Where are we going?

October 27, 2015
Tour the U.S. Courthouse in San Francisco

The James R. Browning U.S. Court of Appeals Building is a historic post office and courthouse building. It is a courthouse for the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Completed in 1905 as the U.S. Courthouse and Post Office, it was intended to represent the affluence and increasing importance of the United States as it became a world power. The building survived both the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, and the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.

U.S. Treasury architects worked on designs for the building, with Supervising ArchitectJames Knox Taylor (1857-1929) playing a lead role. Taylor selected a design influenced by Italian Renaissance architecture with magnificent Beaux Arts grandeur. To achieve the high level of craftsmanship specified for the interior, skilled artisans were brought from Italy. Groundbreaking took place in 1897 and the building opened in 1905 to acclaim as "a post office that's a palace."

JANUARY 26, 2016
THE STANFORD RED BARN HISTORY AND LEADERSHIP PROGRAM

 In 1876 Governor Leland Stanford purchased Mayfield Grange, about 650 acres along San Francisquito Creek near Menlo Park. Over the next ten years, he continued to acquire property in the area until his holdings included over 8000 acres of orchard, vineyard, grazing land, stables, and training tracks. Two dozen buildings, fifty paddocks and eight tracks were on the trotting farm. At its height, the farm employed 150 workers and boarded 600 horses.

Two buildings from the Stock Farm survive today. The Victorian Red Barn, built between 1878 and 1880, served as the training stable for the stock farm. The “fire-proof” brick stable Leland Stanford ordered as a replacement for a stable destroyed by fire in 1888 now houses the Equestrian Team Club House and other Equestrian Center

MARCH 8, 2016
OAKLAND, THE "OTHER CITY"

It's true: Oakland, so long in San Francisco's shadow, has morphed into a culinary destination.  This tour explores the 1870s business district where elegantly restored, commercial brick buildings now house offices, galleries and eateries.  The historic district is a visible reminder of Oakland's designation in 1869 as the Western Terminus of the Transcontinental Railroad.

MAY 10, 2015
LINCOLN PARK, SAN FRANCISCO

Lincoln Park in San Francisco, California, was dedicated to President Abraham Lincoln in 1909 and includes about 100 acres (0.4 km2) of the northwestern corner of the San Francisco Peninsula.  Lincoln Park is the western terminus of the Lincoln Highway, the first road across the United States of America.

n 1923, the park was chosen as the site of the California Palace of the Legion of Honor. The San Francisco Holocaust Memorial, designed by George Segal, was dedicated in the park in 1984.

 If this interest group is for you, please email
Lolly Osborne or Sue Krumbein to be added to our list.  
Your suggestions for future programs are welcome.