This Weekend: 'San Francisco History Days' Celebrates City's Past With Talks, Films, More

This Weekend: 'San Francisco History Days' Celebrates City's Past With Talks, Films, MorePhoto: San Francisco History Days/Facebook
Camden Avery
Published on March 02, 2017

Looking for ways to get in touch with San Francisco's gloried, storied past? This is your weekend.

This Saturday and Sunday, March 4th and 5th, the Old Mint (55 8th St.) is hosting San Francisco History Days, a free, weekend-long series of seminars, tours, film screenings, exhibitors, and receptions focused on San Francisco's past.

The full schedule of events includes a panel on notable women in San Francisco history, a screening of historic and rare film footage of San Francisco, a presentation on the long-gone Glen Park Zoo of the late 1800s, and many more opportunities to learn about San Francisco—and San Franciscans—of the past.

Though a series of similar events began in 2011, this is the second official year of SF History Days, put on by a committee of local history groups—including OpenSFHistory and the San Francisco Historical Association, which is thrilled to have the Old Mint as a venue. 

"It's such a treat to walk through this historical landmark that survived the quake and fire, and to see the dents of bags of coins in the wall, and feel how solid the steel walls are in the vaults," said SFHA board member Vicky Walker. "You get a real sense of history just being there, and because the Mint isn't open to the public most of the year, it's a delight to tour something that belongs to all of us."

For Walker, the highlight of this year's event is an area dedicated entirely to discussions of the Ohlone and other indigenous peoples who called the Bay Area home, complete with speeches and ceremonies.

"It's the first time we've had representatives from Bay Area indigenous peoples," she said. "That's significant, because this was their home long before anyone else arrived."