oakland) Bay Bridge 1921-1939

box 31, folder 7

Aerial Photos 1933

Sunset-Parkway Bridge

box 31, folder 8

at Sloat Boulevard, AKA Sloat Viaduct, Sunset Boulevard 1930

box 31, folder 9

at Lincoln Way, AKA Lincoln Way Viaduct 1930-1943

box 31, folder 10-12

Sunshine-Transbay Boulevard Bridge (Proposed, Hunters Point to Oakland Estuary) 1925-1925

box 31, folder 13

Sydney Harbour Bridge Photos (Australia) 1927

box 31, folder 14-39, box 32, folder 1-3, box 33, folder 1-2, box 42, folder 9

Third Street Bridge over Channel Street Waterway 1923-1934 1929-1934

Subseries 2D Airport Development 1925-1933

Physical Description: .2 cubic foot

Scope and Contents

Files on proposed sites including Mills Field (Millbrae), Bay Farm Island (Alameda), Marina Landing, and locations in South San Francisco and San Bruno. Mills Field was selected, and the airport was dedicated on May 7, 1927. Includes meeting minutes, articles, maps, estimates, correspondence, resolutions, and reports.

Arrangement

Arranged numerically, by project number.

box 32, folder 4-11

1925-1933

box 33, folder 3

1925-1928

box 32, folder 12-19

Subseries 2E South Basin-South Basin Canal Reclamation District 1925-1934

Physical Description: .2 cubic foot

Scope and Contents

Documents efforts to reclaim tideland adjacent to

Hunters Point

for development. Includes bills (State Legislature), correspondence, statistics, analysis and procedures, meeting minutes, a chronology, and news clippings.

Arrangement

Arranged numerically, by project number.

Subseries 2F Water Supply and Auxiliary Water Supply System (AWSS) 1908-1940

Physical Description: 1 cubic foot

Scope and Contents

Documents the construction of a high-pressure water pressure system for fire protection, as well as a water pipe to the Relief Home. Has specifications, contracts, plans, correspondence, resolutions, and lists of supplies. Subjects include intake tunnels, roofing, tile, rolling doors and shutters, plumbing and gas pipe work, structural steel and iron work, and steel tanks.

Arrangement

Arranged alphabetically, by project, with High Pressure System files following project files.

box 32, folder 20-22

Specifications and Reports 1919-1940

Specifications for Projects:

box 33, folder 4-5

Ashbury Heights Pump House 1911

box 33, folder 6-9

Clayton Street Steel Tank 1909

box 33, folder 10-21

Pumping Station #1 1909

box 33, folder 22-24

Sacramento-Jones-Clay-Hyde Streets: Concrete Tank

box 33, folder 25

Townsend Street Pumping Station 1911

box 33, folder 26

Turbine Pumps and Steam Turbines 1908

box 33, folder 27-29

Twin Peaks Reservoir 1909-1912

box 32, folder 23-25

High Pressure System 1920-1937

box 34, folder 1

Information Requested 1925-1926

box 32, folder 26

Repairs, Market and Tenth Streets [1911]

box 32, folder 27

Relief Home Water Supply 1924

Subseries 2G Transit Tunnels 1912-1933

Physical Description: 1 cubic foot

Scope and Contents

Primarily covers construction of the Sunset Tunnel, under the hill adjacent to Buena Vista Park. Originally built for streetcar transit, the tunnel is now used by the Municipal Railway for light rail vehicles. Consists of articles, ordinances and resolutions, assessments, data, maps and drawings, photographs, cost estimates, and two court briefs. Subjects include procedures, acquisition of land, methods of construction, cleaning and painting, restoration of pavements, payments, and protests. The Twin Peaks Tunnel, the trolley tunnel which opened in 1912, is not covered. See the Parks, Playgrounds and Transportation series for a document on the Twin Peaks Tunnel. Likewise, the Broadway Tunnel, the roadway tunnel which opened in 1952, is not included.

