Historic Landmark status for Hap Jones ...?
We're having fun with the city,
helping a couple of motorcycle enthusiasts
and San Francisco history buffs--Larisa Pedroncelli
and Kelly Hill--apply for historic landmark status for
Hap Jones's old Indian, Norton and BSA motorcycle
dealership at
245 Valencia Street ...
If you like seeing sausage being made,
the Historic Commission is
having the third meeting on the issue
on Wednesday, 4/5/2016
at City Hall, Room 400, at 12:30 PM ... :laughing
Here is a link to a lot of motorcycling history
made right here in San Francisco:
http://commissions.sfplanning.org/hpcpackets/2015-004228DES_HPC_040616.pdf
It makes for interesting reading
because the argument about whether
the location is worthy goes back
and forth ... Hollister, Marlon Brando and
outlaw motorcycle clubs are all trotted out ... :ride
I've included a letter here that our club
historian, Brian Holm, wrote in
reply to the developer's opposition
to historic designation for the
address:
San Francisco Motorcycle Club, Inc.
Established 1904
2194 Folsom Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
San Francisco Historic Preservation Commission Members,
Thank you for the opportunity to provide another perspective on the reports pending committee review, and to further inform you of the relevance of motorcycling, motorcyclists, and, in particular, Loren “Hap” Jones to the history of both our city and our sport.
While we may have made some inroads in increasing your awareness of the prominence of Loren “Hap” Jones in the community, motorcycle sport, and the motorcycling industry, it seems that other questions have been raised with regard to the relevance of motorcycle culture, of the central place of San Francisco within it, and the significance of other locales.
Relevance of a Subculture
First, with regard to the relevance of motorcycle culture to the history of the city, and the impact of San Francisco motorcyclists on the industry, please resist the impulse to leap to the conclusion that modern notions of marketing are the only criterion by which to determine the relevance of any group to our shared history. Are we an Irish, Hispanic, or Italian city; a Catholic or Judaic city, a carpenter’s or a fire fighters city? You likely would not choose to brand our city in any of those singular terms, but I’m certain that you appreciate the contributions of each of those identities to our communal legacy. In that vein, please consider the following facts regarding San Francisco motorcyclists and motorcycling culture:
• The first parade of motor vehicles in the city took place on Van Ness Avenue in 1900, it was led by three pioneering motorcyclists including Laura Small and Frank Carroll.
• The California Motorcycle Company began production of one of the earliest mass-produced motorcycles in North America, in 1901, on the 2200 block of Folsom Street.
• The first motor vehicle of any kind to cross the United States, in 1903, was one of those locally manufactured “California Motorcycles” and piloted by city resident George Wyman.
• Preceding the American Motorcyclist Association by 21 years was the Federation of American Motorcyclists (FAM), founded in New York City in 1903. Present, and appointed Vice Chairman for all motorcycling competition west of the Mississippi, was San Franciscan Charles Clay Hopkins.
• A winner of the inaugural FAM competition (a race between Springfield, MA and New York City) was O.L. Pickard of San Francisco.
• Some of the earliest motorcycle and automobile races in the west were organized by San Francisco’s motorcyclists on the Ingleside track (now Urbano Drive, that mile-long oval that houses the massive sundial). These events featured local racers in addition to the legendary Barney Oldfield.
• Within days of the 1906 earthquake and fire, San Francisco motorcyclists volunteered to carry supplies within the city and up and down the peninsula to San Jose. Defying the devastation, San Francisco motorcyclists held their next road run within a month of the tragedy.
• In June 1906, the motorcyclists of San Francisco banded together and rebuilt the Indian Motorcycle dealership at 459 Gough Street in just 10 days, signaling the rebirth of that industry in the city.
• Competition and record setting hill climbing events were conducted on Bernal Hill, Yerba Buena Park, Hayes Street Hill, Twin Peaks, and Vallejo Street in Pacific Heights between 1904 and 1914.
• In 1909 your motorcycling community volunteered to manage traffic during the first Fiesta de Portola; an event that signaled the return of the city from ruin and laid the groundwork to secure the Panama Pacific International Exhibition (PPIE) in 1915. They served again at the 1913 Fiesta, seen by some to be a dry run for the PPIE.
