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Archiver > SOCAL > 1999-04 > 0922982680


From: "James R. Smith" <>
Subject: SF Records Discovered
Date: Thu, 1 Apr 1999 08:04:40 -0800 (PST)


Found buried in this morning's Chron.
Jim
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San Francisco Chronicle - 4/01/1999

It was learned late yesterday that a large cache of city records was
discovered while excavating below City Hall as a part of the Loma Prieta
earthquake reenforcement retrofit. Workers unearthed a large vault that
had been cemented over after the earthquake in 1906. It was apparent
that the level below the basement had been considered a total loss. It
was therefore just covered over so that the City Hall could be
expeditiously rebuilt.

Officials stated that the vault contained the municipal records related to
city works and to the Department of Health. It is rumored that the
findings include all of the city and county vital records collected prior
to 1906. City Historian William Roddy stated that while the records are
being reviewed, they are quite fragile and it will be some time before
they are available to the public. He also stated that rumors of the
discovery of the 1890 U.S. Census records for the City of San Francisco
were totally unfounded. There were some documents that may have been
working copies but that is not yet clear.

The San Francisco Dept. of Health has declined comment regarding how
soon they can make their new records available.

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