Researching Buildings
- FoundSF
FoundSF is the digital history archive managed by Shaping San Francisco. Historians, writers, activists, and curious San Francisco citizens of all kinds have shares their unique stories, images, and videos from past and present - Handy Block Books
1909-10 editions of the San Francisco Handy Block Books, illustrating block and lot lines and property owners across the city - Here Today: SF's Architectural Heritage
Created by the Junior League of SF, the 1968 historic building survey is a seminal work that still informs the preservation community. (Free to digitally borrow with login) - OpenSFHistory
OpenSFHistory is a photo site run by the Western Neighborhoods Project - Sanborn Maps - Fire Insurance Maps Online
Digital Sanborn Maps: Fire Insurance Maps online (FIMo), a research portal to find and view high-definition, color Fire Insurance Maps, Real Estate Atlases, Plat Books, and other historical maps showing building structures, building construction details, property ownership, property uses, and other useful information. (requires SF Public Library Card) - Sanborn Maps 1905
Digitized Sanborn Maps (the 1899 edition updated to about 1905) Great for pre-earthquake buildings. The originals from this online set are viewable at the SF Public Libray History Room - SF Department of Public Works Reports
Annual Reports from the San Francisco Department of Public Works from SF Public Library Collection, hosted by the Internet Archive. - SF Property Information Map
The San Francisco Planning Department's Property Information Map provides a single access point for a variety of useful property data, historical preservation, zoning, permitting information. - SF Public Library Digital Collections
DigitalSF is the website for San Francisco Public Library's digitized collections which consist of San Francisco Historical Photograph Collection, Sanborn Maps, San Francisco Voter Information Pamphlets, a small collection of oral histories, and digitized books in the public domain. - Splendid Survivors
Created by SF Heritage, this is a 1979 historic building survey of Downtown and South of Market Buildings. (Free to digitally borrow with login)
About
SFMemory.org is a project of David Gallagher to collect useful San Francisco and Bay Area history resources for researchers and the general public.