Historic Landmarks of San Francisco

Hubert Howe Bancroft, historian of California and the West, started as a gold miner at Rich Bar in 1852. With the money he raised Bancroft opened a book store in Crescent City. Three years later he moved himself and his business to San Francisco, where he branched into publishing. He was a wealthy man by age 35. In 1859 he began collecting books on western history, gaining 16,000 volumes by 1869. Bancroft determined to utilize his library by writing a comprehensive history of the western United States.

The library was originally housed on the second floor of his Merchant Street bookstore, then moved to the fifth floor of the Bancroft Building on Market Street. After the priceless collection was nearly destroyed by a fire, Bancroft determined to move his books to a safer place. Sites in Oakland, San Mateo, Menlo Park, San Rafael, and Sonoma, as well as in the City, were considered. At last a 120-by-126 foot lot near the intersection of Mission and Valencia was selected. There, in 1881, a plain brick building of two stories was erected. The 60-by-40 foot edifice was built in the center of the lot so as not to touch adjacent buildings, a precaution against the spread of fire. Iron shutters were also provided as a safeguard. This structure housed the library, which now numbered 35,000 volumes, for 25 years.

When his massive history was completed in 1905, Bancroft sold his collection to the University of California at Berkeley. Before the books could be moved across the Bay, most of San Francisco was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1906. Fortunately the flames were stopped several blocks from the little brick building. The collection was the only major library in the City to escape the conflagration. Removal was completed later that year. The Bancroft Library, housed in its own building on the Berkeley campus, has continued to grow and remains the world's greatest collection of western Americana.

The two story brick Bancroft Library building stood on the west side of Valencia Street between Army and Duncan. The site, as well as adjacent land, is now occupied by St. Luke's Hospital. The place is marked by a bronze California state plaque mounted in a pink stucco base. Dedication was November 24, 1964, by the California State Park Commission, Friends of the Bancroft Library, California Historical Society, and St. Luke's Hospital.

Saint Luke’s Hospital is now the California Pacific Medical Center Mission Bernal Campus of the Sutter Health Network and is housed in a modern new facility. The old building is being torn down. The plaque and its pink stucco base remain for now.