Proposal to Relocate Earthquake Refugee Shacks to the Presidio

(Submitted to the Presidio Trust on December 16, 2002)

Summary: Currently, there are four earthquake refugee shacks comprising two cottages at 4329-4231 Kirkham Street, which are in danger of being demolished.

The Western Neighborhoods Project proposes to remove these shacks from the lot, renovate them, and have them join the two "Goldie" shacks already in the Presidio. We envision the shacks in a row, as they were originally built to house over 15,000 San Franciscans after the 1906 Earthquake and Fire. The Western Neighborhoods Project would be happy to provide staffing to open the shacks up more frequently to the public and work with whatever agency may have jurisdiction for their historical interpretation.

Short of this plan, we ask the Presidio to provide space for the shacks to be stored temporarily while renovation and final relocation is arranged.

Detail: Saving the Kirkham street earthquake shacks consists of three stages:

1. Salvage
2. Restoration
3. Display

1) Salvage
Removal of the shacks will involve:

a) Abatement of asbestos shingling
b) Identification of historic fabric in the shacks
c) Removal of non-historic additions and materials
d) Deconstruction and preparation of the shacks for transport
e) Actual removal of the shacks from the lot
f) Placement of the shacks at temporary location
g) Possible archeological examination of the lot

The property owners wish to remove the shacks so they can begin development of their lot. They have offered to contribute funds, previously allocated for demolition of these structures, to our salvage effort. This donation is predicated on the expedited removal of these structures that would allow them to accept an existing offer to purchase the lot.

To the extent these funds are not used in the salvage effort, they would be passed forward to the restoration phase.

The shacks will need a place to be stored, relatively safe from the elements and vandalism until the restoration stage begins. At this time we are seeking a temporary storage site to expedite this salvage.

This temporary storage site may also become the restoration location allowing continued work and protection through the winter months, as these will now become artifacts rather than structures.

Reed Walker, project manager for the construction firm of Mayta & Jensen has volunteered to direct the salvage. He has secured other volunteer commitments from local contractors as follows:

Bluewater Environmental Services has offered to provide asbestos abatement and demolition of the non- original structures.

Mayta & Jensen will supply carpentry labor to carefully deconstruct the shacks and prepare them for transport.

Golden Gate Disposal and Sunset Scavenger have each offered to donate a 30-yard box for off- haul of debris.

Sheedy Drayage shall crane and transport each shack to their new location.

The Western Neighborhoods Project will work with Jane Cryan, who was responsible for the relocation and restoration of the Goldie shacks now in the Presidio, to identify historic fabric and supervise the safeguarding of same during deconstruction.

As proposed, the only funds necessary in Salvage phase would be the expenditures needed for a required asbestos survey and the disposal fees associated with asbestos removal.

2) Restoration
A great deal of material, documentation and experience remains from the restoration of the Presidio's Goldie shacks in the 1980s. The Western Neighborhoods Project will take on the effort of raising funds and soliciting donated materials and labor to renovate the shacks.

The Western Neighborhoods Project has experience in raising funds and receiving grants from large institutions such as the California Council for the Humanities and the San Francisco Foundation. WNP would be happy to direct efforts to do the same for the shacks.

Already we are receiving money from the public to help save the shacks and it looks like a lion's share of the owners' contribution will be available with so much donated labor coming forward to abate and move the cottages.

The current condition of the Kirkham shacks may not be ideal, but we're lucky that the original plans and materials for refugee shacks are simple. This project is not restoration of a Queen Anne Victorian. Jane Cryan reports that the Kirkham shacks' condition isn't any worse than the Goldie shacks originally, and restoration work should be just as successful.

We see the planning and work of the restoration process taking about a year, depending on the eventual re-siting plan of the shacks. If partner institutions such as the Oakland Museum or the Museum for the City of San Francisco (both of whom have expressed an interest in taking a shack) get involved, then the possibility of using their budgets and expertise could change the timeframe.

