Designing San Francisco

 (from the Art, Music and Recreation Center's Newspaper Clipping file)

Since the book's arrival a year ago, all of our copies of Designing San Francisco: Art, Land, and Urban Renewal in the City by the Bay have been checked out nearly continuously.  Alison Isenberg's account of how our City was shaped by new visions of landscape, architecture and urban planning resonates in current San Francisco because of the massive changes taking place today.

For the most part Designing San Francisco does not discuss actual architectural and landscape features at length and instead focuses on creative, political and financial forces that shaped each project.  The book looks at specific projects like Ghirardelli Square, Sea Ranch, the Golden Gateway, the Embarcadero Center and the un-built San Francisco International Market Center.  Isenberg also explores issues like historic preservation, adaptive reuse and renovation, public versus private space and ownership, urban renewal, and height limits within the collective effort to design the City.

(from the San Francisco Historical Photograph Collection)

Isenberg also hones in on particular figures who helped to guide and shape the City's built landscape like Karl and Jean Kortum, Lawrence Halprin, Ruth Asawa, Stuart and Caree Rose, Marion Conrad, Barbara Stauffacher and Virginia Green.

Those who have read and enjoyed this book can delve further into that time and place by using the Newspaper Clipping files in the Art, Music and Recreation Center.  We have contemporaneous files of newspaper clippings, flyers, and brochures for the following topics:

Bank of America
Buildings - Highrises
Embarcadero Center
Embarcadero Plaza
Ghirardelli Square
Golden Gate
Maritime Museum
Hyatt Regency
San Francisco Maritime National Historical ParkSan Francisco Urban Design Plan
Transamerica Spire

We also files for the following people on our Artists File:

Asawa, Ruth (artist)
Esherick, Joseph (architect)Halprin, Lawrence
Temko, Allan
Wurster, William Wilson (architect)

Designing San Francisco: Art, Land, and Urban Renewal in the City by the Bay by Alison Isenberg (Princeton University Press, 2017).

 (from the Art, Music and Recreation Center's Newspaper Clipping file)

Ballroom Dancing in the Art, Music and Recreation Center Newspaper Clipping Files

One of the tools of the old school reference librarian is the vertical file or newspaper clipping file.  Even as more information is available to be searched on the internet and through databases, the Art, Music and Recreation Center continues to maintain and add to our files.  In recent years we have been adding quite a bit less because we have stopped clipping articles from the San Francisco Chronicle (which has a strong online presence and a database that we subscribe to).  But we continue make an effort to locate material in neighborhood and weekly papers.

Browsing through these files is always a serendipitous experience.  You never know what you will find.  In this entry, we will present a small snapshot of the sort of articles one might find using the Ballroom Dancing file.

Ballroom dance is an activity that takes place away from the glare of the public  spotlight and involves amateurs and enthusiasts of all backgrounds.  Skimming through this folder of at least 100 clippings one can see ballroom dancing as a continuous current flowing through our city's cultural life.

"Allure of Swinging Attracts Fans of All Ages to Amura Ballroom Dance Studio" by Shiela Husting appeared in the Sunset Beacon in July 2007.  This article lists six dance studios in the Sunset District.  Unfortunately, the Amura Ballroom Dance Studio has since shut down, despite rave reviews online.

"Ballroom Dancing Remains on the Hill," by Christina Li appeared in The Potrero View of June 2008.  It discusses Cheryl Burke Dance taking over the space at 17th and DeHaro that was occupied for 17 years by the Metronome Ballroom.  Both of these studios represent the past of 1830 17th Street which is scheduled to be torn down so the Smuin Ballet can build a studio there.

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"It Don't Mean a Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing!," by Karen Ahn appeared in San Francisco Downtown in July 1998.  This article discusses a swing dance revival at spaces like Bimbo's, Cafe du Nord and The Inferno Lounge.

"Tea Dancing" by Joan Hockaday appeared in the San Francisco Progress on December 2, 1979.  It describes a Friday night tea dancing event held at the Hyatt Regency at the Embarcadero.