Arrangement

Arranged alphabetically by subject.

box 32, folder 28

Alameda-Oakland Estuary Tube 1924-1933

map-case 20

Fillmore Street Tunnel Drawings (proposed, not completed) [1912-1913?]

box 32, folder 29

Skyline Boulevard Tunnel Extension (at Fleishhacker Pool) 1927

box 34, folder 2, box 32, folder 30, map-case 20

Stockton Street Tunnel 1912-1939

box 32, folder 31-40, box 34, folder 3-25

Sunset Tunnel 1913-1933

box 43

Under Buena Vista Park, Final Report of Construction 1928

Restriction

Gloves required.

box 34, folder 26

Duboce Route, Photographs 1926

box 34, folder 27

Transit Bridge and Tunnels Paper by Charles Fowler 1929

Subseries 2H Naval Base Sites 1916-1943

Physical Description: .67 cubic foot

Scope and Contents

Mainly compares two sites considered for a U.S. Naval Base,

Hunters Point

and Alameda, when the Navy was dividing the national fleet equally between the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts. Has reports, photographs, and maps. Subjects include water depth, costs, weather, power supply, water supply, transportation facilities, existing dry docks, silting, and excavation. Also includes some materials on the Naval dry docks at

Hunter Point

box 34, folder 28-31

Navy Yard Commission Reports 1916-1917

box 35, folder 1-13

Hunters Point and Alameda Sites 1916-1920

box 35, folder 14-15

Alameda Site 1919-1920

box 42, folder 10

Hunters Point , Naval Dry Docks 1941-1943

box 35, folder 16

Various Sites 1918-1919

Subseries 2I Garbage Disposal 1908-1944

Physical Description: .92 cubic foot

Scope and Contents

Voters approved bonds including construction of a garbage disposal plant in the May 1906 election. Subseries contains reports, correspondence, ordinances, and bids documenting the plant's construction and related sanitary system procedures. Subjects include incinerators, rats, dumping areas (in the ocean) and resulting beach damage, estimates of waste disposal, and utilization of waste products.

Arrangement

Arranged alphabetically.

box 35, folder 17-32, box 36, folder 1-8

1908-1944

box 36, folder 9

Islais Creek Incinerator Photographs 1912-1914

box 36, folder 10

New York City 1926

Subseries 2J Parks, Playgrounds and Transportation 1922-1980

Physical Description: .63 cubic foot

Scope and Contents

Includes mostly drawings for parks and playgrounds work. Also documents sewer construction, landslides, and transportaton matters including safety lane markers. Subjects include shoreline landslides at the Olympic Club and financing an athletic stadium. Has statistics on areas of streets, parks, and playgrounds. There is a public (1926) letter from William Hammond Hall, the designer of Golden Gate Park, to Herbert Fleishhacker, challenging the Park Commissioner's editorial comments regarding John McLaren's work creating Golden Gate Park.

Arrangement

Organized alphabetically, by subject.

box 36, folder 11-13

Parks and Playgrounds 1922-1935

box 42, folder 15-27

Drawings 1927-1980

Alamo Square 1961-1980

Aptos Playground 1931-1977

Argonne Playground 1952-1953

Aquatic Park 1930-1957

Balboa Park 1957-1962

Bay View Park 1944-1957

Bay View Playground 1927-1975

Bernal Heights Playground 1966

Brooks Property 1969

Brunswick, Whittier, and Lowell Streets 1942

Buena Vista Park 1975

Burnett Recreation Center and Playground 1950-1951

Camp Mather 1944-1954

Candlestick Park Stadium 1967-1980

Mary Margaret Casey Playground 1967

Cayuga Playground 1949-1959

Chinese Playground 1944-1973

Chinese Recreation Center 1950-1951

Christopher Park 1970

Corona Heights Playground 1939-1954

Corona Heights Road Relocation 1958

Crocker-Amazon Playground 1939-1952

Douglass Playground 1942-1951

Dupont Tennis Courts 1941-1957

18th and Utah Streets 1969

Eureka Valley Recreation Center and Playground 1944-1956

Excelsior Playground 1955

Folsom Playground 1977

Fleischhacker Playfield, Pool and Zoo and Storyland Children's Zoo 1936-1967

Related Materials

See also Zoological Gardens.

