SF's Russian American Heritage Project Completes Milestone

In 2023, the SF Planning Department kicked off a multi-year effort to identify and evaluate local Russian-American cultural resources and offer recommendations for their preservation.

Presentation to Historical Commission

On July 16th, Melanie Bishop of the SF Planning Department presented an overview of the Russian American Historic Context Statement (RAHCS,) completing a milestone for SF's Russian American heritage project. The presentation included the scope and intent of the document, authors, community engagement events and partnerships.

RAHCS historical themes

RAHCS important places in SF

RAHCS community engagement

RAHCS project timeline

Public Comments

Russian American organizations and community members had the opportunity to express support for the RAHCS project, including:

• Russian-American Community Services (RACS)

• Russian Center of San Francisco

• Dream Ukraine

• Slavic Youth Circle

Russian-American Community Services comments

Russian Center of San Francisco comments

Dream Ukraine comments

Slavic Youth Circle comments

Historical Preservation Commission Comments

• Commissioner Hans Baldauf: "I have to say, having grown up in the Richmond district, one of the great things was being exposed to all of the bakeries that produced these amazing Russian delicacies, and not being Slavic myself, it was an edible education. The thing that I was struck by in the draft report statement is how widespread the Russian community is within San Francisco. I feel like it touches lots and lots of parts of the city which is somewhat different from other communities that are more focused in parts of the city.”

• Commissioner Diane Matsuda: “I also want to thank Ms. Bishop for her hard work on getting this done within a very short period of time and clearly incorporating the community takes great skill and great patience and great sensitivity. I also grew up in the Richmond district and continue to shop at Cinderella Bakery and I'm glad that you included it in your report and look forward to the final.”

More about the RAHCS

• View the July 16th meeting on demand

• Related blog: San Francisco is Preserving the History of the Russian-American Community

What's Next?

On October 15th, SF Planning will present the RAHCS for adoption as a living document at the Historic Preservation Commission meeting. See event details.