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General Recommendations
Bay Area points of historical interest with literary tie-ins : for students
Staff-created list
A school librarian had a great idea: they read the Port Chicago 50 and then took the students there to visit the site. Then they wanted to know MORE places they could visit. So in this list, SFPL Main Children's librarians collaborated to find books that will give you a place to visit to learn more about our rich and diverse history (both past & present) across the Bay!
San Francisco Public Library
Available
in some locations
Web Resource
Women have always been involved in aviation, whether it was behind the scenes supporting the efforts of others, or taking on the challenges of piloting an...Show more
Women have always been involved in aviation, whether it was behind the scenes supporting the efforts of others, or taking on the challenges of piloting and taking risks with experimental aircraft - to taking their rightful place in space exploration. The Oakland Aviation Museum was founded in 1981 as a non-profit organization under IRS Code 501 (C) 3 under the name of Western Aerospace Museum. The museum's first home was a small room at Hangar 5 at Oakland International Airport's historic North Field. n 1988, the Museum was granted use of the historic Boeing School of Aeronautics hangar built in 1939. The hangar serves as the primary facility of the Museum, providing indoor and outdoor exhibition space, an education room, a History Flicks room, a research library and aircraft restoration work areas. In 2007, Western Aerospace Museum was renamed Oakland Aviation Museum with the historical mission refocused on the important legacy of flight at North Field and the surrounding area.
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Book - 2010
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in some locations
Web Resource
The pictures (mostly portraits) that Kahlo painted in San Francisco reveal her interest in nineteenth-century Mexican folk portraiture and popular art. T...Show more
The pictures (mostly portraits) that Kahlo painted in San Francisco reveal her interest in nineteenth-century Mexican folk portraiture and popular art. The 1931 painting titled, Frieda and Diego Rivera, is on view on floor 2 as part of Portraits and Figures. And from June 28, 2021–Summer 2023, Pan American Unity, A Mural by Diego Rivera is on view in the SF MOMA. After the fair, Pan American Unity — measuring twenty-two by seventy-four feet and weighing over sixty thousand pounds — was moved to the campus of City College of San Francisco (CCSF). This was possible because Rivera painted this fresco not on a wall, but on ten steel-framed cement panels. More than half a century later, an international team of experts has spent years planning another move. In partnership with CCSF, SFMOMA presents Rivera’s Pan American Unity in the museum’s free-to-the-public Roberts Family Gallery on Floor 1. On view until 2023, the mural will then return to CCSF to be installed in a new performing arts center.
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Book - 2010
Available
in some locations
Web Resource
The African American Museum and Library at Oakland is dedicated to the discovery, preservation, interpretation, and sharing of historical and cultural exp...Show more
The African American Museum and Library at Oakland is dedicated to the discovery, preservation, interpretation, and sharing of historical and cultural experiences of African Americans in California and the West for present and future generations.
The reference library supports the archives and museum. Materials may only be used in the library.
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Book - 2013
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in some locations
Web Resource
The Japanese Tea Garden provides visitors from around the world with an opportunity to experience the natural beauty, tranquility and harmony of a Japanes...Show more
The Japanese Tea Garden provides visitors from around the world with an opportunity to experience the natural beauty, tranquility and harmony of a Japanese-style garden in the heart of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park.
Originally created as a “Japanese Village” exhibit for the 1894 California Midwinter International Exposition, the site originally spanned about one acre and showcased a Japanese style garden. When the fair closed, Japanese landscape architect Makoto Hagiwara and superintendent John McLaren reached a gentleman’s agreement, allowing Mr. Hagiwara to create and maintain a permanent Japanese style garden as a gift for posterity. He became caretaker of the property, pouring all of his personal wealth, passion, and creative talents into creating a garden of utmost perfection. Mr. Hagiwara expanded the garden to its current size of approximately 5 acres where he and his family lived for many years until 1942 when they, along with approximately 120,000 Japanese Americans, were forced to evacuate their homes and move into internment camps. When the war was over, the Hagiwara family was not allowed to return to their home at the tea garden and in subsequent years, many Hagiwara family treasures were removed and new additions were made.
Today, the Japanese Tea Garden endures as one of the most popular attractions in San Francisco, featuring classic elements such as an arched drum bridge, pagodas, stone lanterns, stepping stone paths, native Japanese plants, serene koi ponds and a zen garden. Cherry blossom trees bloom throughout the garden in March and April.
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Book - 2018
Available
in some locations
Web Resource
With a proud tradition of serving area families since 1909 , Chapel of the Chimes Oakland is an architectural gem with great historical significance. Rede...Show more
With a proud tradition of serving area families since 1909 , Chapel of the Chimes Oakland is an architectural gem with great historical significance. Redesigned in 1928 by renowned architect Julia Morgan of Hearst Castle fame, it was conceived as a haven of peace and tranquility with an innovative array of gardens, cloisters, alcoves, stair wells, fountains and chapels that rose toward vaulted ceilings and were illuminated by soothing natural light. The project is considered by some as Morgan’s master work.
