Mother's Building

The Mother's Building, also known as the Delia Fleishhacker Memorial Building,^[2] is a historic building that was once part of the Fleishhacker Pool and Fleishhacker Playfield and features Works Progress Administration-era murals, built in 1925 and is presently located within the San Francisco Zoo and Gardens.^[3]

Mother's Building
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
San Francisco Designated Landmark No. 304
California Historical Landmark No. 847
Mother's Building exterior (1979), when it served as the gift shop and visitor center for the San Francisco Zoo
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Location	San Francisco Zoo, Zoo Rd. and Sloat Blvd., San Francisco, California, U.S.
Coordinates	37°44′05″N 122°30′09″W
Area	0.3 acres (0.12 ha)
Built	1925 (1925)
Architect	George W. Kelham
Architectural style	Late 19th And 20th Century Revivals, Italian Renaissance\Tuscan
NRHP reference No.	79000529[1]
SFDL No.	304
CHISL No.	847
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	December 31, 1979
Designated SFDL	September 16, 2022
Designated CHISL	December 31, 1979

The building has been listed as a San Francisco Designated Landmark, since September 16, 2022; a listed California Historical Landmark since December 31, 1979;^[4] and listed in the National Register of Historic Places, since December 31, 1979.^[3][5]

History

The Mother's Building was originally part of the Fleishhacker Pool and Fleishhacker Playfield, commissioned by Herbert Fleishhacker, and Mortimer Fleishhacker; and built in 1925.^[6] It was in dedication to their late-mother, Delia Stern Fleishhacker. The Mother's Building was originally located next to a large wading pool.^[7] It served as a lounge (with restrooms, nurseries, clinical rooms, and tea) for mothers with small children, no boys over the age of 6 were allowed inside.^[7] The wading pool was removed in the 1940s, and was replaced with a children's zoo by the 1960s.^[7]

Close up of the Saint Francis mosaic by the Bruton sisters

Mother's Building interior (1979), as the gift shop for the San Francisco Zoo

The building is a single room that was designed by American architect George W. Kelham.^[7] The style of the building is late 19th-century or early 20th-century Italian Renaissance Revival architecture.^[7] The exterior features a red Mission tiled roof, and five arches with Corinthian columns and pilasters.^[7]

Mosaics

The loggia's side walls are decorated with mosaics created by Helen Bell Bruton, Margaret Bruton, and Ester Bruton for the Public Works of Art Project; with imagery of Saint Francis of Assisi with animals, and another panel with children and animals.^[7] The Bruton sisters were originally from Alameda, California and had helped revitalize the art of decorative mosaics.^[7]

Murals

On the interior, there is wood paneling, with carved flower details around the door frames; and with four painted murals in the upper section depicting four scenes of Noah's Ark and animals.^[3][7] The four interior murals were painted with egg tempera, which were begun in 1933 and completed in 1938, painted by Helen Katharine Forbes and Dorothy Wagner Puccinelli for the Federal Art Project.^[7]

It is believed that the interior murals may be beyond the point of repairs as the paintings have faded, the walls have deteriorated in places, and some of the damages maybe due to the proximity to the ocean.^[3] However other WPA-era murals, such as those at Beach Chalet and Coit Tower have gone through restoration.^[2][3]

Zoo gift shop and visitors center

From 1973 until 2002, the Mother's Building served as a gift shop and visitors center for the zoo.^[7][3] The building is in need of seismic safe updates and the interior murals need restoration; more recently the room is only used for special events.^[8][3]

The Mother's Building is the only remaining structure from the Fleishhacker Pool and Fleishhacker Playfield complex.^[7] The Mother's Building is a historic building listed as a San Francisco Designated Landmark and as one of the National Register of Historic Places.^[2][7]

Another structure with a similar historical use is the 1888 William Sharon Children's House and playground, now the Sharon Art Studio in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco.^[9]

See also

• California Historical Landmarks in San Francisco
• List of San Francisco Designated Landmarks
• National Register of Historic Places listings in San Francisco

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
2. Young, Kerri (2022-03-25). "Mothers Building on Path to City Landmark Status". San Francisco Heritage. Retrieved 2022-11-10.
3. Millner, Caille (2016-04-29). "Mothers Building could use some love this Mother's Day". San Francisco Chronicle. ISSN 1932-8672. Retrieved 2022-11-10.
4. "Fleishhacker, Delia, Memorial Building". CA State Parks. December 1979. Retrieved 2022-11-12.
5. "Fleishhacker, Delia, Memorial Building". NPGallery Digital Asset Management System, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. 1979.
6. Lee, Fiona (2016-02-29). "Neglected WPA-Era Murals Still Languish Inside SF Zoo's Mother's Building". Hoodline.com. Retrieved 2022-11-10.
7. "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Fleishhacker, Delia, Memorial Building". National Park Service. 1979. Retrieved November 10, 2022. With accompanying pictures
8. "Event: Save the SF Zoo's Mother's Building". Living New Deal. January 28, 2016.
9. Keraghosian, Greg (May 23, 2021). "How notorious tycoon William Sharon left SF's children a still-popular landmark". SFGATE. Retrieved 15 September 2024.