San Francisco Landmark 272
Alemany Emergency Hospital and Health Buildings
35-45 Onondaga Avenue
Built 1933

These two buildings, designed by City Architect Charles H. Sawyer as part of the citywide emergency hospital system, represent the most important moment of social activism in the history of the Excelsior District which occurred just months before George Moscone and Harvey Milk were assassinated in City Hall.

In the summer of 1978, neighbors protested the planned closure of the Emergency Healthcare System by moving into the Alemany Hospital. They ate and slept there for over a month and a half, offering free first aid and emergency services to patients. The protest failed and the hospital closed on August 24, 1978.

Source: Adapted from San Francisco Landmark Designation Application for 35-45 Onondaga Avenue, 17 February 2016.

When we photographed the buildings, they were being renovated by Clinic by the Bay to become a free, volunteer-powered health clinic providing primary care to uninsured adults.