Drew Bourn PhD, MLIS
@drewbourn.bsky.social
Archivist and Historian. Librarian Emeritus, Stanford University.
The Sunol Water Temple, built in 1910. William Bourn of the Spring Valley Water Company commissioned it - possibly to entice San Franciscans to buy his company as a municipal water source. Although the temple is currently closed to the public, I managed to take this picture through the gate.
November 17, 2025 at 6:55 PM
The Sunol Water Temple, built in 1910. William Bourn of the Spring Valley Water Company commissioned it - possibly to entice San Franciscans to buy his company as a municipal water source. Although the temple is currently closed to the public, I managed to take this picture through the gate.
Filipino histories of San Francisco. On November 13 Nancy Hom, former Executive Director of Kearny Street Workshop, spoke with me about the mandala she created about the history of the I-Hotel. It is currently on display at the Manilatown Heritage Foundation, former site of the I-Hotel.
November 15, 2025 at 8:22 PM
Filipino histories of San Francisco. On November 13 Nancy Hom, former Executive Director of Kearny Street Workshop, spoke with me about the mandala she created about the history of the I-Hotel. It is currently on display at the Manilatown Heritage Foundation, former site of the I-Hotel.
San Francisco's Castro Street is named for José Castro (1808-1860), a military officer during California's Mexican period. Yesterday I returned to Castro's 1830s adobe home in San Juan Bautista (about 90 miles south of San Francisco); the building also appears in Hitchcock's 1958 film "Vertigo."
November 15, 2025 at 8:08 PM
San Francisco's Castro Street is named for José Castro (1808-1860), a military officer during California's Mexican period. Yesterday I returned to Castro's 1830s adobe home in San Juan Bautista (about 90 miles south of San Francisco); the building also appears in Hitchcock's 1958 film "Vertigo."
Recently I rewatched the 1936 film "After the Thin Man," which opens as the train of Nick and Nora Charles pulls into San Francisco's Southern Pacific station. These days it's the same location from which I take my daily commute by Caltrain down to Stanford.
July 7, 2025 at 10:11 PM
Recently I rewatched the 1936 film "After the Thin Man," which opens as the train of Nick and Nora Charles pulls into San Francisco's Southern Pacific station. These days it's the same location from which I take my daily commute by Caltrain down to Stanford.
San Francisco writer WC Morrow crafted gothic tales while living at 1871 Sacramento Street. His macabre short story "Over an Absinthe Bottle," published in 1897, is set in San Francisco and is available for free online: americanliterature.com/author/wc-mo...
July 5, 2025 at 5:17 PM
San Francisco writer WC Morrow crafted gothic tales while living at 1871 Sacramento Street. His macabre short story "Over an Absinthe Bottle," published in 1897, is set in San Francisco and is available for free online: americanliterature.com/author/wc-mo...
Yesterday's Trans March in San Francisco. Thousands of people took over Market Street. www.transmarch.org/trans-march-...
June 28, 2025 at 3:54 PM
Yesterday's Trans March in San Francisco. Thousands of people took over Market Street. www.transmarch.org/trans-march-...
"The Serpent Queen" reminds me of Alexandre Dumas' story of Catherine de' Medici killing her son King Charles IX with a poisoned book. That, in turn, has reminded me of other stories of poisoned books such as Umberto Eco's "The Name of the Rose" and Milorad Pavić's "The Dictionary of the Khazars."
June 20, 2025 at 3:45 PM
"The Serpent Queen" reminds me of Alexandre Dumas' story of Catherine de' Medici killing her son King Charles IX with a poisoned book. That, in turn, has reminded me of other stories of poisoned books such as Umberto Eco's "The Name of the Rose" and Milorad Pavić's "The Dictionary of the Khazars."
Black Union soldiers were among the many Black Americans instrumental in the Union victory of the Civil War - a victory that secured liberties for all Black Americans and is celebrated on Juneteenth. (Photo from the Library of Congress: www.loc.gov/pictures/ite...)
June 19, 2025 at 4:11 PM
Black Union soldiers were among the many Black Americans instrumental in the Union victory of the Civil War - a victory that secured liberties for all Black Americans and is celebrated on Juneteenth. (Photo from the Library of Congress: www.loc.gov/pictures/ite...)
Happy Bloomsday! When Jim and I have spent time in Dublin we've sought out locations that appear in "Ulysses" - James Joyce's modern retelling of Homer's "Odyssey," set in Dublin on June 16, 1904. This is from our trip in 2023. I was enjoying a pint at Davy Byrne's pub on Duke Street.
June 16, 2025 at 3:34 PM
Happy Bloomsday! When Jim and I have spent time in Dublin we've sought out locations that appear in "Ulysses" - James Joyce's modern retelling of Homer's "Odyssey," set in Dublin on June 16, 1904. This is from our trip in 2023. I was enjoying a pint at Davy Byrne's pub on Duke Street.
