Talks: 2021 Videos

Primary Source

Shaping San Francisco hosts Public Talks on a variety of topics on Wednesday nights, about 18 times a year. Our topic themes vary, but we've grouped them over time into these categories: Art & Politics, Ecology, Historical Perspectives, Literary, and Social Movements.

Since Covid disrupted our use of the 518 Valencia Street gallery for our Public Talks, we have conducted outdoor "Urban Forum: Walk and Talks" since Fall 2020. This page has the Walk & Talks from 2021 and if we get to hold some indoor Talks later this year, we'll add them here too.

November 18, 2021

An Irish Catholic Liberal: Bishop Mark J. Hurley and the 1968-69 Strike at State

Countless Irish ancestry Catholic liberals helped shape the political culture of urban America in the twentieth century. San Francisco's Auxiliary Bishop Mark J. Hurley brokered the settlement of the longest student strike in United States history, but his role in bringing peace to the campus and thus enabling the establishment of ethnic studies at the college was unsung at the time and has been forgotten since. The story of Bishop Hurley and the strike at State is an important chapter in a genuinely inclusive history of the city of San Francisco. Featuring guest speaker William Issel, History Professor Emeritus, SF State University.

November 6, 2021

Glen Canyon and Sutro Forest

An urban forum "walk 'n talk" starting at Glen Park BART station, and meandering up through Glen Canyon, onto Portola Drive and west to Panoramic off Twin Beaks Blvd to the entry point to the Laguna Honda Trail. Coursing along behind the public hospital, the trail eventually runs westerly along an ivy-filled canyon that is directly above the MUNI Twin Peaks tunnel, leading eventually to a Clarendon Avenue exit. From there we went up and up to enter the Sutro Forest trail system, reaching the summit and then descending on the Historic Trail to the exit at Stanyan and 17th. Featuring Bob Siegel of the Crosstown Trail project!

October 9, 2021

Bayview Hill and Candlestick Point State Recreation Area

Our Walk-n-Talk Urban Forum visited the top of Bayview Hill where we circumnavigated the peak on the old cement road, stopping at both west and east ends for stories explaining the layers of history that shaped the surrounding landscapes. After the loop we made our way down and across the neighborhood to visit Candlestick Point State Recreation Area, where we were surprised by a serendipitous appearance of a Park Ranger who filled us in on some of the fauna out there. Eventually we walked out to the tip of the state park and finished on the fishing pier.

September 18, 2021

Eureka Valley and Corbett Heights

Discover a half dozen stairways, open spaces, and incredible views and gardens all across the upper slopes of Eureka Valley and Corbett Heights, above the Castro, and below Twin Peaks.

August 28, 2021

Grandview Peak and Golden Gate Heights

Grandview Peak offers incredible views of western San Francisco, the ocean, and Marin County. Navigate southward along the side of Golden Gate Heights to discover wildlife corridors, tiled staircases, and more. With Alyssa Pun, Stewardship Coordinator of Nature in the City, providing all sorts of information on the green hairstreak butterfly neighborhood habitat preservation and restoration efforts, and a lot on native plants along the hills abutting the Sunset district as well.

June 26, 2021

Dogpatch, Pier 70, Warm Water Cove

Explore the ecological, architectural, and social history of the oldest industrial enclave in San Francisco, now taking on new life adjacent to Mission Bay with thousands of residents and businesses pouring in. With informal talks by Peter Linethal of the Potrero Hill Archives Project, Steven Herraiz the Irish Hill historian, Katherine Petrin an architectural historian, and hosts LisaRuth Elliott and Chris Carlsson.

April 10, 2021

Presidio: Crissy Field to El Polín Spring

El Polín Spring and the area around it is a great example of how National Park stewardship has brought history to life. Follow the water through MacArthur Meadow, the Tennesee Hollow watershed, to the Crissy Field marshes—including the newly restored Quartermaster Reach. With Lew Stringer, Joel Pomerantz, LisaRuth Elliott, and Chris Carlsson. <iframe src="https://archive.org/embed/presidio-april-10-2021-walk-and-talk_202109" width="640" height="480" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="true" mozallowfullscreen="true" allowfullscreen></iframe>

March 6, 2021

Bernal Heights and the Bernal Cut

We visit earthquake shacks, WPA stairways, and the Bernal Cut Path. Discover traces of the Spring Valley Water Company. Plus incomparable views, and the new Esmeralda Steps extensions on both sides of the hill. With Sophie Constantinou and friends.