Events

Skateboarding San Francisco: Concrete, Community, Continuity [SF Public Library]
Feb
13
to Jul 6

Skateboarding San Francisco: Concrete, Community, Continuity [SF Public Library]

  • San Francisco Public Library Main Branch / Jewett Gallery, Lower Level (map)
  • Google Calendar ICS

Skateboarding art historian and Docomomo Northern California Board Member, Ted Barrow walks visitors through the exhibition, Skateboarding San Francisco: Concrete, Community, Continuity, showing how the City’s unique terrain has become iconic to skateboarding. Combining archival photos from the library’s own History Center with historic skate photos, videos and material artifacts, Barrow shares the impact of skateboarding in San Francisco and its reach across the globe.

View Event →
Do Not Try to Remember: The American School of Architecture in the Bay Area [Center for Architecture + Design]
Feb
20
to Aug 8

Do Not Try to Remember: The American School of Architecture in the Bay Area [Center for Architecture + Design]

  • Center for Architecture + Design (map)
  • Google Calendar ICS

Explore the groundbreaking “American School” architects at SF’s Center for Architecture + Design. Discover how Goff & Greene’s protégés, like Agnoli & Muennig, shaped Bay Area design with radical, contextual, and uniquely American visions. Runs Feb 20 - Aug 8, 2025.

View Event →
The Vertical City [Transamerica Building]
Feb
22
to Apr 30

The Vertical City [Transamerica Building]

Foster + Partners has completed a $400M renovation of Architect William Pereira’s Transamerica Pyramid, revitalizing its interiors, Redwood Park, and surrounding district. This transformation blends historic preservation with modern design, creating a vibrant hub for business, community, and creativity in the heart of the city.

View Event →
Preserving the Recent Past Conference
Mar
19
to Mar 22

Preserving the Recent Past Conference

  • The Boston Architectural College (map)
  • Google Calendar ICS

Co-organized by Historic Preservation Education Foundation and the Boston Architectural College, the conference program will include three tracks of presentations on advocacy challenges and preservation strategies, history and context and technical conservation issues and solutions for post-World War II resources, to take place on Thursday, March 20 and Friday, March 21, 2025.

View Event →
Ruth Asawa: Retrospective [SF-MOMA]
Sep
2

Ruth Asawa: Retrospective [SF-MOMA]

The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) is set to host Ruth Asawa: Retrospective, a comprehensive exhibition honoring the groundbreaking work of artist Ruth Asawa. Opening to the general public on March 11, 2025, with member tickets already available, the exhibition promises an in-depth exploration of Asawa’s expansive artistic output, featuring over 300 artworks.

View Event →

Tour Day: Landscape Design of Levi's Plaza [Walking Tour]
Oct
26

Tour Day: Landscape Design of Levi's Plaza [Walking Tour]

  • 1105 Battery St San Francisco, CA 94111 United States (map)
  • Google Calendar ICS

Join Docomomo US/NOCA on an exploration of the landscape design of Levi's Plaza by Lawrence Halprin. The property includes several office buildings, as well as plaza spaces, water features, and a rolling landscape, and created a lush setting for the urban San Francisco headquarters of Levi Strauss & Co.

View Event →
THE ARCHITECTURE & ART OF BART - [WALKING TOUR]
Aug
17

THE ARCHITECTURE & ART OF BART - [WALKING TOUR]

Docomomo US/Northern California is hosting a walking (and riding!) tour of San Francisco’s BART stations, from Glen Park to the Embarcadero, on August 17! Tour guides will discuss the history, Midcentury Modern design, and art of BART. Tickets are expected to sell quickly.

View Event →
Beverley Thorne’s Music House [House Tour]
Aug
3

Beverley Thorne’s Music House [House Tour]

Discover the fascinating history behind the unique design of Beverley Thorne’s 1970 Music House, in Kensington! This site was once deemed an unbuildable lot, but was transformed by Thorne into an architectural marvel. This event will include live musical performances of several short compositions created about the Music House by previous owners, along with short talks and light refreshments.

This event starts off our celebration of the Thorne Centennial year. Secure your tickets today before they sell out!

View Event →
Roger Lee: Modernism for the Masses [Walking Tour]
May
25

Roger Lee: Modernism for the Masses [Walking Tour]

Join Docomomo US/NOCA on a walking tour to explore the legacy of Roger Y. Lee, a prolific and acclaimed – yet currently underrecognized – architect whose name and work should be synonymous with the development of Second Bay Region Tradition design and Mid-Century Modernism in California.

