Upcoming Program Events

Every month you are invited to attend a reading, walking tour, gallery talk or book signing as part of our regular programming. We encourage you to attend these monthly events and bring a guest or two. We look forward to seeing you soon at the California Historical Society. Unless otherwise noted all events will be held at the California Historical Society's headquarters located at 678 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94105.

Juana Briones of Nineteenth-Century California
Book talk and signing with author Jeanne McDonnell
Juana Briones de Miranda lived an unusual life, which is wonderfully recounted in this highly accessible biography. She was one of the first residents of what is now San Francisco, then named Yerba Buena (Good Herb), reportedly after a medicinal tea she concocted. She was among the few women in California of her time to own property in her own name, and she proved to be a skilled farmer, rancher, and businesswoman. In retelling Briones' life story, Jeanne Farr McDonnell also recounts the history of nineteenth-century California from the unique perspective of this surprising woman.

Problems with Progress: A Historical Prespective on the Presidency
Presented by the Commonwealth Club & Co Sponsored by CHS

Leon Litwack, Pulitzer Prize Winner and Professor Emeritus of American History, University of California, Berkeley (ret.)

Richard Thompson Ford, George E. Osborne Professor of Law, Stanford Law School (Invited)

James Taylor, Associate Professor of Politics, University of San Francisco

As the nation prepares to inaugurate the first African-American president, Americans wonder if our country can truly become colorblind. At its core, the story of America is the constant redefining of the ideas most central to the Constitution: liberty, freedom and equality. How will Obama’s victory shape American history? How far have we come as a result of this past election, and how much farther do we still need to go? Join a quintessential American historian as he unveils the pitfalls and triumphs this election has delivered upon the American psyche. For tickets call 415-597-6705.

Location: Veterans Memorial Hall, 3780 Mount Diablo Blvd., Lafayette, CA 94549 (Accessible via Lafayette BART station.)

Art Deco San Francisco: The Architecture of Timothy Pflueger
Book talk and signing with author Therese Poletti
The Castro Theatre, the Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Headquarters, 450 Sutter Medico-Dental Building—these masterpieces of San Francisco's Art Deco heritage are the work of one man: Timothy Pflueger. Therese Poletti tells the fascinating story of Pflueger's life and work in Art Deco San Francisco. In lively detail, she relates how Pflueger built extravagant compositions in metal, concrete, and glass. She also tells the story behind the architecture: Pflueger's commissioning and support of muralist Diego Rivera, his association with photographer Ansel Adams and sculptor Ralph Stackpole, and his childhood friendship turned to adulthood sponsorship with San Francisco Mayor James "Sunny" Rolph Jr.