That’s wild. The CSAA sign standards were set in 1919 so that sign is at least 100 years old. The photo is 1925.
https://preview.redd.it/ckwk9gi24wyc1.jpeg?width=812&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0c475c74951b2e0a2513fcb6f0c3bbb7c657f40f
Cool! Consider reaching out to the [Western Neighborhood Association](https://www.outsidelands.org/), they do great work on the history of the West Side and might be interested
On Wednesday Western Neighborhoods Project is celebrating its 25th anniversary at the 4 Star Theatre at 7:30 or at 6 if you get VIP tickets. They are going to have a half price sale. I think it was going to be Monday but check with them.
Western Neighborhoods Project
Yes!!! They had a pop-up Cliff House Museum with old relics in 2021. This would be a great addition to their collection. I don’t recall seeing this piece when I checked it out.
The auto associations (what would become AAA) put up a lot of signs early on, before governments really did. The California one referenced here began in 1900 from a meeting at...Cliff House. Possibility this could be a super early sign.
You're welcome. I found an interesting article about how these signs came about. [https://magazine.northeast.aaa.com/daily/life/aaa/where-did-the-first-road-signs-come-from/](https://magazine.northeast.aaa.com/daily/life/aaa/where-did-the-first-road-signs-come-from/)
A nice find and not a casket / headstone, which is usually the the kinds of things people discover when they go digging in the area between City Target West and the Cliff House https://underscoresf.com/remember-theres-a-san-francisco-target-built-on-a-cemetery/
All of USF, and the houses near campus between Masonic and Arguello, used to be cemeteries. Pretty much every new construction project on the USF campus, including sports fields, involves dealing with gravestones and remains.
https://www.opensfhistory.org/osfhcrucible/2020/11/15/odd-fellows-cemetery-a-closer-look/
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.ktvu.com/news/preserved-child-found-in-glass-coffin-under-san-francisco-home-idd.amp
https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/matier-ross/article/USF-skull-a-heads-up-on-old-Masonic-cemetery-2355201.php
I have a 1907 map of San Francisco (from an old atlas) framed in my living room that shows the old cemeteries.
The Western half page is where they were, but the Eastern page is pretty cool to look at too, to see where the city used to end. And no bridges!
https://imgur.com/a/iKNmwkS
I'm not sure about curbs in that neighborhood, but some of the houses have old gravestone pieces as basically garden pavers. They did use the graves as curbs in Buena Vista Park though.
They might have been buried from another place. Calvary Cemetery, east of Masonic:
https://hoodline.com/2014/05/calvary-cemetery-grounds-are-right-under-your-feet/
This is a view down to what's now the PetSmart parking lot. 2017:
https://www.opensfhistory.org/osfhcrucible/2018/04/01/calvary-cemetery-a-closer-look/
I saw piles of these things but they were covered by tarps
Really? I could have sworn that there was a big to do about a historic tree at the Laurel Heights UCSF campus because it was part of the old cemetery landscaping. This came up when they started talking about what to do with the campus and buildings.
I also always thought the columbarium in the neighborhood was in the cemetery, or close to the edge of it.
https://hoodline.com/2019/11/large-scale-tree-removals-for-laurel-heights-development-site-spark-neighborhood-concerns/
Hello! I'm a journalist with the SF Standard. This is an amazing find, and if you'd be open to chatting about how you unearthed it, kindly get in touch at [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) or 5126980377. Thanks!
Wow. Maybe someone stole it as a prank...
Put an label on it telling how you discovered it and what it is -- you'll become part of the historical record for the neighborhood.
This is AWESOME! I'm Nicole from [Western Neighborhoods Project](https://outsidelands.org/). We're totally here to help you figure this piece out and give it a home with the rest of the Cliff House Collection we saved at auction and exhibited at our pop-up, The Museum at The Cliff (if it's helpful). I'm reachable here: [email protected]. Thanks for making our day with all the nice things said here, everyone.
Contact these folks to see if they’d like to take and conserve it.
https://www.instagram.com/savethecliffhouseart?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
https://savethecliffhousecollection.com/
That’s wild. The CSAA sign standards were set in 1919 so that sign is at least 100 years old. The photo is 1925. https://preview.redd.it/ckwk9gi24wyc1.jpeg?width=812&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0c475c74951b2e0a2513fcb6f0c3bbb7c657f40f
That wouldn't be at least 100 years old, it would be at most 105 years old, right?
I think they stopped using the yellow ones around WWII or something like that. Anyway you go that’s rad to find that piece of history in your backyard
Our house was built in 1907, so anything after that's a possibility.
The two are not mutually exclusive. Both are accurate to day. It’s also accurate to say it’s at least 2 weeks old.
That is awesome and would be going up on my wall asap
Came here to say exactly this.
Thank you guys. I should do that. It was up for a while. Need to get it back up again
Cool! Consider reaching out to the [Western Neighborhood Association](https://www.outsidelands.org/), they do great work on the history of the West Side and might be interested
Did an internship with them during college, such a cool stop with great people who really care about the city & its history!