"Strictly Ballroom, Dancing Classes for Kids," by Angela Neal Richardson appeared in the Nob Hill Gazette of October 1993.  This article discusses The Mid-Weeklies, a series of dance classes for 6th, 7th and 8th graders.  Dance is also taught to these children as a form of social etiquette.

"Strictly Ballroom... and Tango, Swing, Cha Cha..." by Kevin Davis appeared in The Guardsman, the student newspaper of the City College of San Francisco.  This article discusses the school's ballroom dance classes.  It includes this fascinating information: "The 2,200-strong dance community at City College is really a cult-like entity unto itself, extending out  to a wide, underground movement."

Our newspaper clipping files provide a small window into this "underground" world.  It shows that there is a devoted subculture of San Franciscans who sustain this art form.  The popularity of different dance forms may wax and wane, dance venues may come and go, but the continuous enthusiasm and activity of these dancers remains documented in our files.

We have collected information into files on all aspects of the visual and performing arts as well as sports and recreation.  We also have biographical files on visual and performing artists.  Here are links to the indexes of our vertical file collection.

• Newspaper Clipping File - Subject Index

• Bay Area Musicians and Performing Artists Index
• Bay Area Visual Artists and Architects Index

Season of the Witch Playlist - Music from the 60's, 70's and 80's!

The years between 1965 and 1985 were a tumultuous and often dark time in San Francisco history.  In this year's One City One Book selection, Season of the Witch, author David Talbot uses a backdrop of local music to delve deep into the heart of this extraordinary era of social and political unrest.

From Santana and Jefferson Airplane's appearance at the late 1960's Altamont Free Concert where a young African-American male was murdered, to punk rocker Jello Biafra's mayoral bid shortly after the assassinations of both Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone, local music provided an unsentimental soundtrack.

The Art, Music & Recreation Center of the San Francisco Public Library is delighted to display some of our collection's ephemera and book images of the music that is featured in this remarkable publication. Inspired by the author's "playlist", materials culled include everything from rock posters that are on loan from the San Francisco History Center, to newspaper clippings that are stored in our department's vertical files. Images will be on display in the glass display cases on both sides of the Fourth Floor elevator lobby until January 28, 2016.

The hyperlinks below will lead you to our catalog showing the Library's holdings for an artist.

Season of the Witch Playlist: The David Talbot's Best Songs Recorded by San Francisco Bands, 1965-1985


The Ace of Cups - "Circles”

The Beau Brummels -“Just a Little,” “Laugh Laugh, ”“Sometime at Night”

Big Brother and theHolding Company  - “Call on Me,” "Combination of the Two,” “Farewell Song,” “Piece of My Heart”

Creedence ClearwaterRevival  - “As Long as I Can See the Light,” “Fortunate Son,” “Walk on the Water”

The Dead Kennedys  - “Holiday in Cambodia”

The Flamin’ Groovies  - “Shake Some Action,” “Slow Death”

The Grateful Dead  - “Box of Rain,” “The Golden Road (To Unlimited Devotion),” “New Speedway Boogie,” “Ripple,” “Uncle John’s Band”

The Great Society - “Grimly Forming,” “Trieulogy”

The JeffersonAirplane - “It’s No Secret,” “Lather,” “Law Man.” “Somebody to Love,” “Today,” “White Rabbit”

Jorma Kaukonen - “Genesis”

Lee Michaels - “Heighty Hi,” “What Now America”

Moby Grape - “8:05,” “Going Nowhere,” “I Am Not Willing,” “Naked, If I Want To,” “Omaha,” “Sitting by the Window”

The Mojo Men - “Sit Down, I Think I Love You”

Romeo Void - “Never Say Never”

Santana - “Samba Pa Ti”

Skip Spence - “Diana”

Tracy Nelson and Mother Earth - “Down So Low,” “Seven Bridges Road”

Translator - “Everywhere That I’m Not”

The Vejtables - “I Still Love You”

The Youngbloods - “Darkness, Darkness,” “Get Together”

Little Boxes: The Legacy of Henry Doelger

The Art, Music and Recreation Center of the San Francisco Public Library is pleased to present the documentary film screening of Little Boxes: The Legacy of Henry Doelger by local filmmaker Rob Keil.

