AIA/SF

Historical Note

AIA/SF Records (est. May 1881)

The San Francisco chapter of the American Institute of Architects was organized to protect the integrity of the profession and to standardize the conduct and practice of its members. Demand for the services of builders and designers significantly increased as the city's population grew during the later part of the nineteenth century. Professionally trained architects of the time were continually challenged by the unethical practices of untrained "architects," who took advantage of patrons and threatened the work of reputable and qualified architects.

Prior to the AIA charter, trained architects in California formed a short-lived professional society in 1869. A second and larger association of well-known and respected San Francisco architects, the Pacific Society of Architects, was founded in May 1881. Augustus Laver, an important founding leader of this group, submitted the AIA charter petition which was signed by John Wright, George Sanders, William Curlett, Seth Babson, T.J. Welsh, and J.E. Wolf. These men were convinced that a unified group of professionals supported by the larger, national organization of the AIA would further protect the practice. In the spring 1882, the AIA granted the organized architects of San Francisco their charter and thereby expanded its membership westward beyond Chicago. In February 1927 the San Francisco Chapter was renamed the Northern California Chapter, which was incorporated on August 4, 1955. In 1980 the chapter became The American Institute of Architects, San Francisco Chapter. The most recent name variation, AIA San Francisco, a Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, was adopted by members in 1992.

John Wright served as the chapter's first president. In his inaugural address, Wright expressed three concerns he found to be "the greatest need of the present day."

First, true taste and accurate knowledge of art in the designer, united with a thorough knowledge of materials and their proper adaptation to truthful construction; second, a public whose educated tastes will be satisfied only by the real; and third, a system of professional instruction for our students or young designers who shall educate teachers as well as be taught, and which, in effect, shall be practical, efficient and sure, and shall embrace not only the highest, but the lowest level of the art. --quoted in "History of the Chapter," by Elisabeth K. Thompson, in American Institute of Architects San Francisco Chapter Centennial Directory , 1982, 22.

A number of significant Bay Area architects represented in the EDA served as chapter president, including John Galen Howard [1912], John Bakewell, Jr. [1918], George A. Applegarth [1921-1922], Frederick Meyer [1930], Henry Gutterson [1931-1932], and George Rockrise [1961]. Many AIA/SF Fellows are also represented in the EDA, including Gardner Dailey, Joseph Esherick, Donlyn Lyndon, Francis J. McCarthy, William Turnbull Jr., and William W. Wurster. The EDA holds the records of three AIA Gold Medal Winners : Bernard Maybeck, Wurster, and Esherick.

Some of the more important activities and issues taken up by the AIA/SF include the 1910 AIA Convention; the 1912 competition for a new city hall in San Francisco; the Panama-Pacific International Exposition of 1915; the Golden Gate International Exposition of 1938-1939; WWII and the defense industry in California; the post-war population; large public and invitational competitions; and controversial proposals such as the rebuilding of the Palace of Fine Arts, the Transamerica Building, redevelopment projects, the height of downtown and waterfront buildings, landmark preservation, freeways, and open spaces.

Today, the AIA/ SF is the fourth largest chapter of the AIA, serving local communities and more than 2,000 members in San Francisco and Marin county plus all insular possessions in the Pacific except Hawaii and Guam. AIA/SF works locally to advance the profession and improve the quality of life in the Bay Area and participates in many community outreach projects.

Sources: AIA/SF 2000-2001 Firm Profile , 13-14. Parman, John. "That Brilliant Year, 1882." American Institute of Architects San Francisco Chapter Centennial Directory , 1982 , 20. Thompson, Elisabeth K. "History of the Chapter." American Institute of Architects San Francisco Chapter Centennial Directory , 1982 , 21-23. http://www.aiasf.org [December 2001]

From the guide to the AIA/SF records, 1907-1989, (Environmental Design Archives. College of Environmental Design.)