View Event →
Embarcadero Center [Walking Tour]
Mar
25

Embarcadero Center [Walking Tour]

  • 500 Commercial Street San Francisco, CA, 94111 United States (map)
  • Google Calendar ICS

Join us for a tour of John Portman’s fantastic and dizzying five-block concrete megastructure filled with retail, plazas, public art and views of the evolution of San Francisco’s downtown in the late 20th century.

View Event →
Modernism on San Francisco's North Waterfront [Walking Tour]
Apr
23

Modernism on San Francisco's North Waterfront [Walking Tour]

Our October tour was so popular that we are doing a rerun! We are still keeping group sizes small, so reserve your ticket soon.

We'll explore the theme of Travel & Leisure by visiting the Streamline Moderne Aquatic Park Bathhouse, Fontana Towers, Ghirardelli Square, and the Cannery. A neighborhood that many local residents may pass over assuming it is just for tourists, the North Waterfront has an important history of Modern architecture and urbanism that shaped the future of the city. This tour is a chance to explore some fantastic Modern architecture and very interesting adaptive reuse projects by top tier Modernist architects, landscape architects, and graphic designers including Wurster, Bernardi & Emmons, Lawrence Halprin, Ruth Asawa, Bobbie Stauffacher Solomon, Joseph Esherick, Thomas Church, and Marget Larsen.

Buy tickets on Eventbrite.

Tickets are limited in order to keep the group smaller.

The tour will primarily be outdoors. However, we will be entering the Maritime Museum for a brief period and masks will be required indoors.

View Event →
Tour Day 2021: Travel & Leisure [Walking Tour]
Oct
16

Tour Day 2021: Travel & Leisure [Walking Tour]

Travel & Leisure on San Francisco's North Waterfront

We'll explore the theme of Travel & Leisure by visiting the Streamline Moderne Aquatic Park Bathhouse and Ghirardelli Square—an early adaptive reuse project involving modernists Wurster, Bernardi & Emmons, Lawrence Halprin, and Bobbie Stauffacher Solomon—among other sites. A neighborhood that many local residents may pass over assuming it is just for tourists, the North Waterfront has an important history of Modern architecture and urbanism that shaped the future of the city.

View Event →
MOTEL NOCA with Heather David [Virtual Event]
Aug
29

MOTEL NOCA with Heather David [Virtual Event]

MOTEL NOCA is a celebration of the motel in Northern California, with a special focus on the city of San Francisco. From a 1930s motor court, with attached garages, to a 1960s motor hotel, with underground parking, the “city by the bay” is home to a variety of motel building types. San Francisco also features a surprisingly intact “Motel Row” and one of the country’s first successful boutique hotels. Explore architect-designed motels, themed motels, neon signs, and more! Let’s take a virtual road trip back in time and experience the golden age of the motel in California.

View Event →
My NOCA Mod Obsession | Virtual Lightning Talks
Aug
4

My NOCA Mod Obsession | Virtual Lightning Talks

Join Docomomo US/Northern California for a night of virtual lightning talks.

A line up of professionals, students, and enthusiasts will share their obsession with Northern California (NOCA) Modernism. Each short presentation will highlight a different Modernist building, landscape, object, or practitioner in NOCA. Line up of presenters and their topics will be announced in July.

View Event →
Masters of Modern Design: The Art of the Japanese American Experience [Film Screening]
Jan
14

Masters of Modern Design: The Art of the Japanese American Experience [Film Screening]

  • San Francisco Public Library Koret Auditorium (map)
  • Google Calendar ICS

Please join us for a film screening of Masters of Modern Design: The Art of the Japanese American Experience. This 55-minute documentary by director Akira Boch follows the lives of Ruth Asawa, George Nakashima, Isamu Noguchi, S. Neil Fujita, and Gyo Obata, starting with their experiences in the internment camps through their later careers as artists, architects, and designers.

View Event →
Holiday Happy Hour
Dec
5

Holiday Happy Hour

Join us for a Holiday Happy Hour drink! Let's swap stories from 2019 and toast to the new year over drinks in the spectacular Embarcadero Hyatt Regency Hotel lobby (designed by John Portman in 1973). All lovers of Modernism welcome! Thursday, December 5 from 6-8pm.

View Event →