When: Saturday, September 5, 2015
            2:00 PM - 3:30 PM

Where: Main Library, Latino Hispanic Community Meeting Room
             100 Larkin Street, San Francisco, CA 94102

This film is a fascinating architectural and historical journey through the Westlake District of Daly City, California, one of America’s first and most iconic postwar suburbs. Located just south of San Francisco, Westlake has long been the subject of adoration as well as ridicule. Perhaps Westlake’s greatest claim to fame is that it inspired Malvina Reynolds’ 1962 anti- suburban folk song, “Little Boxes.”

The neighborhood’s quirky architecture has been featured in numerous books, newspapers, national magazines and commercials. But this is the first documentary film exclusively about Henry Doelger and his signature community. Little Boxes not only documents Doelger’s place in history, but it uncovers Westlake’s amazing development process and celebrates its classic midcentury style.

The screening will be followed by a short Q & A with the filmmaker.  Rob Keil is a San Francisco-based art director, designer and filmmaker who has lived in and around Westlake his entire life.

Selected resources at the library:

To research your San Francisco Building use this guide created by the San Francisco History Center:
How to Research a San Francisco Building 

The San Francisco History Center also has a small clipping file on Henry Doelger in their San Francisco Biography Collection.

The San Francisco Chronicle Historical database has hundreds of articles that list home sales, editorials and full length articles about Henry Doelger.

Little Boxes: The Legacy of Henry Doelger - DVD / directed and produced by Rob Keil

Little Boxes: The Architecture of a Classic Midcentury Suberb / by Rob Keil

Westlake by Bunny Gillespie

Bob Grimes (1922-2011) - An Appreciation

Bob Grimes, photographed by Basya Petnick in "Bob Grimes - The Music Man," Nob Hill Gazette (January 1999), p. 20.

Musicians all over the world lost a dear friend when Bob Grimes passed away recently at the age of 89. We miss him at the Library as well. A recent obituary by Peter Hartlaub in the San Francisco Chronicle of October 14, 2011 provides a nice appreciation of Bob Grimes and his life.

Bob Grimes was a legendary collector of sheet music - his collection consisted of more than 34,000 pieces until he sold it to the Michael Feinstein Foundation near the end of his life. While Bob was happy to be known as a collector, his true passion was for the songs themselves. He wanted to play whatever part he could in bringing back what he saw as a Golden Age of American music. To that end he shared his collection and knowledge of this rich repertoire with countless singers and other musicians.

The Sheet Music Mogul of Post Street, source: Youtube - Channel 3 Evening News (2007).

In addition to possessing such a marvelous collection, he was a living encyclopedia, an endless font of knowledge about the songs of American film and stage. We librarians often called upon him to help library patrons. When you told him a song title he’d say, “That’s from [movie title], I pretty sure I’ve got it here, hold on a minute.” Or he’d answer “Oh, that one was never published.” Then you knew you were sunk.

Bob Grimes - Almost a Celebrity (source: Youtube)

He could recall significant details about every song often about their setting and creation. Today the internet, databases and recent reference books have made it much easier to track down an elusive piece of sheet music. But a mere twenty years ago the amazing memory of collectors like Bob Grimes and dealers like Dorothy Starr were absolutely essential.

Bob was always delighted to hold court and share his enthusiasm and knowledge with anyone who was interested. I’m sure many others can recount instances of Bob introducing them to some obscure, wonderful number captured on celluloid. I remain grateful for Bob playing me a movie scene where Lyda Roberti as Mata Machree sings the over-the-top number “It’s Terrific (When I Get Hot)” from the delightful W. C. Field’s vehicle Million Dollar Legs (1932). According to Frederick Nolan, famed lyricist Lorenz Hart anonymously contributed these lyrics to Ralph Rainger’s melody. But I’m sure Bob must have first told me that.


Matta Machree, The Woman No Man Can Resist (source bunæn’s Flickr photostream).

Bob was very generous with the Library and its patrons. Often after learning that Bob indeed did have a copy of a very elusive song, I would walk up to his apartment on Post Street where he would a have a copy awaiting me that I could provide for an astonished and grateful library patron.

