St. Francis Square Tour: Union-funded Cooperative Living (Fillmore/Japantown)

Let's meet up and visit a cooperatively-owned affordable cooperative community, created half a century ago by Unions. This is part of the LaborFest (http://www.laborfest.net/) going on throughout the month. Learn more at the SF Public Library exhibit (http://sfpl.org/index.php?pg=1016884001) about the project, on display through August.

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Walking tour and history discussion of St. Francis Square Cooperative, 299 affordable 1,2,3 bedroom units with patio or balcony, sponsored by the Longshore and Warehouseman’s Union (ILWU) in 1963. This complex created a new community that mitigated some of the destructive displacement effects of the Western Addition Redevelopment. The buildings and landscaping were designed by renowned architects Robert Marquis, Claude Stoller and Lawrence Halprin. The Square is still home to a number of union leaders, although now evolved to a market rate co-op. Residents and board members Norm Young and Nan Park, will be tour guides. Carol Cuenod, historian of the Square will share vintage photos.

In 1963, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) launched a 300-unit affordable housing project in the Western Addition, an area which went through massive redevelopment in the Sixties. The ILWU's vision was to build a moderate-priced housing community for working-class families, which would be controlled by the residents and represent all races and groups in the community. Many of the original families, now three generations, still live there. Learn about how "The Square" continues to embody the original vision and thrives today.