Phoebe Hearst Preschool | A Day in the Life
HISTORY

Golden Gate Kindergarten Association Timeline

1879

First school opened at 116 Jackson Street in the heart of the Barbary Coast with 2 classrooms. Two more were added in 1880.

1881

512 Union Street in apartment house on the ground floor.

1882

Bartlett and 22nd Streets.

1884

1906 Mason Street.

1885

8th & Brannan Streets.

1886

333 Beale Street.

1887

3270 Mission Street. 1233 Pacific.

1888

74 West Mission Street.

1889

Turk & Steiner Streets. 211-13 Ninth Street.

1890

1505 1/2 Turk Street. 1018 Folsom Street. 477 – 9th Street. Tennessee & Solano Streets.

1891

101 19th Street. 535 Castro Street. 2927 Mission Street.

1892

101 Butte Street. 369 – 11th Street. 1310 Broderick Street.

1893

Alabama & 23rd Streets. 934 1/2 Harrison Street.

1894

1816 Union Street.

1895

291 – 3rd Avenue.

1902

560 Union Street. A $40,000 – 3 story brick building was built by Mrs. Phoebe A. Hearst for teacher training and kindergarten classes.

1906

The earthquake and fire destroyed 7 of the above schools. Following the fire, temporary schools were opened as follows: Siguri Hall, Mission Road near China Avenue. Presidio Barracks. Golden Gate Park Barracks. Tents in Golden Gate Park. Tent in Washington Square.

Steimke Hall, Octavia near Union. S. F. Settlement Assn. 720 Treat Ave. Refugee Center, 4252 – 24th St.

1908

New classes were added to the above in the following addresses: 117 – 30th Street. 200 London Street. 230 Harriet Street. 1722 Greenwich Street. 19th & Iowa. 18th & Oakwood. 17th & Pond. 134½ – 14th Street. Closed 1910.

1911

570 Union, a new school, was built by Mr. William R. Hearst to replace the one at 560 Union destroyed by the fire.

1912

New schools opened at: 3452 Mission, and 2520 Folsom, plus 4 more in public schools. Thereafter some of the schools, were gradually absorbed by the Board of Education as public kindergartens.

1925

Two classes were opened at Infant Shelter to enroll only nursery school age children.

1930

824 Carolina Street a new building costing $9,000 was built by the California Synodical Society and leased rent free to the Association until 1966.

1939

Y.M.C.A. building in Chinatown.

1941

Sunnydale Housing Project gave space to have a mothers’ cooperative school opened under a Rosenberg Foundation grant.

1942

Sunnydale, Union Street and Carolina Street schools become all-day centers for children ineligible to any other day care or nursery centers.

1946

350 Union Street, housing 80 children.

1965

North Beach Housing project.

1996

Over the years schools were closed out for various reasons besides the fire. A number were taken over by the San Francisco Board of Education, others by the landlord, or they became unsuitable for occupancy. The work of the Association is now concentrated in one new building which is a permanent home. Constructed at a cost of $400,000 it houses classrooms for 90 preschool children and for 200 older children in the part-time child art classes. It was built mainly with money given by the Hearst Foundation and is owned by the Hearst Trust for the lifetime use of the Golden Gate Kindergarten Association. Should the Golden Gate Kindergarten Association at any time cease to exist or function as a purely charitable agency, the trustees shall convey the premises, or proceeds from sales thereof, to the regents of the University of California to be used for the Department of Geology or of Mining.