San Francisco State College Lake Merced Campus Site Before Construction — 1952

About This Item

View of the Lake Merced campus site in 1952 during early stages of development. In the foreground, unpaved ground, debris, and grading work reflect the transformation of open land into the new campus. At left, a structure under construction rises with visible framing and scaffolding, while trees and sand dunes remain in the background. This photograph documents the physical beginnings of San Francisco State College’s move from its overcrowded Haight & Buchanan campus to the new 19th Avenue (Lake Merced) location. Classes officially began at the new site in 1953.

Identifier
TP-ATA-0490
Date
1952
Context

The old San Francisco State College campus at Haight & Buchanan Streets operated from the early 20th century through 1952. As enrollment rapidly grew in the 1930s, the campus became overcrowded and a search for a larger location began. Classes officially moved to to the 19th Avenue location in 1953.

 

Credits: Some descriptions were developed with the assistance of ChatGPT, an AI language model by OpenAI.

Geographic Coverage
San Francisco, CA
Temporal Coverage
1950s
Type
Still Image
Format
8.5x5 Print
Source
San Francisco State University Archives
Rights
Public
Views
365

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