Next Three Events:

Global Security in Hitchcock's San Francisco

Saturday, Sept. 26 — 11:30 AM for 2 PM showtime

Wednesday, Oct. 7 — 11:30 AM for 2 PM showtime

Sunday, Oct. 11 — 10:30 AM for 1 PM showtime

Take a deep dive into the themes underlying the journey North by Northwest's main character embarks on. Visit a San Francisco once gripped by Cold War paranoia and espionage. Explore the machinations of global powers during the founding of the United Nations and traverse the spaces where organizations and individuals were persecuted during McCarthyism’s darkest hours. We also take you through locations near Union Square seen through the eyes of Alfred Hitchcock’s camera lens. This 90 minute walking tour, conducted by Shaping San Francisco historians LisaRuth Elliott and Chris Carlsson, will whet your appetite for ACT’s new production of the classic North by Northwest.

Route notes: Tour includes a moderate uphill walk and slightly steeper short downhill portion.

Take a custom historical walking tour to whet your appetite before the show. (at the Toni Rembe Theater from September 22–October 18) $40 per person plus show price. Ticket purchase: act-sf.org/northwest

Friday October 9, 2026, Noon-3 pm

Presidio to Mission Dolores

Along with members of the Presidio Historical Association and various SF-based history and walking groups, we will take a trek across the city along roads leading from the Presidio to Mission Dolores to commemorate this remarkable trio of 250th anniversaries: the late March 1776 arrival here of the first Spanish colonial party led by Juan Bautista de Anza, the mid-September 1776 establishment of the Presidio, and the mission's own official start on October 9, 1776. Walk with us on pathways trod by lonely soldiers stationed at the far end of the Spanish empire across the hills to Mission Dolores on routes used for centuries before their arrival. Uncover your own lost landscapes as we walk between the coast and inland water sources, locations of 18th century Spanish colonial settlements that irrevocably transformed lifeways here. Moving through present-day urban San Francisco landscapes, along Goldsworthy tree lines and Lover’s Lane, we investigate: How and what are we remembering now? What would, could, should be memorialized? Do you feel like you have a right to be memorialized or represented in the historical record? What parts of the more-than-human world ought to be represented in our efforts to commemorate the past? Participants are encouraged to arrive an hour early to visit the museum inside the Presidio Officers Club.

RSVP to shaping@foundsf.org

We welcome donations. