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The 2011 California Governor’s Historic Preservation Awards were presented on November
17th at Leland Stanford Mansion State Historic Park in Sacramento.
There were a total of 12 projects or programs that received awards.
What follows is the presentation made at the awards ceremony about one of the 2011 award
winners. Built in 1888 by South San Francisco Masonic
Lodge Number 212 as a performance hall adjoining their lodge, the 300-seat South San Francisco
Opera House (now known as the Bayview Opera House) was the first cultural building in
the neighborhood and served for decades as the social hub of the Bayview-Hunters Point
district. In 2004 the building received a Save America’s
Treasures grant to restore the theater’s hardwood floors.
The San Francisco Arts Commission, which owns the building, and the tenant organization,
Bayview Opera House Incorporated, completed the project to restore the damaged proscenium
and uncovered the hall’s original 1888 Douglas fir floor (which was thought to have been
replaced with plywood). Also, as required by the Save America’s
Treasures grant, the building was listed on the National Register and a conservation easement
was donated to San Francisco Architectural Heritage, activities which necessitated additional
grants from the City of San Francisco’s Historic Preservation Fund.
Centrally located along the main commercial corridor, the Bayview Opera House is well
situated to become the main hub for cultural activities in the neighborhood.
The brilliantly restored floor of the main auditorium has transformed this 122-year-old
Italianate Victorian building from a dilapidated facility to an elegant venue worthy of the
pride of the community. Today, the Bayview Opera House is again a
community cultural center in San Francisco’s most underserved neighborhood, and the jury
applauds the slow rise of this building to its current splendor as a project to be celebrated,
appreciated, and commended. Congratulations to all the winners of the
2011 California Governor’s Historic Preservation Awards.
Please view the additional videos available on this site for information about the other
2011 award winners. For more information about this awards program,
visit www.ohp.parks.ca.gov/governorsawards.