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In April 2021, the GLBT Historical Society received an archival donation of an extraordinary, unique piece of history that we are unveiling during the Pri...Show more
In April 2021, the GLBT Historical Society received an archival donation of an extraordinary, unique piece of history that we are unveiling during the Pride season: a fragment of one of the two monumental rainbow flags first raised on June 25, 1978 in San Francisco’s United Nations Plaza at the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade.
Displaying the original design’s eight colored stripes, it was created by Gilbert Baker and hand-stitched and dyed with the help of volunteers and friends, including Lynn Segerblom (Faerie Argyle Rainbow), James McNamara, Glenne McElhinney, Joe Duran and Paul Langlotz. Thought to have been lost for over 40 years, the fragment, shown in the banner above, was recently rediscovered and is the only known surviving remnant of the two inaugural rainbow flags.
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In 2005, in celebration of the opening of the redesigned de Young Museum in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, Ruth Asawa donated 15 sculptures to the Fine...Show more
In 2005, in celebration of the opening of the redesigned de Young Museum in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, Ruth Asawa donated 15 sculptures to the Fine Arts Museums for a permanent installation. This grouping was personally selected by Asawa as being excellent examples of many of her sculptural forms. In keeping with Asawa’s belief that art should be readily accessible to all, these works are housed in the Education Tower, where there is no charge for visitors.
Check their website for exact dates and times they are open.
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Located in Levi Strauss & Co.’s San Francisco headquarters, the Vault is free and open to the public. It offers a taste of the company Archives, which...Show more
Located in Levi Strauss & Co.’s San Francisco headquarters, the Vault is free and open to the public. It offers a taste of the company Archives, which house a wealth of documents, clothing, photographs, films and other artifacts dating back to the mid-1800s.
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Book - 1952
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in some locations
Web Resource
Presenting cable car history, technology, information, and gift shop. Located in San Francisco's Washington-Mason powerhouse and carbarn, the museum provides a historical perspective and insight into today's system.
Presenting cable car history, technology, information, and gift shop. Located in San Francisco's Washington-Mason powerhouse and carbarn, the museum provides a historical perspective and insight into today's system.
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Angel Island State Park, the largest natural island in the San Francisco Bay, offers some of the best views of the surrounding Bay Area. With great hiking...Show more
Angel Island State Park, the largest natural island in the San Francisco Bay, offers some of the best views of the surrounding Bay Area. With great hiking trails and many other recreational opportunities readily available, Angel Island is truly a hidden gem in the midst of the urban Bay Area.
Angel Island is truly a walk through time! Beginning with the earliest inhabitants, the Coast Miwok, Angel Island was a seasonal hunting and gathering location for the local native tribes, a safe refuge and supply stop for Spanish explorers like Juan Manuel de Ayala, one of the first to map the San Francisco Bay.
From 1910 to 1940, the U.S. Immigration Station processed hundreds of thousands of immigrants, the majority from China. During World War II, Japanese, and German POWs were detained at the Station before being sent to facilities farther inland.
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The Incredible, Sometimes Awkward, True Story of A Rebel Girl on Wheels Who Helped Spark A Revolution
Book - 2021
Available
in some locations
Web Resource
For 25 days in April 1977, a group of roughly 150 disability rights activists took over the fourth floor of a federal building in San Francisco. They woul...Show more
For 25 days in April 1977, a group of roughly 150 disability rights activists took over the fourth floor of a federal building in San Francisco. They would not leave, they said, until President Jimmy Carter's administration agreed to implement a four-year-old law protecting the rights of people with disabilities.
The activists and their supporters outside the Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) building wore pins and T-shirts, and waved banners declaring their support for Section 504 and for the rights it guaranteed to people with disabilities. The more successful sit-in occurred in San Francisco, planned by Judith Heumann, Kitty Cone, and Mary Jane Owen, lasted until May 4, 1977, a total of 25 days, with more than 150 people refusing to leave. It is the longest sit-in at a federal building to date. Close to 120 disability activists and protesters occupied the HEW building. Now, 50 United Nations Plaza is a cornerstone of the San Francisco Civic Center and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is the home of GSA regional headquarters offices for the Pacific Rim Region. Members of the public are eligible for entry with a tenant escort during public hours. All public visitors are required to pass through electronic security equipment on the first floor. ADA access is available at the UN Plaza entrance to the building.
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The Winchester Mystery House is a mansion in San Jose, California, that was once the personal residence of Sarah Winchester, the widow of firearms magnate...Show more
The Winchester Mystery House is a mansion in San Jose, California, that was once the personal residence of Sarah Winchester, the widow of firearms magnate William Wirt Winchester. One can visit the house and experience through a paid tour. Please note that the Winchester family history is intertwined with guns and weapons.
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