By Thomas K. Pendergast
“The Life of Washington” murals at George Washington High School in the Richmond District are not alone in their dubious fate. Another set of New Deal-era murals is in danger of destruction – but this time for a different reason and with a different response from Supervisor Aaron Peskin, who has initiated a landmark designation to save them.
In a unanimous vote, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed a resolution requesting the SF Planning Department prepare a Landmark Designation Report for the City’s Historic Preservation Commission, who are then requested to consider the 10 mural frescos, dubbed “History of Medicine in California,” for landmark status. The murals are located in Toland Hall at the Parnassus Campus of the University of California, San Francisco. They were painted by artist Bernard Zakheim.
The murals are threatened with destruction because Toland Hall is slated for demolition to make room for new research and academic buildings as part of UCSF’s massive renovation project. The problem, like with the Washington murals, is that they are frescos painted on the wall plaster of the hall, so they cannot simply be removed like panels. The wall would need to be preserved as well.
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