Streetcar barn to be transformed

  • 2017-07-16
The last powerhouse supplying electricity to San Francisco's streetcars is slated to be renovated, after years of effort to save it.

The Geneva Office Building & Power House is on San Jose Avenue, and was built in 1901. The state recently granted funding in the amount of $3.5m for the project, and the city's Parks and Recreation Department will also kick in $3m to the effort. The barn will be transformed into an art center.

The structure reflects much of the city's history. There is graffiti on the walls, and the bricks were knocked crooked by two of the earthquakes the city has suffered. An extant door on an upper floor enabled people so inclined to jump over striking streetcar workers in 1906, and there are pits the size of dumpsters in the floor where generators were housed.

Dan Weaver was an early advocate for rebuilding the car barn, and has been working toward that end for 28 years. Progress took place: advertising was done pro-bono; designs were created; and Friends of the Geneva Office Building & Power House, of which Weaver is a member, stopped efforts to raze it.

Finally, all the ducks lined up, and the car barn renovation will go ahead. Projects like this can benefit if supporters work with a flyer printing company, which can create a mailer for a targeted audience, explaining the project and asking for support.