Fulton Playground 1944

Funston Field and Playground 1934-1957

Garfield Recreation Center and Playground 1957

Gilman Playground 1968

Glen Park Tennis Courts and Playground 1946

Golden Gate Park 1965

Grattan Playground 1951

Great Highway Convenience Stations 1940-1947

Walter Haas Park 1976

Hamilton Recreation Center and Park 1950-1954

Harding Park Golf Course 1942-1957

Hayes Valley Center 1952

Margaret Hayward Playground 1932-1978

Holly Park 1965

Huddart Park 1939

Hunters Point Redevelopment Area 1973

Jackson Park and Playground 1959-1975

Junior Museum 1951-1956

Julius Kahn Playground 1941-1947

Daniel E. Koshland Park 1976

Lafayette Square 1935-1962

Lake Merced 1959-1971

Larsen Park Swimming Pool 1954-1958

Joseph Lee Gymnasium 1965

Lincoln Park Golf Course 1936-1953

Lombard Street Reservoir 1962

Longfellow Playground 1950

McCoppin Square 1939-1958

McKinley Square 1976

McLaren Park 1936-1976

Marina Small Craft Harbor 1956-1977

Merced Heights Playground 1962

Midtown Terrace 1961

Miley Playground 1950

Mini-Parks 1970-1980

Miraloma Playground 1953-1954

MIssion Park and Playground 1938-1962

J.P. Murphy Playground 1944-1951

Noe Valley Tennis Courts 1944

North Beach Recreation Center and Playground 1936-1960

Ocean View Recreation Center 1949-1950

Palace of Fine Arts 1969

James D. Phelan Beach State Park Recreation Building 1953

Pine Lake Recreation Area 1957

Portola Playground 1947

Portsmouth Square Garage 1961

Potrero Hill Recreation Center 1946-1950

Precita Park 1975

Presidio Heights Playground 1950-1951

Richmond Tennis Courts and Playground 1942-1951

Rochambeau Playground 1951

Rolph Playground 1946-1949

Rossi Playground 1935

St. Mary's Playground 1937-1955

Junipero Serra Playground 1955

Sharp Park Golf Course 1938-1964

South Sunset Playground 1950-1951

Silver Terrace Playground 1949-1953

Silver Tree Day Camp Building 1961

Sigmund Stern Recreation Grove 1932-1950

Sunnyside Playground 1969

Sunset Recreation Center 1949-1951

Sutro Heights Park 1936-1939

Telegraph Hill Slope 1938-1975

Union Square 1932

University Mound Reservoir 1938

Upper Noe Valley Playground 1954

Visitacion Valley Playground 1952-1953

West Portal Playground 1944-1951

West Sunset Community Center 1953-1955

Helen Willis Playground 1955

Zoological Gardens 1937-1977

[Project #051] Water Reclamation [1974]

box 36, folder 14-15

Olympic (Golf) Club Landslides 1924-1940

box 36, folder 16

Stadiums 1924

Transportation:

box 36, folder 17

Laguna Honda Station and Twin Peaks Tunnel [19--]

box 36, folder 18-19

Safety Stations and Lane Markers 1926-1927

Subseries 2K Other Projects 1916-[19--]

Physical Description: 4 folders

box 42, folder 11-12

City Hall, Deep Well Pump 1916-1921

box 42, folder 14

Specifications for Unidentified Projects

box 42, folder 32

Stamps for Drawings

Series 3 Subject Files 1881-[1986?] 1924-1926

Physical Description: 1.6 cubic feet

Access

Photographs are included and cannot be photocopied. Gloves are required when handling photographs.

Related Collection

See also San Francisco Department of City Planning Records (SFH 468), for block drawings, and images of construction of a wood model of the city.

