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For many in the Bay, Lake Merritt is beautiful, civic, gleaming, and strange, as only the unwieldy possibilities of public space can conjure. Its mid-century years, 1945-1976, are the focus of Docomomo Northern California’s Tour Day in the spirit of the 2026 national theme of “Recreation and Play”.
Contribute your superlative personal ephemera. Create and share your digitized* slides, negatives, prints, scrapbook items, Polaroids, ticket stubs, flyers, propaganda, stickers, sketches, and digital photos of festival t-shirts, family reunion mugs, DIY art, etc.
Docomomo US Summer 2026 Reads spotlights new and classic books on modern architecture and design, including Northern California’s experimental and environmental modernism. The curated titles connect Bay Area projects like The Sea Ranch and back‑to‑the‑land architecture to a broader global story of place, justice, and identity.
Ernest and Esther Born helped shape San Francisco modernism through architecture, photography, graphic design, and planning. UC Berkeley’s exhibition Modernism: Born in California, on view through September 30, 2026, traces their Bay Area legacy from the 1920s to the 1960s at Bauer Wurster Hall’s Environmental Design Library.
Docomomo US/Northern California honors the life and legacy of Donlyn Lyndon, FAIA, who was an architect, teacher, writer, and a key figure in Northern California modernism. He passed away on April 5, 2026, at The Sea Ranch at the age of 90. As a founding partner of Moore, Lyndon, Turnbull and Whitaker, Lyndon played a major role in shaping The Sea Ranch in the early 1960s. He described it as a coastal community built on a “limited partnership” between buildings and the land, reflecting values of stewardship, collaboration, and care.
The 19th International Docomomo Conference in Los Angeles explored how modernism is anything but a placeless “white box,” foregrounding climate-responsive design, regional identity, and the conservation of experimental modern architecture. Through panels on “Modernism in the Sun,” case studies like Marcel Breuer’s precast facades and Sim Van der Ryn’s Gregory Bateson Building, and tours of works by Paul R. Williams, Charles Moore, and other California innovators, the conference highlighted “Multiple Moderns” shaped by local histories, materials, and communities—and the complex challenges of preserving them for the future.
Discover how Docomomo US/NOCA made 2025 a landmark year for modern architecture advocacy in Northern California, from defending Vaillancourt Fountain and shaping preservation policy to hosting tours, talks, and grants that engaged new audiences in the legacy of modernism.
Tour Day is the only national program of its kind, devoted to the appreciation of modern architecture in the United States. Tours and events focused on Modern Movement buildings and landscapes are hosted throughout October by Docomomo US chapters, partners, and local preservation advocates across the country.
Embarcadero Reimagined is a bold concept design for Embarcadero Plaza and Sue Bierman Park from JRDV Urban International. This concept design demonstrates what is possible when unique San Francisco history, adaptive design, fiscal and environmental responsibility, economic revitalization, and creativity come together.
Docomomo US/Northern California has appealed the San Francisco Arts Commission’s approval of an emergency CEQA exemption for disassembling and removing the Vaillancourt Fountain from Embarcadero Plaza, arguing the Recreation and Park Department is misusing an “emergency” to evade required environmental review and public input.
The Northern California (NOCA) Chapter of Docomomo US is pleased to announce Luke Leuschner as the recipient of the 2025 Docomomo US/NOCA Symposium Travel Grant.
On November 8th, we were graced with beautiful East Bay sun during a perfect Bay Area autumn. The tour was led by Camila Baum board member of the Northern California chapter. There were five stops on this walking tour, we learned about Roger's early life, family life, career; and intersections of racial segregation and municipal zoning within the city of Berkeley. Thank you to all who attended, we loved sharing the life and legacy of Roger Lee, FAIA.
San Francisco public art was not on Monday’s agenda. Instead, the Arts Commission heard a narrative shaped by Recreation & Park staff, and commissioners did not question the department’s good faith. During public comment, Docomomo US/NOCA and others presented evidence suggesting SFRPD intends to remove the fountain while sidestepping CEQA review that protects historic resources.
Using a manufactured sense of emergency, SF Recreation and Park has asked the SF Arts Commission for expedited approval to dismantle and remove the Vaillancourt Fountain, despite Planning’s finding that it is a protected historic resource and independent reports that contradict claims of imminent danger. Docomomo US/NOCA urges the public to oppose this attempt to bypass CEQA and rewrite the fountain’s history.
