At the Archives: Nixon in SF

20Jul08

I spend most of my time at the Park Archives and Records Center in the Presidio located at 667 McDowell Ave, San Francisco, Ca 94129, where I’m an Archives Technician. I’m responsible for various and sundry tasks that are far too banal to describe in detail, but lately I’ve had the pleasure of cataloging accessioned items in preparation for public research. By and large I deal with military history pertaining to the Presidio of San Francisco, most of which (so far) has dealt with the protracted bickering with Mexico and our time fighting over the Phlippines at the turn of the twentieth-century; associated ephemera includes a plethora of photographs sent in by relatives of the soldiers who kept them safe for so long. I also come across ephemera associated with a San Francisco that is exists solely within the memories entombed within an aging population that is either physically or mentally beyond our reach.

While I was cataloging these items I had a disheartening ephiphany: these items are fucking cool, and no one is going to see them because no one ever comes in here. And then I had another epiphany: if we don’t have the funding to digitize our collections, I’m going to write about them and, at the very least, disseminate a fraction of the information we have available here to a wider audience; and thus the idea for this new segement, “At the Archives,” was born.

Before we get started, I want this to be known: if you see anything that piques your interest and you want to know more about it, the Archives is open for public reference Monday 1-4pm and Thursday 10am-1pm, or by appointment. For questions or appointments call and/or email Amanda Williford at (415) 561-2808 and Amanda_Williford@nps.gov; more often than not, what will be showcased on this blog is only the tip of the iceberg.

Nixon Visit to Potential GGNRA Site Photographs, 1972 (Cat. # GOGA 12427, Acc. # GOGA-2187)

I came across three photos of then Pesident Richard Nixon and his wife, Pat, along with an entourage that included Laurence Rockefeller and astronaut John Glenn, visiting potential Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) sites that was orchestrated in an effort to encourage legislative approval for the park, a process that was delayed at the time due to an inability to procure a Senate hearing for the bill which proposed such an establishment. Tricky Dick and his possee toured the San Francisco Bay on a boat which launched from a newly reconstructed pier at Fort Point. The photos were donated by Amy Meyer who, as a key figure in the People for a Golden Gate National Recreation Area (PFGGNRA), is the matriarch of the park, in many ways; suffice to say, anyone who enjoys a Sunday meandering around the Presidio, Fort Mason, or the Marin Headlands should send a gracious vibe Amy’s way. At any rate, when she donated the photos she also identified everyone in them, which include representatives from the Sierra Club, California Tomorrow, SPUR, and the Greenbelt Alliance. The person who intrigued me the most, however, was Bob Lurie, who was only identified by a $ beside his name. Upon running a quick google search I discovered him to be a San Francisco Real Estate developer who owned the Giants at one time and either owns, owned, or built most of the properties on Montgomery Street, including the property the famous Trans-America Building is built on; money makes the world go round, and gets you a spot on Nixons entourage.

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Tags: culture, History, parks, photography, presidents