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San Francisco Scale Model is a massive hit at the library

February 27, 2019 by Bonnee Waldstein

Find your house.

Glen Parkers and residents from adjoining neighborhoods packed the library last Thursday to see a section (of the 120) of the San Francisco Scale Model and hear its fascinating story.  At the same time, it was an exciting history lesson about our neighborhoods.  The model was in storage for 77 years, until now.

The presentation was put on by the Glen Park Neighborhoods History Project and featured historians Evelyn Rose, founder of GPNHP; Amy O’Hair of Sunnyside; Hannah Simonson of Diamond Heights, and Jacquie Proctor of Miraloma Park.

In the talk and slide show, Evelyn Rose noted the history of the San Francisco model as a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project that provided employment during the Great Depression. It took 300 craftspeople, working thousands of hours, two years to build.

Sunnyside historian Amy O’Hair

 

Slide show of historic neighborhood photos

The model contains all the houses and structures (6,000, minus some missing pieces) that were in existence in 1938, including many of the houses in Glen Park.  Diamond Heights as we know it now didn’t exist. The three hills in that location were bare except for a bizarre network of roads.

 

After the talk and a round robin of diagrams of the neighborhoods in the meeting room, the group gathered around the model on display in the library’s main room. Local history came to life as people were able to identify their houses, or at least their location, and the lay of the land 80 or so years ago.

Glen Park, Diamonds Heights section of Scale Model

 

Glen Park historian Evelyn Rose discusses points of interest

 

Diamond Heights historian Hannah Simonson

For a complete discussion of the model and its history,
click here.

Assembled, the model measures 37 by 41 feet. Component parts are displayed in corresponding neighborhood libraries until March 25.

SF Chronicle Datebook notes “…the model was built to come apart, and seeing it in smaller quadrants elevated off the floor makes it easier to home in on the detail…Even without all of its pieces, this is considered to be the largest and most intact of any of a number of city models built across America by the WPA.”

However, there’s a movement afoot to at last have the entire assembled model on display.  There’s a petition online to get this done.  It’s on the Take Part page of SFMoma’s website.

Let your voice be heard.

Find your house.

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IMPORTANT UPCOMING DATES

Arlington Path Beautification
Saturday, July 19, 10 a.m. to noon
Meet at 300 Mateo (x Arlington) for an exciting day of weeding, watering, seed collecting.
Tools, gloves and good company provided.


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Glen Park Association is at Glen Park Greenway.
3 days ago
Glen Park Association

Saturday’s Glen Park Greenway Work Party is Cancelled.

“I’m very sorry to say that
we have cancelled our Work Party for this Saturday July 12, along with all organized volunteer activity on the Greenway until further notice.
As you may have read in the news, our fiscal sponsor, San Francisco Parks Alliance (SFPA), has shut itself down. Just as SFPA has shut itself down, the Greenway, as an organized part of SFPA, has also been “shut down.” We are busy looking for a suitable alternative fiscal sponsor that is willing to replace SFPA. That search is going well but it is a slow process. We had hoped to find temporary ways to enable the Greenway project to function responsibly as a community activity without a fiscal sponsor. Sadly, despite our best efforts and the help of many others in Glen Park, we have failed. That is why we must cancel our Saturday Work Party and discontinue future work parties and other organized volunteer activity on the Greenway (like weeding and watering) until further notice. We recognize that the Greenway is public open space and that the organizers of the Greenway project have no control over the activities of you or of anyone else on the Greenway. However, if you do venture onto the Greenway to satisfy your urge for outdoor recreation, please be aware that your activity is not in any way organized or sanctioned by the organizers of the Glen Park Greenway project. I’m well aware of the efforts that many of the
Greenway’s supporters are making to get the Greenway organized with a new fiscal sponsor and I’m confident that this will be arranged within weeks or perhaps a few months.
However long it takes, I will contact you with news of our progress.
Many thanks for all that you do for the Greenway.”

Nicholas Dewar, volunteer Project Director

#glenparkgreenway #glenparksf #sanfrancisco @rafaelmandelmand8 @danielluriesf @crosstowntrail
#crosstowntrail #sfparksalliance #publicspace #nature
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Wonder what’s stopping just organizing it separate from that non-profit. It seems like the volunteers largely come from Glen Park.

Glen Park Association is at Laidley Street SFO.
6 days ago
Glen Park Association

It was a beautiful day for the annual #july4th celebration on Laidley street!

📷: Photos courtesy of Michael Waldstein

#glenparksf #sanfrancisco #laidley
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It was a beautiful day for the annual #july4th celebration on Laidley street! 

📷: Photos courtesy of Michael Waldstein 

#glenparksf #sanfrancisco #laidley
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Upper Noe Neighbors

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