Finding Aids - Events & Wars

Finding aids contain information on the contents and significance of an archival collection. The finding aid may include descriptive information; repository information; collection history; biographical or historical information on creators of the collection; and in some cases a container or folder list of everything in the collection. The collection is housed at the Park Archives and Records Center and can be viewed during open hours or by appointment. Please visit the Collections page for more information or email us.

 

Golden Gate NRA Event Ephemera Collection GOGA 12262 (PDF 760KB) (RTF 22.5MB)
A collection of color posters, handbills, brochures, and programs advertising events held at sites within Golden Gate National Recreation Area, [c.1976]-1981. Events include the Pickle Family Circus, the Annual Western Regional Folk Festival, and the North Beach Photographic Art Fair.

Don DeNevi Research and Manuscript Collection GOGA 17975 (PDF 2.7MB) (RTF 42.4MB)
The Don DeNevi Research and Manuscript collection consists of materials compiled by Don DeNevi while researching potential articles and books relative to the U.S. Penitentiary, Alcatraz, aviation history and west coast culture throughout the late 19th- and early 20th-centuries, and World War II, particularly as it relates to California. Focused on the inmate experience on Alcatraz, DeNevi researched seminal events in the history of the prison, such as the 1946 Riot and the 1962 Escape, in addition to lesser known escape attempts. DeNevi amassed a diverse collection of periodical clippings and excerpts, as well as books, from the late 19th- and early 20th-centuries which mainly address World War I, but also document the history of and popular reaction to earlier conflicts such as the Spanish American War and the Russo-Japanese War. Finally, DeNevi gathered a wide array of press and corporate photographs, as well as various source materials which document all aspects of war work on the west coast from U.S. entry into World War II following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 to the return of troops to the San Francisco Port of Embarkation following the end of the Korean War in 1953; subjects include civilian contributions, Red Cross ventures, coastal defenses and military maneuvers, troop transport, and industrial production.

Allen Christie Panama Pacific International Exposition (PPIE) Collection GOGA 32469 (PDF 620KB) (RTF 19.3MB)
A collection of photographs and ephemera relating to the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, 1915.

Edwin J. Stotler Photographs GOGA 33760 (PDF 390KB) (RTF 4.47MB)
The collection is comprised of lantern slides and photographs photographs taken by Edwin J. Stotler while serving as a private in Company M, 51st Iowa Volunteer Infantry Regiment during the Spanish American and then the Philippine American War from 1898 through 1899. Images capture the regiment’s journey to San Francisco from Iowa via train, its residence at the Presidio of San Francisco, and sight-seeing trips around San Francisco. While living at Camp Merritt and then Camp Merriam on post, Stotler and his brother, Harry, saw Mount Tamalpais, Fort Point, Sutro Baths, and Golden Gate Park as well as other landmarks in the city. Also captured is the regiment’s trip overseas and eventual participation in the Philippines. Offered through a first person lens, the sights of a common American volunteer soldier are experienced: everything from intimate shots of company officers and high ranking officials (such as Admiral Dewey), marching through tropical towns and soaking up vistas along the Pasig River, shopping at markets run by native Filipinos, and surveying the enemy dead. Equally thorough are images depicting the regiment’s residence at the Presidio of San Francisco before mustering out in late 1899. In total, the collection offers an in depth look into the life of a soldier at war with Filipino “insurgents” in the late 19th-century.

St. Mary's College Army-Navy Football Game Programs, 1926-1945 GOGA 33780 (PDF 94KB) (RTF 4.01MB)
This collection holds seven programs for military football games held in various stadiums around the Bay Area.

Presidio of San Francisco Historical Real Estate Files GOGA 35159 (PDF 492KB) (RTF 14.3MB)
Historical real estate documents, maps, and plans for the military lands comprised of the Presidio of San Francisco and surrounding environs such as Fort Baker and Fort Mason. The files contain permits and licenses granted by the Army to individuals and companies for the use of military buildings and lands as well as agreements between the Army and various parties negotiating boundaries, water usage, rights of way, and utilities. A significant portion of the permits and agreements are with the Panama-Pacific International Exposition Company for use of Presidio lands during the Panama-Pacific International Exposition and with the Golden Gate Bridge and Highway District giving them permission to run a state road through the Presidio and Fort Baker. There are also the titles and deeds for the acquisition of Lobos Creek and the Wherry Housing apartment complex.

San Francisco 1906 Earthquake & Fire Stereograph Collection GOGA 35176 (PDF 420KB) (RTF 15.1MB)
Thirty-six color stereographs depicting scenes around San Francisco, including the refugee camp at Fort Mason, following the 1906 earthquake and fire.

Roy D. Graves Collection GOGA 35248 (PDF 750KB) (RTF 10.9MB)
Papers relating to the personal history and interests of Roy D. Graves, his wife Ethel, their daughter Jeanne, and her in-laws, the Ferraris. Items include photographs, newsletters, historical ephemera, clippings, scrapbooks, memorabilia, maps and postcards. Topics focus on the San Francisco Bay Area and include transportation, especially streetcars and trains, world fairs and other San Francisco attractions, the effects of World War II on daily life, California missions, shipping, and early San Francisco history.

Erwin Thompson Research Collection GOGA 35360 (PDF 886KB) (RTF 5.6MB)This is the combined collection of research materials created and amassed by NPS historian Erwin N. "T" Thompson, used for multiple historic resource studies (HRS) on GGNRA properties from the 1970s through the 1990s. The bulk of the collection is Thompson's handwritten and indexed notes, arranged by the specific topics of each study. The largest series, for his Presidio of San Francisco (PSF) HRS, includes copies of primary sources, maps, and post returns. His studies of Alcatraz and PSF are among the most thorough historic studies of those sites.

1st Lieutenant Frances Maude Pleasants Collection, 1943-1947 GOGA 37165 (PDF 313KB) (RTF 4.21MB)
This collection depicts Frances Maude Pleasants’ active duty at Letterman General Hospital in the Presidio of San Francisco, her beginnings with the Women’s Army Corps, and membership to the Presidio Officers’ Clubs during and following World War II in San Francisco and other locations where she trained and served. The collection is comprised of papers, photographs, orders, receipts, letters, booklets, and other ephemera, newspapers, instructions, memorandums, and her honorable discharge papers. It is divided into four series to show the progression of her military career starting when she joined the WAC in 1943 until receiving her honorable discharge papers at Letterman in 1947 and items representing her civilian life.

Armand Putz Family Collection GOGA 37169 (PDF 337KB) (RTF 4.16MB)
The collection depicts the musical history of Armand Putz, Third Artillery Bandmaster at the Presidio of San Francisco from 1900s to 1925, his musical performance career with the United States Army, and materials representing his descendants. The collection is comprised of photographs, original music scores, published music, books, war ration books, journals, newspapers, and a scrapbook that has many articles written about Armand Putz’s musical and personal career.

Elmer Lawrence San Francisco Earthquake & Fire Photograph and Postcard Collection GOGA 40028 (PDF 825KB) (RTF 23.2MB)
Eighty-four (84) postcards and photographs of scenes of San Francisco, c. 1906. Most of the images depict damage from the 1906 Earthquake and Fire.

James Family Papers GOGA 40085 (PDF 290KB) (RTF 13.6MB)
Documents and photographs pertaining to the military service of Ernest C. James, Sr., 51st Iowa Regiment, Spanish American War. The photographs consist of copy negatives and depict encampment life in and around the Presidio of San Francisco from 1898-1899 and in the Philippines. The documents are all photocopies and include selections from a scrapbook compiled by Ernest C. James, Sr.