Scope and Contents

Research, correspondence, and photographs on miscellaneous projects, vendors, equipment and vehicles, property damages, complaints, and a few non-San Francisco subjects including the 1925 earthquake in Santa Barbara. Includes an inspector's report book of aggregate hours for pavements work (1906-1907); one volume of progress reports (for 1923-1924); and the 1926 appraisal of the Market Street Railway Co. Subjects include dimensions of steamship vessels, the Christmas Tree site (now known as Christmas Tree Point), an evaporating hood for the chemical laboratory, specifications for galvanized trash cans, unemployed work, and dumping grounds for dredged materials.

There are some files on a city-wide mapping project, as well as files pertaining to the wood model of San Francisco, which was created by Work Projects Administration workers. These folders have information on architects Julia Morgan, Arthur Brown, Jr., and others, who were asked to provide blueprints; as well as photographs of banks. The city-wide mapping and model work were part of the same project, sponsored by the City Planning Commission. Includes documents on the dismantling and removal of the model which took place in the early 1940s. The relief map was presented by the WPA to the Planning Commission in 1940, and currently resides at the University of California, Berkeley.

Arrangement

Arranged alphabetically.

box 36, folder 20

Antiscale Device (for Boiler) 1924

box 36, folder 21

Appropriations Requested, Miscellaneous 1930-1933

box 36, folder 22

Arch at 25th and Mission Streets 1921

box 36, folder 23

Automobile Runways Ordinance 1924

box 36, folder 24

Assessor's Sheets of Years Used on Projects [1925?]

box 36, folder 25

Berkeley Ferry Pier Photographs 1927

box 36, folder 26

Boston Traffic Relief 1924-1926

box 42, folder 34

Bridges, Failures of, 1921-1946

box 36, folder 27

Bus Station at Great Highway and Sloat Boulevard 1925

box 36, folder 28

Cans Galvanized for Street Cleaning Department 1919

box 36, folder 29

Carmel Mission (Monterey Carmelita Church) 1930

box 36, folder 30

Caspar Lumber Company 1923

box 36, folder 31

Chemical Laboratory Repairs 1924

box 36, folder 32

Christmas Tree Site on Twin Peaks 1928

box 42, folder 28

DPW Organization Chart [1912?]

box 37, folder 1-3

City-wide Mapping Project (of Works Progress Administration) 1937-1942

box 36, folder 33

Commercial Truck Company 1924-1925

box 36, folder 34

Concrete Mixer, Portable 1924

box 36, folder 35

County Jail Bond Issue 1930-1931

box 36, folder 36

Crystal Palace Baths 1923-1924

box 36, folder 37

Disaster Preparedness 1933-1941

box 36, folder 38

Dollar Steamship Company 1930

box 36, folder 39

Dumping Grounds for Dredged Materials 1927

box 36, folder 40

Electric Truck 1924

box 36, folder 41

Equitable Asphalt Maintenance Company 1925

box 36, folder 42

Emporium Pictorial Advertisement, Map of Future San Francisco 1926

box 36, folder 43

Fresno (California) Street Resolution 1923

box 36, folder 44

Golden Gate Atlas Materials Company 1927

box 36, folder 45

Haas Brothers 1925

box 42, folder 4

Highway Construction 1963

box 38, folder 10

Inspector's Report Book, Pavements (Agregate Work Hours) Feb. 12, 1906-Oct. 21, 1907

box 36, folder 46

Islais Creek Dredging 1925-1932

box 36, folder 47

Mack Flusher Investigation 1925

box 36, folder 48

Map Changes Since 1924 (City) 1926

map-case 20

Map of Paved Streets

box 36, folder 49, map-case 20

Maps 1930-1966

box 36, folder 50

Marbelite Company 1924

box 36, folder 51

Marina Exposition Building Site 1923-1924

box 39

Market Street Railway Co. Appraisal (Byllesby Engineering and Management Corporation) 1926

box 36, folder 52

Monument (Spanish War Memorial) Moving from Van Ness and Market Streets 1924-1926

box 36, folder 53

New York Port Authority 1926

box 36, folder 54

Newspaper Stand Investigation [19--]

box 36, folder 55

Oakland Feature in Tribune 1920

box 36, folder 56

Population Density in Large Cities 1920

box 36, folder 57

Ohioan Steamship Wreck at Point Lobos 1938

box 42, folder 29

Office Growth Limits [1986?]