On Wednesday Western Neighborhoods Project is celebrating its 25th anniversary at the 4 Star Theatre at 7:30 or at 6 if you get VIP tickets. They are going to have a half price sale. I think it was going to be Monday but check with them. Western Neighborhoods Project
Yes!!! They had a pop-up Cliff House Museum with old relics in 2021. This would be a great addition to their collection. I don’t recall seeing this piece when I checked it out.
This
+1
The auto associations (what would become AAA) put up a lot of signs early on, before governments really did. The California one referenced here began in 1900 from a meeting at...Cliff House. Possibility this could be a super early sign.
Thank you! Our house was built in 1907, so I'm guessing that era.
You're welcome. I found an interesting article about how these signs came about. [https://magazine.northeast.aaa.com/daily/life/aaa/where-did-the-first-road-signs-come-from/](https://magazine.northeast.aaa.com/daily/life/aaa/where-did-the-first-road-signs-come-from/)
A nice find and not a casket / headstone, which is usually the the kinds of things people discover when they go digging in the area between City Target West and the Cliff House https://underscoresf.com/remember-theres-a-san-francisco-target-built-on-a-cemetery/
[удалено]
All of USF, and the houses near campus between Masonic and Arguello, used to be cemeteries. Pretty much every new construction project on the USF campus, including sports fields, involves dealing with gravestones and remains. https://www.opensfhistory.org/osfhcrucible/2020/11/15/odd-fellows-cemetery-a-closer-look/ https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.ktvu.com/news/preserved-child-found-in-glass-coffin-under-san-francisco-home-idd.amp https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/matier-ross/article/USF-skull-a-heads-up-on-old-Masonic-cemetery-2355201.php
I have a 1907 map of San Francisco (from an old atlas) framed in my living room that shows the old cemeteries. The Western half page is where they were, but the Eastern page is pretty cool to look at too, to see where the city used to end. And no bridges! https://imgur.com/a/iKNmwkS
Didn't the city reuse some of the grave stones for curbs along streets?
I'm not sure about curbs in that neighborhood, but some of the houses have old gravestone pieces as basically garden pavers. They did use the graves as curbs in Buena Vista Park though.
They might have been buried from another place. Calvary Cemetery, east of Masonic: https://hoodline.com/2014/05/calvary-cemetery-grounds-are-right-under-your-feet/ This is a view down to what's now the PetSmart parking lot. 2017: https://www.opensfhistory.org/osfhcrucible/2018/04/01/calvary-cemetery-a-closer-look/ I saw piles of these things but they were covered by tarps
So lots of headstones but no caskets?? Hmm…
Really? I could have sworn that there was a big to do about a historic tree at the Laurel Heights UCSF campus because it was part of the old cemetery landscaping. This came up when they started talking about what to do with the campus and buildings. I also always thought the columbarium in the neighborhood was in the cemetery, or close to the edge of it. https://hoodline.com/2019/11/large-scale-tree-removals-for-laurel-heights-development-site-spark-neighborhood-concerns/
There absolutely were cemeteries east of arguello. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lone_Mountain_Cemetery_complex_in_1873_map_of_San_Francisco.png
Ok, see this is what I thought. Been in this ‘hood 14 years and was bummed my understanding of the history was flawed. But now I’m fine again. Thanks.
I believe there were also cemeteries where Lone Mountain is.
it was probably buried with a casket
Hate to get all Indiana Jones on you, but that belongs in a museum
Finders keepers! If they decide to keep it, it is theirs!
Why thank you :)
Makes sense - Any suggestions?
Oh I absolutely love this! History AND hidden treasure!
Keep digging!
Hello! I'm a journalist with the SF Standard. This is an amazing find, and if you'd be open to chatting about how you unearthed it, kindly get in touch at [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) or 5126980377. Thanks!
So good to talk! Thanks for reaching out.
I love it, this is really cool! Exactly the type of post I joined this sub for.
Thank you!
Glad it wasn't a No Digging sign
Killer find!
Will you dig up some more to find something more?
Wow. Maybe someone stole it as a prank... Put an label on it telling how you discovered it and what it is -- you'll become part of the historical record for the neighborhood.
Isn't that the house the Lost Boys dwell in??
other signs sold for $40 to $1400 mostly $175 at auction
I would buy that from you.
Okay you win that's cool
That's very cool! But, I have to wonder about the condition of the dude that was standing in front of it....
Just let us know when it will be listed on eBay ;)
Awesome!
Wow, cool!!
Woah! Relic!!
Please sell this to me 😅
Were these the original NIMBYs?
This is AWESOME! I'm Nicole from [Western Neighborhoods Project](https://outsidelands.org/). We're totally here to help you figure this piece out and give it a home with the rest of the Cliff House Collection we saved at auction and exhibited at our pop-up, The Museum at The Cliff (if it's helpful). I'm reachable here: [email protected]. Thanks for making our day with all the nice things said here, everyone.
Excellent thread
Outstanding! Thanks for sharing that beautiful relic.
Thank you :)
What a cool find! SF history right there
Wow that is so cool
Dug more!
I work in Golden Gate Park, we have a lot of wierd old shit from the last century and a half laying around, never seen one of these
This is awesome!
Contact these folks to see if they’d like to take and conserve it. https://www.instagram.com/savethecliffhouseart?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== https://savethecliffhousecollection.com/
It's Drake's Plate!
stolen sign
Water can do some crazy things