San Francisco Scale Model, Scale 1 inch 100 ft. Constructed by Federal Works Agency, Work Projects Administration. Sponsored by City Planning Commission. 1940 (Raster Image)
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- This layer is a georeferenced composite image of all pieces of the San Francisco Model. This model is a 42 by 38 foot detailed wooden replica of the city of San Francisco as it was in 1940 in 158 pieces at a scale of 1 inch to 100 feet. The pieces contain about 6,000 removable city blocks. The model was built by The Works Progress Administration in the late 1930s, under the New Deal. It was first displayed in sections in the Golden Gate International Exposition on Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay in 1939. In 1940-1942 it was displayed in San Francisco City Hall. The model was used as an urban planning tool by San Francisco city agencies and departments through the 1960's. In 1968, the downtown portion of the model became a research and planning tool in the Environmental Simulation Laboratory in the College of Environmental Design at UC Berkeley. The model has not been on public view, in its entirety, since 1942. UC Berkeley is the current owner of the model. The intent of the makers of the model was to have it updated as the city changed over time. The condition of the model is generally good except for the downtown and south of market portion which needs restoration - many blocks have been removed and lost, probably from the time it was used and updated as a planning tool. In 2018 and 2019 the model was cleaned and made available for public viewing both physically and digitally as part of the joint program of SFMOMA and the San Francisco Public Library called Public Knowledge: Take Part, with these participants: Artist Team: Bik Van der Pol; Project Manager: Stella Lochman; Project Director: Tomoko Kanamitsu; Curatorial Lead: Deena Chalabi. The model pieces were individually photographed by Beth LaBerge. David Rumsey created the large Composite image of the 158 pieces, as well as the image and metadata database of all the images, which he hosts.
- Purpose
- This project traces the history of urban planning in San Francisco, placing special emphasis on unrealized schemes. Rather than using visual material simply to illustrate outcomes, Imagined San Francisco uses historical plans, maps, architectural renderings, and photographs to show what might have been. By enabling users to layer a series of urban plans, the project presents the city not only as a sequence of material changes, but also as a contingent process and a battleground for political power. Savvy institutional actors--like banks, developers, and many public officials--understood that in some cases to clearly articulate their interests would be to invite challenges. That means that textual sources like newspapers and municipal reports are limited in what they can tell researchers about the shape of political power. Urban plans, however, often speak volumes about interests and dynamics upon which textual sources remain silent. Mortgage lenders, for example, apparently thought it unwise to state that they wished to see a poor neighborhood cleared, to be replaced with a freeway onramp. Yet visual analysis of planning proposals makes that interest plain. So in the process of showing how the city might have looked, Imagined San Francisco also shows how political power actually was negotiated and exercised.
Description
| Type of resource | cartographic, software, multimedia |
|---|---|
| Form | Raster Dataset |
| Publisher | Stanford University. Center for Spatial and Textual Analysis |
| Publication date | 2021 |
| Language | English |
| Digital origin | born digital |
| Map data | Scale not given. ; Custom projection W 122°24ʹ47ʺ--W 122°24ʹ16ʺ/N 37°47ʹ12ʺ--N 37°46ʹ48ʺW 122°30ʹ56ʺ--W 122°21ʹ11ʺ/N 37°49ʹ3ʺ--N 37°41ʹ19ʺ, Scale not given ; EPSG::4326 |
Creators/Contributors
| Creator | Federal Works Agency, Work Projects Administration. |
|---|
Subjects
| Subject | Physical geography |
|---|---|
| Subject | City planning |
| Subject | San Francisco (Calif.) |
| Subject | Chinatown (San Francisco) |
| Subject | 1940 |
| Subject | Imagery and Base Maps |
| Subject | Planning and Cadastral |
| Genre | Geospatial data |
| Genre | Cartographic dataset |
Bibliographic information
| WGS84 Cartographics | This layer is presented in the WGS84 coordinate system for web display purposes. Downloadable data are provided in native coordinate system or projection. |
|---|---|
| Location | https://purl.stanford.edu/dv566pd4199 |
Access conditions
- Use and reproduction
- You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license (CC BY).
Preferred citation
- Preferred citation
- Federal Works Agency, Work Projects Administration. (2021). San Francisco Scale Model, Scale 1 inch 100 ft. Constructed by Federal Works Agency, Work Projects Administration. Sponsored by City Planning Commission. 1940 (Raster Image). Stanford University. Center for Spatial and Textual Analysis. Available at: http://purl.stanford.edu/dv566pd4199
Collection
Imagined San Francisco
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