By Finbar LaBelle
finbarlabelle@bennington.edu
Anchoring four blocks of Civic Center at 100 Larkin Street, many San Franciscans are well acquainted with the beauty of our public library’s Main Branch. Opened in 1996, the iconic spiral design, crafted from glass and metal beams that crown the building’s roofline, stands as a testament to our public libraries’ strength. Patrons may be able to navigate the floors, each with varying specifications, but many of us are still unaware of the hidden gem on the sixth and uppermost floor.
This hidden gem, fully available to the public, is The Daniel E. Koshland San Francisco History Center.
Designed by the local firm Simon Martin-Vegue Winkelstein Moris and named in honor of San Francisco philanthropist and fierce supporter of education Daniel Edward Koshland (1892-1979), the center welcomes visitors through large glass doors opening to a mid-century modern reading room.
The only thing standing in the way of the vast archives are the librarians stationed at the front desk who will check your bags and a form of identification. After that, the vast and extensive archives are available to all who are interested. Should you ask for any historical records to be pulled, the librarians can swiftly provide anyone with primary documents, some dating back a century or more, with some files that still harbor the smells of the smoke from the 1906 earthquake.
Local art exhibits are interspersed among the room’s orderly arrangement of maps, books and records chronicling San Francisco’s rich history. Walking around the center, one can tell its aesthetic purposefully reflects the library’s commitment to preserving the city’s past. Following the line of wooden desks, past the hushed reverence of the rare book collection, visitors are rewarded with a breathtaking panorama of City Hall and the vibrant expanse of Hayes Valley.
Inside this remarkable history center, examining any document — be it an 1800s edition of the San Francisco Chronicle or the historical records of your own home — can fundamentally reshape a project, quench a lifetime curiosity, or offer a profound journey through time.
Adrienne Storey-SFPL City Archivist
In February of this year, The Guardsman had the opportunity to interview Adrienne Storey, San Francisco Public Library’s new city archivist. Storey received her undergraduate degree from the University of Washington and her master’s in Library Science from San Jose State. Assuming the position in September of 2024, she has been tasked with managing SFPL’s Archives and Special Collections.
While leading a team of fifteen fellow archivists, librarians, and other professionals, Storey oversees the aforementioned San Francisco History Center, Book Arts and Special Collections, and San Francisco Photograph Collections.
Timeless Tomes
Storey was happy to share more about the Book Arts and Special Collections, offering a peek into where the rare books are held. Typically overshadowed by the impressive San Francisco archive, the collections lie beyond a roped-off area to the left of the main reading room.
“Ever since starting, I have been obsessed with studying the History Center,” Storey explained, pulling the rope aside. “Surprisingly, the Book Arts and Special Collections section came first. That is what people of the time were really interested in. They were interested in the classics and the antiquarian. We still steward those collections.”
The Public Library first started rebuilding its collection around the turn of the twentieth century after the city-wide destruction in 1906. Despite the center’s emphasis on San Francisco history, the rare book collection continues to grow alongside the more prominent local archives.
The lavish room with touted rare books lining the walls, some dating back to the fifteenth century, is astounding. However, Storey made it clear that this is only one part of the operation.
Rooms like these are often difficult to access. They are typically held within more sequestered collections, frequently privatized by universities with little to no public access.
Chronicles Preserved
A key focal point of the center has been maintaining the work of local presses, significant given San Francisco’s past as a hub for printing and publishing. Storey and her team play a strong role in preserving the city’s legacy by collecting inimitable publications, sometimes possessing the sole extant copy.
“It was 1973 when the History Center became official. From there, it got more and more attention,” Storey noted. As she spoke more about the library’s past, she revealed it has become “the only thing [she] reads about now.”
The shifting of interest to local histories partly blossomed because of San Francisco’s first City Archivist, Gladys Hansen (1925-2017). Hansen had a deep interest in the truth of the 1906 earthquake. According to a 2017 SFGate article by Carol Nolte, Hansen’s findings showed that some 3,000 to 4,000 residents had died in the earthquake and the ensuing fires. This number was much higher than the original listing of 478.
In the years between Hansen and Storey was yet another acclaimed City Archivist of 28 years Susan Goldstein. Goldstein contributed a mighty effort to diversifying the collection.
In the years between Hansen and Storey came Susan Goldstein, another acclaimed city archivist. In her 28 years with the SFPL, Goldstein greatly contributed to diversifying the collection.
Hansen’s career and the genesis of Storey’s are among the many contributions emanating from this department. There is an increasingly dire need, especially in today’s political climate, to value and uplift the continued funding, utilization and consistent engagement with our libraries.
As the SFPL approaches its 150th anniversary in June of 2029, there is even more reason to revel in the center’s great archival undertaking.
Continuing to explain her role in more depth, Storey spoke about the time spent organizing San Francisco’s city departments’ records of permanent value. As the official repository for the entire city, thousands of records pass through the department. Here, it is decided where and how to store them, always with the goal of accessibility.
Times have changed, and so has the History Center, but Storey has seamlessly adapted. “Another part of the future of the History Center is the care we are putting into diversifying the collection, paying attention to whose histories are being told and why. We need to start thinking about the agencies of communities and how they want to research and be researched themselves,” Storey said, with particular regard for that of marginalized communities.
The History Center team dedicates countless hours to ensuring that “accessibility” is fully realized.
While technology is reshaping many aspects of her work, Storey’s guidance ensures that the preservation of San Francisco history remains in capable hands. The center is currently developing the stronger infrastructure needed to digitize more records. However, as things progress, one thing remains certain: the History Center will continue to be the definitive destination for any San Francisco scholar.
Tapping the Time Capsule
With myriad ways to utilize the archives, don’t just think about what you can do for your public libraries, but what your public libraries can do for you. As previously mentioned, the archives can be a great space to research when and who built your San Francisco home or even when your neighborhood became prominent. It is also the perfect place to reconnect with family histories within the Bay Area.
Writing a movie? Doing research for a site-specific history project? Writing a paper for a class on San Francisco history? Wanting to find an old photograph for a family reunion? Into historical fiction and want to depict San Francisco in the 1920s accurately? Whether your interest is community-oriented or simply for yourself, the archives can be your gateway to the missing and integral part of your work, whatever that may be.
“This place is perfect for deep dives on any aspect of the city. And people coming in with different projects keep my job interesting!” Storey said.
One day, Storey might be researching a small local outlet from the 50s; the next, she could connect a screenwriter crafting the next blockbuster based in San Francisco with an 1800s photograph of their muse.
The readily available archivists can pull anything from mayoral records — Mayor London Breed’s document collection was the first collection Storey took in — to photography and videos that can be viewed in their screening room. As Storey put it, one of the primary goals of the history center staff is to question what documentation exists.“How can we help researchers find that documentation wherever it is? We are working on broadening how we can help people with any type of interest or question,” Storey explained.
Whether a seasoned academic or an inquisitive newcomer, all who hope to understand the many layers of San Francisco’s history will undoubtedly find a home within The Daniel E. Koshland History Center. In this small reading room on the sixth floor, countless untold stories eagerly await exploration.