San Francisco Planning reviewed an independent Historic Resource Review of the Vaillancourt Fountain and agreed it is a historic resource eligible for both the National Register and the California Register. Because of this eligibility, any proposal affecting the fountain now requires review under the California Environmental Quality Act, ensuring public input and consideration of alternatives before significant changes occur.
Speakers addressed the fountain’s irreplaceable significance as a Brutalist icon, a site of free speech, skateboarding history, Indigenous rights activism, San Francisco’s progressive spirit, and as an essential component of the California Register-listed Market Street Cultural Landscape District. They directly challenged the City’s push for deaccession, arguing that the fountain’s deterioration is a result of deferred maintenance that should not set a dangerous precedent of demolishing public art. D
On Friday, September 19, 2025, Docomomo US/NOCA and a coalition of local, national, and international groups sent a letter to San Francisco Arts Commission, Recreation and Park Department, the Project Governance Team, and all associated city agencies and partners with a clear message: Embarcadero Plaza and the Vaillancourt Fountain must be retained and rehabilitated for present and future residents and visitors.
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.
Bring San Francisco’s iconic Vaillancourt Fountain into your virtual meetings with these bold, modernist Zoom backgrounds. Perfect for architecture lovers, Bay Area locals, or anyone seeking a unique backdrop, this digital image transforms your Zoom calls and advocates for preservation of a piece of the city’s public art history. Learn more and download your free background now.
Internationally renowned artist Armand Vaillancourt has demanded that San Francisco halt any actions that could endanger his Embarcadero Plaza fountain, Québec libre!, asserting his rights as creator. Docomomo US/NOCA supports this legal move and continues to call for transparent planning, robust preservation alternatives, and long-term stewardship of this modernist public artwork and plaza.
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.
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.
In an expected turn of events, the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department (SFRPD) has formally requested the San Francisco Arts Commission’s (SFAC) consideration and approval to proceed with the formal deaccession of the Vaillancourt Fountain from the Civic Art Collection and its removal from Embarcadero Plaza. In other words, this is a request for permission to demolish the Vaillancourt Fountain.
Discover key highlights from San Francisco Recreation and Park’s July 2025 meeting on the Embarcadero Plaza and Sue Bierman Park Renovation. Learn about RPD's decision to demolish the Vaillancourt Fountain, cost estimates, and unaddressed alternatives. Access videos, transcripts, advocacy resources, and learn how to take action to preserve San Francisco’s Modern heritage.
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 May 23, Embarcadero Plaza welcomed community members, art lovers, and modern architecture supporters for a Plaza Picnic organized by Docomomo US/NOCA. The Vaillancourt family traveled from Québec to honor the fountain’s legacy alongside Rana Halprin, activist Robert Free, city representatives, preservation groups, artists, skateboarders, and others sharing 50 years of memories.
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!
Experience the artistry of Ruth Asawa beyond the museum with Docomomo US/Northern California’s new self-guided tour. Discover Asawa’s iconic fountains and public sculptures throughout the San Francisco Bay Area using our interactive map. Perfect for art lovers inspired by the SFMOMA retrospective, this tour invites you to walk in Asawa’s footsteps and see the city through her creative vision.
Explore the newly launched Beverley D Thorne archive on Docomomo Northern California’s website. Discover the life and works of this pioneering ‘Man of Steel,’ including his famous Dave Brubeck House, Case Study House #26, and innovative steel-framed designs. Dive into California Modernism’s rich history through this comprehensive collection.
Hagen History Center in Erie, Pennsylvania, has opened the Frank Lloyd Wright Field Office Museum, built around Wright’s former San Francisco field office at 319 Grant Avenue. Used by Wright and associate Aaron Green from 1951 until 1959, the compact office served as a Bay Area base for Northern California work, culminating in the Marin County Civic Center. Now reassembled as the centerpiece of a 2,700‑square‑foot “museum within a museum,” the installation lets visitors walk through the office and drafting room, experiencing Wright’s redwood plywood construction, 120‑degree geometries, partial‑height walls, and signature red tile while surrounded by artifacts and audio‑visual material about his life and work.