We continue to aspire to provide what Bob Grimes did -- access to the vast ocean of American popular song. Our collection of sheet music is vast, if less focused than Bob’s. In 1990 we were fortunate have community members raise money to acquire the stock of Dorothy Starr’s music store. We have a database consisting of nothing but vocal sheet music that presently has more than 35,000 unique items. This supplements our already extensive collection of songbooks and piano / vocal scores to Broadway shows and film musicals. While we cannot provide this service with the same charm and aplomb that Bob did, we hope we aspire to continue his legacy of helping to unite singers with songs.

For those interested in learning more about Bob Grimes the Art, Music and Recreation Center has newspaper clippings about Bob Grimes spanning more than 30 years in our Musicians and Performing Artists File.

Bibliography:

Bob Grimes biography at the Internet Movie Database.

Lorenz Hart: A Poet on Broadway by Frederick Nolan (Oxford University Press, 1994).

Newspaper Clipping File - Subject Index

For more than forty years Art, Music and Recreation Center staff has been clipping articles from San Francisco’s newspapers and organizing the articles by subject. The result is something that we librarians call a "vertical file" defined in the Random House Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary as "a collection of pamphlets, pictures, clippings, or other materials stored upright, as in a filing cabinet, or cabinets." We have just added the index to this file to the Library's web page under the category SFPL-Created Research Tools.

Vertical files were especially important to librarians in the days before computers and the internet. Our files initially served a dual function of assembling current information and information that might be difficult to find again, as well as documenting the arts and recreation of the Bay Area. Over the years the second function has come to dominate our use of the file. Until January 2003 scope of the file was the entire Bay Area. Since that time we have limited our coverage to activities and institutions within the San Francisco city limits.

There are files for broad subjects as well as for individual organizations. While some of the newer information saved in the file is today readily accessible through the web and databases, organizing the information chronologically and by subject provides access to the information in a long range and in-depth manner.

USING THE INDEX

We have folders dedicated to specific artistic organizations, as well as those that more broadly cover an art form. This is where the Subject Index to the Newspaper Clipping File is important. Within the index there are many more headings than folders - we only have files for the entries in bold type. The remaining information is an elaborate system of cross references to ease the retrieval of information from the file. There are two ways we do this - using a "See Reference" and a "See Also Reference." A "See Reference" points from a heading without a file to the proper heading which has a file. A "See Also Reference" points from a heading which has a file to other related headings.

Along with the See and See Also References there are also many “x” and “xx” notations throughout the index. These are known in the library world as tracings, and refer back to the See and See Also references. The “x” means that the following term has a See Reference referring to it elsewhere in the Index. The “xx” means that the following term has a related See Also Reference elsewhere in the Index. These notations are for the benefit of the librarians using and updating the file.

COVERAGE

The backbone of the index are newspaper clippings. We have systematically clipped and filed articles from the San Francisco Chronicle and San Francisco Examiner for around 40 years. We have always frequently clipped articles from San Francisco’s weekly, monthly and neighborhood newspapers like the San Francisco Bay Guardian, The San Francisco Weekly, The San Francisco Independent, The Nob Hill Gazette, etc... The files can also include fliers, press releases and other ephemera.

A look at the See Also references from broader topics can show the range of coverage of related institutions. For instance, with the heading Museums and Art Galleries one can see a list of more than fifty institutions for which we have created for folders, ranging from the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts to the Cartoon Art Museum, from the Musee Mecanique to the Museo Italo Americano. A broader heading Football also refers to the San Francisco 49ers, to Extreme Football, as well as College Football (filed under Football, College) and High School Football (filed under Football, High School).

Please remember that this is only an index – none of the file contents are available in an online form. We cannot read, mail, scan, fax or photocopy any file items. We can give an idea of the size and range of the file by phone or email.

As these files are unique, irreplaceable, and sometimes fragile we must hold acceptable identification while they are used. The files must be used under the supervision of Art, Music & Recreation Center reference desk staff.

Also, please remember to consult our two other vertical files – The Musicians and Performing Artists File and the Visual Artists File.