San Francisco and the City Beautiful: A History of Civic Center, 1893-1918

San Francisco’s Civic Center is the largest collection of monumental civic buildings in the United States outside of Washington DC. It is the product of the early twentieth century of City Beautiful movements and is exemplary in its design and use of materials.

James Haas, who has written on Civic Center history and politics, will cover the period of 1893-1918, addressing the City Beautiful movement in San Francisco, the coming of the Panama Pacific International Exposition of 1915, and the leadership of Mayor James Ralph in getting Civic Center and and a new City Hall designed and built. His talk will highlight the many issues, fights and personalities that played a role in this story.

Introduction by Kevin Starr, historian and farmer State Librarian.