box 36, folder 58-60

Official Grades of the Public Streets, M-Z and Numbered Streets and Avenues [19--]

Related Materials

See also cataloged monographs, Official Grades of the Public Streets of the City and County of San Francisco, Comprising All Grades Established to March 20, 1909; and Official Grades of the Public Streets of the City and County of San Francisco, Comprising All Grades Established to December 31, 1912.

box 37, folder 4

Progress Reports 1923-1924

box 37, folder 5

Purchases, Inspection of 1924-1931

box 37, folder 6

Radio Show, M.M. O'Shaughnessy, on Charter Amendment Establishing Public Utilities Commission 1928

box 37, folder 7

Resurfacing Equipment Photographs 1925

box 37, folder 8

Russia Development 1930

box 37, folder 9

Retaining Wall Analysis and Comparison 1924

San Francisco:

box 37, folder 10

Facts and Statistics 1925

box 37, folder 11

News Clippings 1921

box 37, folder 12-13

Program, by Dr. B.M. Rastall, [California Industries Exhibition] 1921

box 37, folder 14

Visitors' Information 1923-1926

box 37, folder 15

Sand Loader at Corporation Yard 1924

box 37, folder 16-17

Santa Barbara Earthquake and Visit 1925

box 37, folder 18

Santa Monica 1930

box 37, folder 19

Sea Wall 1881

box 37, folder 20

Security Building, 343 Sansome 1928

box 42, folder 7

Sidewalk Modifications 1963

box 37, folder 21

Spur Track, Main Street, Harrison to Bryant 1924

box 37, folder 22

Stonework Disintegration 1922-1925

box 37, folder 23

Sunnyvale (CA): U.S. Dirigible Site, Proposed 1930

box 37, folder 24

Termites 1928-1936

box 37, folder 25

Tests of Material Rock 1930-1932

box 37, folder 26

Track Drain Frame and Gratin 1923

box 42, folder 32

Traffic Flow Graphics, 1957-1960

box 37, folder 27

Treasure Island Ramp (on Yerba Buena Island) Photographs 1940

box 37, folder 28-31

Trucks 1924-1925

box 37, folder 32

Twin Peaks Land Acquisition and Reservoir 1930

box 37, folder 33

Underground Parking [1922?]-1938

box 37, folder 34-35

Unemployed Work 1931-1933

box 37, folder 36

Ungraded School Retaining Wall 1917-1924

box 37, folder 37

Union Metal Lamp Standards 1924-1925

box 37, folder 38

Vacuum Street Cleaner 1923

box 37, folder 39

Ventura (CA) Seawall 1928

box 37, folder 40-43

Veterans Hospital Sites 1929

box 37, folder 44

Veterans War Memorial 1924-1932

box 37, folder 45-56

War Department 1923-1947

box 37, folder 47

Waterfront Embarcadero Paving 1916

box 37, folder 48

Wood, Miscellaneous 1923

box 37, folder 49-50

Wood Relief Model of San Francisco, Works Progress Administration Project 1938

box 42, folder 30

Dismantling and Removal 1941-1944

box 37, folder 51

Wrought Iron 1930-1933

box 38, folder 1-9

Series 4 Legal 1906-1929

Physical Description: .5 cubic foot

Scope and Contents

Affidavits and legal memoranda of miscellanous, post-1906 earthquake property claims, with some judgments and findings of fact. Also includes notes and calculations made in preparation for the acquisition of the Spring Valley Water Company

box 42, folder 31

Spring Valley Water Company/Ocean Shore Railway Company Contract 1914

box 42, folder 33

Spring Valley Water Company Acquisition, 1928-1929

Scope and Contents

Notes and calculations made by engineer L.C. Stiles in preparation for the acquisition of the Spring Valley Water Company.