3) Display
We propose creating a row of shacks in the Presidio, simulating the original layout within San Francisco's 1906-1907 refugee camps. We want the two Goldie shacks now in the Presidio to join the Kirkham Street structures in a more visible and accessible location. The Western Neighborhoods Project is willing to donate time, and work with the proper agency (the Presidio Museum, the National Park Service, GGNRA) in charge of historical interpretation to make the shacks more available to the public.

The Presidio's two shacks are tucked behind the Old Post Hospital, rarely opened, and in need of repainting. They suffer from what could be charitably called a low profile. Perhaps because they are classified as artifacts rather than buildings, they do not show up on Presidio maps, and are not mentioned anywhere on the Presidio Web site. Not one Presidio Trust employee we've met had ever been inside the Goldie shacks before this month, and almost all didn't know they stood just a few hundred yards from the Trust's offices. Certainly the general public can't be much better informed about the shacks' existence or location.

If a shack row is created, the Western Neighborhoods Project will offer trained personnel to act as docents to the structures. We will open the shacks to the public regularly, and will aid in the creation of appropriate displays within on their history, the history of the refugee camps, the earthquake, and other appropriate themes.

Furthermore, the Western Neighborhoods Project will act as stewards for the upkeep of the row, creating a long-range plan and budget to keep them in a state of good repair.

The square footage of the additional shacks would amount to an estimated 20' by 60'. (Three "Type-A" shacks, each 10' by 14', and one "Type-B" shack, 14' by 18'---spaced roughly five feet apart). Joining the relocated Goldie shacks, the straight row of structures would be approximately 20' by 90'. Other options for display, including a cube (two mini-rows of three facing three) might be considered. As mentioned earlier, other historical institutions may request and be granted one or two shacks for their collections, which would decrease the footprint.

We understand how sensitive the issue of land use is to the Presidio and would work in a thoughtful way with the Trust and other agencies for the best site. One suggestion put forward has been the concrete pad behind the William Penn Mott, Jr.Visitors Center (currently undergoing seismic retrofit).

Timeline

Now
Paramount to the shacks' survival is their timely removal from their current Kirkham street location. Currently they are sitting on a private lot earmarked for redevelopment.

We urge that an emergency plan be agreed upon to relocate the structures in a matter of weeks, not months. The expertise and funding for such a move is in place now. We're asking the Presidio Trust to provide at first just a temporary site to house these historic cottages.

Once the shacks are in a safe, temporary location, all parties can move forward in a thoughtful manner to plan their eventual siting, display, interpretation, upkeep, etc.

2003-2004
Fundraising, planning, renovation. When the relocation has taken place, we see the renovation stage taking about a year. Of course, when work should and can begin is dependant on the final plan worked out with all agencies involved. Issues such as the identification of a site, number of shacks creating the row, etc., will play as factors.

2005
Siting and work on shacks in place; moving the Goldie shacks. Certainly the row will be ready for the centennial of the Great Earthquake and Fire.on April 18, 2006.

Why the Presidio?

• The Presidio already has two original refugee shacks. We do not propose adding a new element to what the Presidio currently offers the public. We seek only to enhance and expand upon an existing resource and historical piece of San Francisco's history.
• One of the three designers of the refugee shacks was the U.S. Army, under the direction of Major General Adolphus Washington Greely.
• As opposed to a San Francisco public park (which acted as refugee camps), the Presidio offers the shacks a higher degree of safety and security from vandalism.
• As opposed to a museum setting, the Presidio can display the shacks in the open air, in a park setting, as they were originally built and used by the earthquake and fire refugees.

Thank you for your time and attention to this matter. We can, of course, provide further details, historical background, and blueprints down the line while working with the appropriate personnel.

Again, the paramount issue facing us is the expeditious removal of the shacks from their current location to a safe, temporary space. Can the Presidio provide such a space while the shacks final home is planned?

Please contact me anytime to discuss this further,

Woody LaBounty
Western Neighborhoods Project

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Page launched 9 February 2003; Updated 21 April 2003