22 Jul 2026 11 min read in memoriam

A “Cottage Lady” and “A Very Enthusiastic Type”

Remembering two preservation heroes and some never-before-seen scans from the Archives Project

Hello all! Thank you to the longtime SF Heritage members who have chosen to stick with us as paid supporters of Special City. Today for you we have:

An Archives Project update!
Woody remembers two preservation superheroes
A firehouse “Where Am I?” reveal
One of the newest legacy businesses you should visit for specialty food items

South of the Slot history with California Pioneers

Illustration of light green facade of the Hotel Utah. — The Hotel Utah, a rare post-1906 earthquake survivor in the South of Market.

On Wednesday, July 29, at 5 pm, the Society of California Pioneers will host our President & CEO Woody LaBounty for a free talk on the history of the South of Market. Once nicknamed “South of the Slot,” it was the city’s working-class industrial and manufacturing district that underwent dynamic physical and cultural changes after the 1906 earthquake and fire.

We loved highlighting the South of Market last year as part of our Heritage in the Neighborhoods program, and this talk is a great opportunity for an in-person refresher on local landmarks and SF Heritage’s work towards greater recognition and protection of San Francisco’s unique architecture, businesses, and subcultures.

Wednesday, July 29, 5 pm, Pioneer Hall, 300 4th Street (in the South of Market!). **ONLY A FEW SPOTS LEFT! RSVP directly to Pioneers by emailing info@californiapioneers.org or calling (415) 957-1849.

Judith and Jane

remembering preservation superheroes

Above: A photograph by Judith Lynch of The John McMullen House (SF Landmark no. 123) at 827 Guerrero in the 1970s. The home was a beneficiary of the Preservation Loan and Technical Assistance Program, a rehabilitation task force created by SF Heritage in the 1980s. (OpenSFHistory / wnp25.10878)

Woody: We lost two noted San Francisco preservationists in June. Judith Lynch and Jane Cryan focused on different aspects of the city’s rich architectural heritage but shared an intense passion for increasing public awareness of our shared past. Both were admired friends of San Francisco Heritage.

In 1973, the San Francisco Chronicle called Judith Ann Lynch “a very enthusiastic type” and, in 1977, Heritage News noted she “taught us more about our rich Victorian heritage than anyone else.” Together, the quotes encapsulate the energy and productivity of the researcher, photographer, writer, speaker, tour-guide, and educator who passed away in Alameda on June 11, 2026.

Judith Lynch in her Alameda home in 2023. (Anita Denz photo)

As co-author of the acclaimed books A Gift to the Streets (1976) and Victoria’s Legacy, Tours of San Francisco Architecture (1978), Judith helped inspire a generation to rediscover and appreciate the Victorian architecture for which San Francisco is now so famous.

Judith Lynch at center with Betty de Losada (left) and Julianne Bowman (right) in 1973 when Judith was researching and giving tours of architecture as part of the Mission Coalition Organization.

Judith always sought ways to share her knowledge and enthusiasm. She was a founder of both The Victorian Alliance of San Francisco and San Francisco City Guides, and for many years contributed to architectural appreciation and education in Alameda. Her obituary can be read here and donations in her memory can be made to Oakland’s Cohen-Bray House.

In the early 1980s, Jane Frances Cryan, the “cottage lady,” emerged as the champion for a uniquely San Franciscan building type: relief cottages constructed to house thousands of refugees from the 1906 earthquake and fire.

Jane Cryan, earthquake cottage "shacktivist," on a cable car in the 1960s.

More than 5,000 of these small simple “shacks” were constructed in San Francisco parks after the earthquake and most were relocated to empty lots as housing across the city in 1907-1908. Shingled, stucco-ed, combined, and even stacked, these tangible relics of the great disaster were overlooked and mostly forgotten.

Jane founded The Society for the Preservation and Appreciation of San Francisco’s 1906 Refugee Shacks and worked tirelessly to research, survey, and advocate for the cottages. Her efforts resulted in the city landmarking of shacks at 1227-1227A 24th Avenue (City Landmark #171) and saving two from demolition in the Richmond District for relocation and display in the Presidio.

Jane Cryan under another earthquake cottage with Woody LaBounty in 2004. (David Gallagher photo)

Jane passed away in Oshkosh, Wisconsin on June 25, 2026. Her obituary in the San Francisco Chronicle (behind paywall, but maybe this guest link will work) details her remarkable life.

San Francisco Heritage continues to advocate for the preservation of the 1906 earthquake cottages, which are frequently threatened. Currently the Presidio Trust seeks to remove the two shacks Jane saved in the 1980s.

Earthquake shacks moved to the Presidio in the 1980s and now stored near the old stables awaiting their next move.

Shacks at 369 Valley Street were “accidentally” gutted by their owner in November 2025. A mandated restoration plan and possible fine are yet to imposed by the city.

369 Valley Street as it was (left) and its gutting in progress in November 2025 revealing the historic redwood walls (right). (Photos courtesy of Marc Norton)

What was left of 369 Valley Street on November 14, 2025 when the city issued a stop-work order. (Courtesy of Marc Norton)

Another earthquake cottage at 107 Franconia Street—determined by the Planning Department to be too altered for preservation—is slated for demolition in Bernal Heights.

We will give updates on each of these projects in future Special City emails.

Archives Project update

preview new scans plus how you can help

Above: A stereoview slide example from the latest scanned batch. (David Gallagher photo)

Thanks to the generous donors to our Archives Project spring appeal, we are making great progress scanning more than 1,000 stereoview negatives of San Francisco architecture in our collection from the 1950s and 1960s. We thought we’d share a few highlights of what we have done so far.

Last Days of a Western Addition Row

Row houses at the end of their days on a slide dated May 1959.

We haven’t yet identified this block, but this row of Western Addition Victorian-era residences just before urban renewal demolition is a poignant reminder of our organizational roots. It was the ongoing loss of the city’s architectural heritage that spurred our founding in 1971.