The Old San Francisco State College Campus at Haight & Buchanan Streets, November 1950

A street-level view of the original San Francisco State College campus at Haight and Buchanan Streets, photographed in November 1950. A tall wooden retaining wall and gate enclose the lower level of the property, with fencing above marking the boundary of adjacent athletic courts. The painted warnings “No Parking” and “Keep Clear” are visible on the wooden barrier.Parked along the curb are two distinctive late-1940s vehicles. The larger sedan on the left appears to be a 1946–1948 Plymouth four-door, recognizable by its rounded “pontoon” fenders and simple postwar styling. Beside it is a small late-1940s Crosley station wagon, a compact economy car known for its wood-paneled body and small proportions — a type often used for light commercial or utility purposes in the immediate postwar years. To the right, a worker walks past an excavated section beneath the retaining structure, where exposed earth and debris suggest maintenance or construction activity. The photograph captures the dense, urban character of the Haight Street campus in its final years. The Haight & Buchanan site served San Francisco State College from the early 20th century through 1952, after which the institution relocated to the newly developed Lake Merced campus beginning in 1953.