Historic Preservation
Award Winners - 1998



Bob Grimes
It's said that Bob "gives voice to the unsung." When singers need "new" songs, they go to him for "old" ones. His collection of more than 30,000 pieces of vintage sheet music has enriched the American cabaret repertoire with rare and obscure love songs, novelties and ballads from Tin Pan Alley, Broadway shows and movie musicals.



Lundberg Haberdashery - Colusa Circle, Kensington
Jon Lundberg's haberdashery is an atypical vintage clothing store: his inventory is nearly all men's wear! A veteran of California's vintage automobile and jazz scenes, the well-dressed proprietor has both inspired and enabled Deco-conscious men to look their best.



Schroeder's Cafe - 240 Front St., San Francisco
Before World War I, Germany was widely idealized as a romantic, bucolic, beer- and brass-band country. And in 1932, a nostalgic Herman Richter started painting it that way. His mural-size canvasses have enlivened Schroeder's downtown San Francisco restaurant ever since, in both its past and present locations.

The award recipients are the current owners, Stefan and Jana Filipcik, who serve classic German and Czech cuisine surrounded by Richter's visions of that bygone Middle-Europe.



David Boysel
David is responsible for restoring the Richter murals at Schroeder's Cafe. Besides merely being old, the canvas murals suffered from having been steamed off their original walls, transported to the Cafe's present site, trimmed, and given an ostensibly "protective" coat of shellac. But in 1997, the Filipciks commissioned David to revive them.

A master of both historic preservation and interpretive restoration, he is also responsible for the ongoing work at Oakland's Paramount Theater. Although he had to repaint some lost parts of Richter's murals, he did what their creator failed to do: he signed them with Richter's name.



Oakland Ballet
Of all the performing arts, great works of dance are arguably the most difficult to recreate. But since 1978 the Oakland Ballet has been reviving the groundbreaking choreography of the Ballet Russes du Monte Carlo, as performed in the 1920s under the direction of Sergei Diaghilev. Working with istorian-choreographers, such as Leonide assine and Irina Nijinska, and commissioning costumes and sets that reproduce the originals, the Oakland Ballet has presented some of the Deco era's signature works of dance, including the 1919 La Boutique Fantasque, the 1928 Bolero, and the 1924 Le Train Bleu.



The Tamalpais
Rich people used to own their own railway cars; and veteran enthusiasts still call these land-yachts "private varnish," in tribute to the hand-polished woodwork that many of them sported. A near-perfect example is the Tamalpais: a restored showpiece of oak and brass that was built for Santa Fe Railway executives in 1923. It has three staterooms, an observation lounge, a dining room, kitchen and crew's quarters . . . and it's available for charter.

When General Rail Corp. couples it to the end of an Amtrak train, Tamalpais passengers ride not only forward through the country but back through time.



Max Factor Building - Highland Blvd., Los Angeles
In 1931, the Hollywood makeup firm of Max Factor opened an elegant French Empire-style headquarters building, designed by S. Charles Lee, who was famous for making movie-palaces. It is now being restored as a museum by its new owner (and award recipient) Donelle Dadigan.



George Olsen Auto Dealership - Van Ness Ave., San Francisco
The shapes of the cars have changed profoundly since 1938, when George Olsen Sr. was selling them. But his dealership, now owned by his son George Jr., has been kept almost exactly as it was then. The neon sign, the exterior ornamentation, the interior decor -- even the upholstery -- have been preserved, restored, or recreated as necessary, to preserve the streamlined look of John E. Dinwiddie's exemplary design.