Founded in 1996, Docomomo Northern California is a chapter of Docomomo US—a non-profit organization dedicated to documenting and conserving the Modern Movement's buildings, sites, and neighborhoods.
Docomomo US announces 18 recipients of the 2025 Modernism in America Awards. Now in its 12th year, the Awards celebrate the documentation, preservation and reuse of Modern buildings, structures and landscapes built in the United States or on U.S. territory and recognize building owners, design teams, individuals, and preservation organizations that have made significant efforts to retain, restore, and advocate for the aesthetic and cultural value of such places.
Docomomo US/Northern California has launched a new online resource highlighting the life and work of Roger Y. Lee, AIA (1920–1981), one of the most prolific yet underrecognized figures of Bay Area Modernism. A Chinese-American architect who overcame systemic racial barriers of his time, Lee created more than 100 residences and a wide range of civic, commercial, and religious projects across the West Coast.
On June 16, 2025, board members of Docomomo US/Northern California (NOCA) attended a key stakeholder meeting with staff of the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department (SFRPD) and a representative from BXP to discuss the Embarcadero Plaza and Sue Bierman Park Renovation Project. The meeting discussed the project’s goals, timeline, and challenges, with a particular focus on the future of the Vaillancourt Fountain and Embarcadero Plaza.
On Friday, May 23, Embarcadero Plaza hosted community members, art enthusiasts, and supporters of modern architecture for a Plaza Picnic, an event organized by Docomomo US/NOCA. The occasion marked a special welcome for the Vaillancourt family, who traveled from Québec and honored the enduring legacy of the Vaillancourt Fountain—a beloved yet endangered landmark in San Francisco. In addition to the Vaillancourt family, Lawrence Halprin's daughter Rana, activist, and Alcatraz occupier Robert Free, SFRPD project manager Eoanna Harrison Goodwin, Supervisor District 1's chief of staff, friends from SF Heritage, and The Cultural Landscape Foundation, as well as artists, skateboarders, and people who shared personal stories of the plaza and fountain over the past 50 years.
Docomomo Northern California was thrilled to join the conversation about some of the best of Downtown San Francisco’s Modernist skyscrapers with Heritage’s Woody LaBounty and our own Board President Barrett Reiter and Board Member Ted Barrow!
As part of our ongoing advocacy efforts to retain and rehabilitate Embarcadero Plaza and the Vaillancourt Fountain, we requested important information from multiple San Francisco policy bodies to facilitate the full and transparent participation of interested parties in this civic process.