Here's a bit of Greek. Happy Father's Day to all the Fathers, Father figures, and Daddies.
June 15, 2025 at 4:49 PM
Here's a bit of Greek. Happy Father's Day to all the Fathers, Father figures, and Daddies.
Yesterday: No Kings Day in San Francisco.
June 15, 2025 at 4:48 PM
Yesterday: No Kings Day in San Francisco.
Last night: Ross Alley (舊呂宋巷) in San Francisco Chinatown.
June 11, 2025 at 3:58 PM
Last night: Ross Alley (舊呂宋巷) in San Francisco Chinatown.
Remember: If you see an ICE agent in San Francisco, you can call the San Francisco Rapid Response 24-hour hotline at: (415) 200-1548. Calls can be taken in Spanish, Arabic, Cantonese, and Mandarin as well as English.
June 10, 2025 at 7:10 PM
Remember: If you see an ICE agent in San Francisco, you can call the San Francisco Rapid Response 24-hour hotline at: (415) 200-1548. Calls can be taken in Spanish, Arabic, Cantonese, and Mandarin as well as English.
Friends of the Santa Cruz Public Libraries and library staff were creative in their use of book trucks in the Santa Cruz Pride Parade. Video here: www.instagram.com/reel/DKfpdh4...
June 9, 2025 at 10:17 PM
Friends of the Santa Cruz Public Libraries and library staff were creative in their use of book trucks in the Santa Cruz Pride Parade. Video here: www.instagram.com/reel/DKfpdh4...
A great turnout last night for the opening reception of a show of Danny Nicoletta's photos in Harvey Milk's former camera shop!
June 7, 2025 at 3:12 PM
A great turnout last night for the opening reception of a show of Danny Nicoletta's photos in Harvey Milk's former camera shop!
Yesterday I went on Peter Field's historical walking tour of the Tenderloin. Here Peter is speaking at the former site of the Black Hawk jazz club, at the intersection of Hyde and Turk.
June 2, 2025 at 5:07 PM
Yesterday I went on Peter Field's historical walking tour of the Tenderloin. Here Peter is speaking at the former site of the Black Hawk jazz club, at the intersection of Hyde and Turk.
The Veterans Memorial in San Francisco's Civic Center features the poem "The Young Dead Soldiers Do Not Speak" by Archibald MacLeish (who fought in WWI). The poem includes this line: "Our deaths are not ours: they are yours: they will mean what you make them."
May 26, 2025 at 3:55 PM
The Veterans Memorial in San Francisco's Civic Center features the poem "The Young Dead Soldiers Do Not Speak" by Archibald MacLeish (who fought in WWI). The poem includes this line: "Our deaths are not ours: they are yours: they will mean what you make them."
San Francisco Black history: Alabama native Oscar Jackson received his MD from Howard University before serving as a surgeon in the Air Force during the Korean War. He later became first Black surgeon at SF General. Here at 1342 Haight Street he received patients regardless of their ability to pay.
May 25, 2025 at 7:24 PM
San Francisco Black history: Alabama native Oscar Jackson received his MD from Howard University before serving as a surgeon in the Air Force during the Korean War. He later became first Black surgeon at SF General. Here at 1342 Haight Street he received patients regardless of their ability to pay.
Last night Jim and I went to a sundown screening of the 1922 film "Nosferatu" at Grace Cathedral, with live music by the Sascha Jacobsen Quintet. silentfilm.org/event/f-w-mu...
May 24, 2025 at 1:41 PM
Last night Jim and I went to a sundown screening of the 1922 film "Nosferatu" at Grace Cathedral, with live music by the Sascha Jacobsen Quintet. silentfilm.org/event/f-w-mu...
Here's a shot I took in 2022 of some Fiat 500s that their owners were showing off at the Porta San Sebastiano, near the Via Appia Antica in Rome.
May 22, 2025 at 6:55 PM
Here's a shot I took in 2022 of some Fiat 500s that their owners were showing off at the Porta San Sebastiano, near the Via Appia Antica in Rome.
This weekend Jim and I saw the new immersive play about the 1966 Compton's Cafeteria Riot. It was great! I highly recommend it. www.tenderloinmuseum.org/the-comptons...
May 19, 2025 at 3:59 PM
This weekend Jim and I saw the new immersive play about the 1966 Compton's Cafeteria Riot. It was great! I highly recommend it. www.tenderloinmuseum.org/the-comptons...
How to decorate your home. 490 Linden Street, in the Hayes Valley neighborhood of San Francisco.
May 17, 2025 at 1:05 PM
How to decorate your home. 490 Linden Street, in the Hayes Valley neighborhood of San Francisco.
Near my home in San Francisco.
May 15, 2025 at 7:15 PM
Near my home in San Francisco.
Last night Jim and I went to see the Go-Go's at the Warfield in San Francisco.
May 14, 2025 at 12:59 PM
Last night Jim and I went to see the Go-Go's at the Warfield in San Francisco.