• Today you’ll find us martialing traffic for the San Francisco Marathon.
• The Western Federation of Motorcyclists was founded in San Francisco in 1912, it sponsored all west coast competition for the next 17 years.
• At the PPIE motorcyclist and famed aviator Lincoln Beachey thrilled and terrified hundreds of thousands of spectators, and ultimately lost his life in the waters of the Bay.
• Also for the PPIE, August Chelini, a San Francisco motorcyclist, rode the final leg of the 32-day cross-country motorcycle relay on the new Lincoln Highway, carrying dispatches from President Wilson (with only one of two cylinders functioning, and under a hail of gunfire from an uninformed Hayward policeman.)
• The first “Honor Roll” of motorcyclists volunteering for duty in the armed forces, prior to World War I, was created in San Francisco; this is a tradition emulated by motorcycle clubs nationwide to this day.
• Throughout the 1920s and 30s events on “Hill 57” and other areas of Mt. San Bruno provided entertainment for tens of thousands of city residents, and made legends of people like “Windy” Lindstrom and Dudley “Red” Perkins.
• Ezra Ehrhardt, a CHP Officer, a member of San Francisco Motorcycle Club (SFMC) and Lodi Motorcycle Club, former City Councilman and Mayor of Lodi, was considered in the Top 10 of American Hot Rodder Legends. He was in the first group inducted into the National Roadster Hall of Fame, on February 22, 1960. In the 1950s he pioneered the CHP motorcycle Safety Education Section.
• Guy Mallory Root, a CHP officer and SFMC member was the son of Herbert Guy Root and Sophia Schell Root - who met serving refugees in the aftermath of the 1906 Earthquake.
• And yes, much of this is the work of the San Francisco Motorcycle Club, whose longest continuously active member in 112 years of San Francisco history was Hap Jones.
• Only one wall of the storied San Francisco Motorcycle Club is dedicated to the history and contributions of a single member. That would be Hap Jones.
Hollister? Read On.
I will make only minor mention of the embarrassingly poor example used to suggest that other California cities are more prominent in the history of motorcycling than San Francisco, the events at Hollister CA, in 1947. Based upon a single (and later admittedly) sensationalized newspaper account, and then the publication in Life magazine of (proven to be) staged photos of biker bacchanalia, Hollister ’47 become the titillating touchstone that is the image of hooligan biker. Not a contribution at all, a prejudice- inspiring fantasy that has saddled all motorcyclists for 70 years. It’s worth noting that Hollister is anexcellent place to ride, and home to one of the best off-road vehicle recreation areas in northern California.
What else you should know is that the event in 1947 was actually quite legitimate, and included competitions and exhibitions featuring hundreds of skilled (and sober) riders from all over the state. The trophy for “Best Uniformed Group” was awarded to the contingent from San Francisco; a contingent led by Hap Jones.
The Independent Motorcycle Parts and Accessories Industry
Hap Jones created a retail and wholesale industry that today is dominated by companies like Parts Unlimited and others. One of the largest and most successful of these is Tucker Rocky of Ft. Worth Texas, which owns twenty-four prominent brands recognized as leaders nationwide by retailers and consumers in all areas of the sport. What did Tucker Rocky, a prominent competitor, think of Hap Jones? Enough to award him the first designation as “Friend to the Motorcycle Industry”.
A Footnote on the Dudley Perkins Award
We’ve already brought it to your attention that Hap was a recipient of the AMA’s highest award. Before writing him off as an “also-ran”, you might note and recognize the names of a few other recipients:
• Soichiro Honda
• John Harley
• William S. Harley
• Dick Mann
Please consider this inside view, and collection of real facts, when determining whether 235 Valencia is associated with the life of a significant person in our past. Never doubt that motorcycling has a place in our city’s history, that our city is prominent in motorcycling, and that Hap Jones led in both.
Sincerely,
Brian Holm
Chair of the Library Committee and Historian
San Francisco Motorcycle Club