Historian Seeks Geneva Office Building Memories for Book

Historian and author Woody LaBounty is seeking memories from the public about the Geneva Office Building and Powerhouse — known as the Geneva Carbarn to some — for a book project.

"Do you have memories of the Geneva Office Building and Powerhouse?" LaBounty wrote in his weekly newsletter. "Did you buy bus tokens at the window? Have a relative that worked for the Muni and hung out in the 'gilly room'? I want to hear it all."

On the National Register of Historic Places and City Landmark No. 180, the complex was built in 1901 by the United Railroads and Market Street Railway companies until it became part of Muni in the 1940s. It served as headquarters for the city's streetcars until the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake put it out of commission.

City Hall planned to demolish the complex to create a few parking spaces, but neighbors and preservationists saved it and have advocated for a useful future for decades. So far, the powerhouse has been rehabilitated and occupied by the nonprofit Performing Arts Workshop.

The nonprofit Friends of the Geneva Office Building & Powerhouse, a booster group working to make sure the complex is rehabilitated to serve the neighborhood, secured a grant to pay for the book project. The group has long wanted a definitive book revealing the complex's significance. It builds on a project the group started a few years ago.

LaBounty, a one-time history columnist for The Ingleside Light, now heads up San Francisco Architectural Heritage, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving and protecting San Francisco buildings. He authored a history of Ingleside Terraces for its centennial and founded the nonprofit Western Neighborhoods Project.

"A few people have reached out to me with memories of GOB in response to my announcing the book work in my weekly San Francisco Story email that I may be able to incorporate in the Muni years chapter," LaBounty recently wrote.

Reach Woody LaBounty to share memories at woody@sanfranciscostory.com.