On
Wednesday, October 7, 2009 The National Trust for Historic Preservation
held a benefit evening, Sip Some Wine & Walk Through Time at the
Old Mint in San Francisco. Carol and Shelby Bonnie, Linda and Jerry Bruckheimer
and Jenny and Richard Emerson were Event Chairs.
The Old Mint is a San
Francisco landmark fondly known as the "Granite Lady" and was
once the busiest mint in the United States. One of the last government
buildings constructed in the Greek Revival style, the Old Mint, completed
in 1874 is also the city's oldest stone building. When mint operations
were moved to a new facility in 1933, the building housed office space
and a popular museum The Treasury Department closed the building in 1993.
In 2001, National Trust staff was appointed to a Mayoral Task Force charged
with soliciting and reviewing development proposals for the venerable
National Historic Landmark. The task force voted unanimously in 2003
to support a proposal submitted by the San Francisco Museum & Historical
Society (SFMHS) for a city museum combined with retail, restaurants,
and office space for nonprofits. The City of San Francisco officially
assumed ownership of the Old Mint from the federal government in August
2003 and the completed project is scheduled open to the public in 2012.
