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Organized by THE SAN FRANCISCO HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Event
Chris Pollack's 'Mad Ave Meets Golden Gate Park: Advertising, Souvenirs, and More'
Tuesday from 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM PDT
In Person
Live Stream
Location details are private and will be sent along with your ticket purchase.
Details to view the event are private and will be sent along with your ticket purchase.
A ticket is required to attend the event for both the live stream broadcast and the in-person audience located at the San Francisco Historical Society Museum. In-person attendees should arrive by 6:00PM (to not interrupt the live broadcast). There are several parking garages with ample parking close to the venue.
Story
Part of our culture is based on the premise that someone’s worth allows them to earn money and, in turn, allows them to spend it on something they deem worthy. It’s the job of those advertising agencies, known by the moniker of Madison Avenue, to entice you to part with some cash in favor of their client’s product. With the fame of Golden Gate Park’s existence since 1870 has come the park’s use to sell many different kinds of things. For some it was the park’s co-location relative to residential real estate lots where the park was the “hook.” Also, there have been many forms of product promotion from grass seed, lawn mower, playground equipment, and canned fruits, to name a few. Souvenirs have also been another product to hawk. And none of these ever provided the park one red cent of income.!
Christopher Pollock has been the first Historian in Residence for the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department since 2016. His latest publication is San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park: A Thousand and Seventeen Acres of Stories (Norfolk Press, 2020) and in process is San Francisco’s Parks (Arcadia, 2023). His various articles can be found in Eden, journal of California Garden and Landscape History Society, California History, published by University of California Press, and Outside Lands, journal of the Western Neighborhoods Project.
The San Francisco Historical Society exists to uncover, preserve, and present, in engaging ways, the colorful and diverse history of our city from its earliest days to the present. We do this through our publications, Panorama and The Argonaut; in-person and virtual walking tours; monthly history presentations; numerous educational programs for young people, and through our free museum.
Our museum exhibits feature intriguing artifacts and stories from San Francisco’s history. The museum is located at 608 Commercial Street in downtown San Francisco, on the site of the first branch mint in the West.
The San Francisco Historical Society was founded by renowned San Francisco historian Charles Fracchia in 1988. In 2006 the administration of Mayor Willie L. Brown, Jr. granted the stewardship of the Old Mint at Fifth and Mission Streets to SFHS. That stewardship lasted for ten years. In 2019 SFHS moved into its permanent home, the site of the first Branch Mint in the West at 608 Commercial Street in the heart of San Francisco’s historic core. The SFHS Museum is the new center for administration, exhibits, presentations, and educational programs, and is also available as a venue for events.
The San Francisco Historical Society is a registered 503(c) nonprofit with tax id#68-010488.
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