American Institute of Architects - San Francisco Chapter Records 2001.-7
Carrie L. McDade
Arrangement and description of this collection was funded by the College of Environmental Design and a grant from the LEF
Foundation.
University of California, Berkeley. College of Environmental Design. Environmental Design Archives
2001
230 Bauer Wurster Hall #1820
Berkeley, CA 94720-1820
designarchives@berkeley.edu
Contributing Institution:
University of California, Berkeley. College of Environmental Design. Environmental Design Archives
Title: American Institute of Architects - San Francisco Chapter (AIA/SF) Records
Creator:
AIA/SF
Identifier/Call Number: 2001.-7
Physical Description:
15 Linear Feet:
5 cartons, 20 document boxes
Date (inclusive): 1907-1989
Abstract: The AIA/SF records primarily consist of Board and Executive Committee minutes for the years 1907 through 1989 and membership
files as well as a few photographs and artifacts. The membership files mainly document past members from the 1950s and 1960s
and include biographical, professional, and membership information for many architects who worked in San Francisco and the
Bay Area. Photographs document various chapter events and individuals.
Language of Material:
English
.
Collection is open for research.
All requests for permission to publish, reproduce, or quote from materials in the collection should be discussed with the
Curator.
[Identification of Item], AIA/SF Records, [2001-7], Environmental Design Archives, University of California, Berkeley.
The San Francisco chapter of the American Institute of Architects was organized to protect the integrity of the profession
and to standardize the conduct and practice of its members. Demand for the services of builders and designers significantly
increased as the city's population grew during the later part of the nineteenth century. Professionally trained architects
of the time were continually challenged by the unethical practices of untrained "architects," who took advantage of patrons
and threatened the work of reputable and qualified architects.
Prior to the AIA charter, trained architects in California formed a short-lived professional society in 1869. A second and
larger association of well-known and respected San Francisco architects, the Pacific Coast Association of Architects, was
founded in May 1881. Augustus Laver, an important founding leader of this group, submitted the AIA charter petition which
was signed by John Wright, George Sanders, William Curlett, Seth Babson, T.J. Welsh, and J.E. Wolf. These men were convinced
that a unified group of professionals supported by the larger, national organization of the AIA would further protect the
practice. In the spring 1882, the AIA granted the organized architects of San Francisco their charter and thereby expanded
its membership westward beyond Chicago. In February 1927 the San Francisco Chapter was renamed the Northern California Chapter,
which was incorporated on August 4, 1955. In 1980 the chapter became The American Institute of Architects, San Francisco Chapter.
The most recent name variation, AIA San Francisco, a Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, was adopted by members
in 1992.
John Wright served as the chapter's first president. In his inaugural address, Wright expressed three concerns he found to
be "the greatest need of the present day."
First, true taste and accurate knowledge of art in the designer, united with a thorough knowledge of materials and their proper
adaptation to truthful construction; second, a public whose educated tastes will be satisfied only by the real; and third,
a system of professional instruction for our students or young designers who shall educate teachers as well as be taught,
and which, in effect, shall be practical, efficient and sure, and shall embrace not only the highest, but the lowest level
of the art.
--quoted in "History of the Chapter," by Elisabeth K. Thompson, in American Institute of Architects San Francisco Chapter
Centennial Directory, 1982, 22.
A number of significant Bay Area architects represented in the EDA served as chapter president, including John Galen Howard
[1912], John Bakewell, Jr. [1918], George A. Applegarth [1921-1922], Frederick Meyer [1930], Henry Gutterson [1931-1932],
and George Rockrise [1961]. Many AIA/SF Fellows are also represented in the EDA, including Gardner Dailey, Joseph Esherick,
Donlyn Lyndon, Francis J. McCarthy, William Turnbull Jr., and William W. Wurster. The EDA holds the records of three AIA Gold
Medal Winners: Bernard Maybeck, Wurster, and Esherick.
Some of the more important activities and issues taken up by the AIA/SF include the 1910 AIA Convention; the 1912 competition
for a new city hall in San Francisco; the Panama-Pacific International Exposition of 1915; the Golden Gate International Exposition
of 1938-1939; WWII and the defense industry in California; the post-war population; large public and invitational competitions;
and controversial proposals such as the rebuilding of the Palace of Fine Arts, the Transamerica Building, redevelopment projects,
the height of downtown and waterfront buildings, landmark preservation, freeways, and open spaces.
Today, the AIA/ SF is the fourth largest chapter of the AIA, serving local communities and more than 2,000 members in San
Francisco and Marin county plus all insular possessions in the Pacific except Hawaii and Guam. AIA/SF works locally to advance
the profession and improve the quality of life in the Bay Area and participates in many community outreach projects.
Sources:
AIA/SF 2000-2001 Firm Profile, 13-14.
Parman, John. "That Brilliant Year, 1882." American Institute of Architects San Francisco Chapter Centennial Directory, 1982,
20.
Thompson, Elisabeth K. "History of the Chapter." American Institute of Architects San Francisco Chapter Centennial Directory,
1982, 21-23. http://www.aiasf.org [December 2001]
The AIA/SF Records consist of three series: Board of Director's Records, Office Records, and Art & Artifacts. The records
include Board and Executive Committee minutes for the years 1907 through 1989, membership files, photographs, and artifacts.
The minutes are inter-filed by date. The membership files are organized alphabetically by last name and mainly document past
members from the 1950s and 1960s. Photographs document various chapter events and individuals.
Minutes prior to 1907 were lost when the offices of the chapter secretary were destroyed in the San Francisco earthquake and
fire of 1906. The first decade of recorded minutes, therefore, are very important primary documents. They cover the activities
of members and committees as well the many problems that arose during San Francisco's recovery from the disastrous earthquake
and fire. The membership files include biographical, professional, and membership information for many professional architects
who worked in the city and the Bay Area.
American Institute of Architects, San Francisco Chapter: Centennial Drawing Collection, (2011-17), Environmental Design Archives,
University of California, Berkeley.
Microfilm copy: Chapter Minutes, February 19, 1907 (vol 1) through June 30, 1960 (vol 3).
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Architects -- California.
Architects -- California -- San Francisco Bay Area.
OFFICE RECORDS II. 1950-1970