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Finding Aid to the State Compensation Insurance Fund of California Time Capsule for April 25, 1960
SFH 53  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Access
  • Publication Rights
  • Provenance
  • Preferred Citation
  • Conservation Note
  • Related Materials
  • Arrangement
  • Administrative History
  • Scope and Contents

  • Title: State Compensation Insurance Fund Time Capsule for April 25, 1960
    Date (inclusive): 1921-1960
    Date (bulk): 1958-1960
    Collection Identifier: SFH 53
    Creator: State Compensation Insurance Fund of California.
    Physical Description: 1 box, 2 flat boxes (ca. 2.5 cubic ft.)
    Contributing Institution: San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library
    100 Larkin Street
    San Francisco, CA, 94102
    (415) 557-4567
    info@sfpl.org
    Abstract: This collection is comprised of documents buried in a time capsule commemorating the dedication of a new State Compensation Insurance Fund building on April 25, 1960 at 525 Golden Gate Avenue in San Francisco.
    Location: The collection is stored onsite.
    Language of Materials: Collection materials are in English.

    Access

    The collection is open for research. Please call the San Francisco History Center for hours and information at 415-557-4567.

    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.

    Provenance

    Gift, San Francisco Department of Public Works, 5-21-09.

    Preferred Citation

    [Identification of item], State Compensation Insurance Fund Time Capsule (SFH 53), San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library.

    Conservation Note

    Items when received were housed in brown paper envelopes with typed labels. Items have been re-foldered, with labels retained in the file when they provide contextual information.

    Related Materials

    Copies of the San Francisco Civic Center Development Plan, Oct. 15, 1958 (included in this collection) and the Manual of Compensation Insurance, Rules and Rates for California, adopted by the State Compensation Insurance Fund, Jan. 1914, are available in the San Francisco Public Library's book collection.

    Arrangement

    The collection is arranged in three series: Series 1: State Compensation Insurance Fund records; Series 2: Legislative documents; and Series 3: Building documents.

    Administrative History

    The State Compensation Insurance Fund was established in 1914 by the California Legislature as part of the passage of the Workmen's Compensation Insurance and Safety Act, also known as the Boynton Act. The statute created a compulsory, no-fault workers' compensation system in which employers are required to carry insurance to cover employees who are injured or become ill on the job. The Fund provides workers' compensation insurance to California employers at cost, in competition with private insurance carriers. It is the largest provider of workers' compensation insurance in California.
    Since its founding, its home office has been in San Francisco, first located at 525 Market Street. A new building at 525 Golden Gate Avenue was dedicated on April 25, 1960, the day this time capsule commemorates. In 1977, the State Fund moved to a new 16-story home office building at 1275 Market Street, where it remains today. The building at 525 Golden Gate Avenue was torn down in 2009 to build a new Public Utilities Commission Building. It had sat empty since it was damaged in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.

    Scope and Contents

    Documents buried in a time capsule commemorating the dedication of a new State Compensation Insurance Fund building on April 25, 1960 at 525 Golden Gate Avenue in San Francisco. Besides documenting the planning and dedication of the new building, which was part of the San Francisco Civic Center Development Plan of the late 1950s, the collection also documents the formation of California workers' compensation laws and the establishment and workings of the State Compensation Insurance Fund of California. Materials include policy contracts, manuals, a telephone directory, photostat copies of legislative documents related to workers' compensation, a microfilm reel of working drawings, a program and newspapers from the day of the dedication, photographs of the Board of Directors and architects, and a copy of the Civic Center Development Plan for Oct. 1958. The time capsule was opened in 2009 by staff from the Department of Public Works.
    Photostat copies are certified as true copies by accompanying cover sheets from the Department of State bearing signatures and the State Seal, dated March 10, 1959.
    The time capsule was originally stored in a copper box labeled Box Number 82151-F in the cornerstone of the building at 525 Golden Gate Avenue.

    Subjects and Indexing Terms

    State Compensation Insurance Fund of California. -- Archives
    San Francisco (Calif.) -- Buildings, structures, etc.
    Workers' compensation--California