Huge Collection Of San Francisco Images Becomes Publicly Available

The San Francisco Public Library has made a collection of 90,000 photographs of the city available for viewing at its central branch.
Photo credit Matt Bigler/KCBS Radio

SAN FRANCISCO — A vast trove of historical photographs of San Francisco has been made available through the city's public library system. 

History buffs or anyone curious about the city's evolution from its boomtown days after World War Two to a tech mecca of the 21st century may be interested in the more than 90,000 photos of San Francisco buildings from its grand landmarks to otherwise anonymous homes that are now ready to view. 

"These would be photos and files that we would otherwise put into storage in boxes and make sure that they were climate controlled and preserved for history, but what does that really do in terms of helping people to understand the communities that used to be in the neighborhoods and how people used to live," said San Francisco Assessor Carmen Chu. 

Want to look back in time in SF? City library making over 90k old photos available to the public...but only in person, not digitized yet. Bring your white gloves! pic.twitter.com/Kyz1uGve6h

— Matt Bigler (@mattbigler740) May 1, 2019

There are many examples in the mainly black-and-white assortment of how San Francisco's architecture has changed with its culture in last 60-plus years says city archivist Susan Goldstein. 

"If you look at Western Addition, you can see it before redevelopment and after redevelopment. So, that's a huge change in the city," said Goldstein. "You can look at the Yerba Buena Center when there used to be residential hotels there before that whole development happened."

The one downside to the exhibit is that the photos are only available for viewing at the San Francisco Main Library near City Hall. Librarians provide white gloves for handling the delicate the pictures. Chu said that she hopes to have the pictures digitized. 

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