Chasing the Rabbit

Hello Special City members! We’re gearing up for a neighborhood spotlight next month, so expect lots of fun history content about special places starting October 1. In the meantime, we have this for paid members this week:

• House of Weird on the way
• Big news on two National Register district nominations
• Woody shares an iconic (and ionic) “where am I?” reveal 
• Looking back on a “lock party”
• An exciting Archives Project update

But first...

Get Ready for the House of Weird

“This Victorian mansion survived the Great Quake of 1906, but House of Weird is bound to shake you up.”

In the Halloween month of October, our friends at Gregangelo Museum will transform the historic Haas-Lilienthal House into a spooky and otherworldly experience:

“Your adventure starts in the grand ballroom over magical elixirs before you’re led on an ascent through the darkened corridors of an 1886 time capsule. What lurks in the dusty closets, under the beds, or within each hidden chamber? Get up-close and personal with the bizarre and the beautiful... You might even become a spirit yourself, because your chances of survival are slim.”

[Shudder...]

Sound like your kind of thing? The House of Weird runs three weekends next month, including on Halloween, at the Haas-Lilienthal House (2007 Franklin Street, San Francisco).

Learn more and get your spot reserved now

North Beach and Ingleside Terraces Finally Get their Hearing

Historic District Nominations on the State's November Agenda

After being submitted in 2024 and 2025 respectively, both the North Beach and Ingleside Terraces National Register Historic District nominations will be included on the agenda of the State Historic Resources Commission (SHRC) for November 12–13, 2026.

SF Heritage strongly supported both of these nominations from the beginning and protested the delays and obvious political manipulations which kept the nominations from being heard by the state, a necessary stop ahead of consideration for the National Register of Historic Places.

(Read more about the North Beach district nomination struggle and the neighborhood-led Ingleside Terraces project in SF Heritage News, July–September 2024.)

Also on the agenda is a long-delayed application for George Washington High School. It took appeals to the National Park Service to finally give these nominations their due consideration.

Now is the time to let the State Historic Resources Commission see they have support locally, so...

1) Submit a letter of support. Every letter the State Office receives is included in the nomination’s official record. These letters carry real weight. Personalize your thoughts or just say “For all the reasons set forth in the nomination, it is clear that [North Beach/Ingleside Terraces/George Washington High School] deserves the level of recognition the National Register provides. Please approve the nomination.”

Address your letter to:

Julianne Polanco
State Historic Preservation Officer
Office of Historic Preservation
1725 23rd Street, Suite 100
Sacramento, CA 95816-7100

...and send it via email to calshpo.shrc@parks.ca.gov.

(Ingleside Terraces Homes Association has posted a sample letter template as well.)

2) View the SHRC hearing LIVE via Zoom when it takes place in Sacramento on November 12-13. Remote viewers can follow the online proceedings and call in with expressions of support during the public comment period. A Zoom link will be posted ten days prior to the meeting date. Those wishing to testify remotely must register for the meeting, on the SHRC Meeting Schedule and Notices page.

If you plan to attend the meeting in person, you do not need to register.

Thank you for showing your support for historic places!

An Iconic (and Ionic) landmark in-process

Our "Where am I?" revealed