“Ain’t they virtuous? Don’t they take good care of the City? Is not their constant vigilance and efficiency shown in the fact that roughs and rowdies are awed into good conduct?”
- Mark Twain describing the 1866 SFPD.
On the 21st anniversary of the Loma Prieta Earthquake, October 17, 2010, a group of San Francisco historians dedicated a historic, Victorian firehouse as the site for our Guardians of the City Museum Headquarters. This grand turn of the century firehouse has the classic beauty of every San Francisco “painted lady” Victorian. The difference is that this one has a hard-working, colorful, fire-fighting past. When one walks through the firehouse and closes one’s eyes, one can almost hear the draft horses being hooked up to the old fire engines, while the firemen rushed to jump into their boots.
Due to the enthusiastic backing of SFFD Chief Joanne Hayes-White, the Guardians of the City were able to obtain this classic firehouse as our museum office and headquarters! With the outstanding support of San Francisco Sheriff Michael Hennessey, our own Guardian committee member, Deputy Michael Anderson, took the old firehouse, and with a great deal of back-breaking work, transformed the abandoned, vacant building into our beautiful headquarters. Our professional museum curator, Jamie O’Keefe, assisted Michael with her expert guidance.
As I mentioned earlier, on Sunday, October 17, 2010, this firehouse was dedicated by retired Fire Captain James Lee, as our official museum headquarters. Police Commissioner Petra De Jesus cut the ceremonial ribbon, while the committee looked on. The dedication was an important first step towards the opening of our police, fire, sheriff’s museum, aka Guardians of the City. Once the business office is operational, all our attention will be on obtaining a property that will be our museum site. There are several under consideration at this time.
As I have written many times before, San Francisco is one of the few major cities without a police museum. A city with our mystical, colorful history must chronicle the dynamic crime fighters of the Barbary Coast, the fire fighters that saved the City in 1906, and the heroes that followed them. We have only to look at our patch to see the phoenix rising out of the flames and ashes of the 1906 earthquake and fire to feel the power of our incredible history.
In closing, many thanks to Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White, Sheriff Michael Hennessey, and Chief of Police George Gascon, for their support. Also many, many thanks to our hard-working committee, Captains Al Casciato and Greg Corrales, and Inspectors Liane Corrales and Darlene Ayala of SFPD, Retired Captain James Lee and Firefighter Paul Barry, SFFD, Senior Deputy Michael Anderson, SFSD, and Museum Curator Jamie O’Keefe, from the Legion of Honor.
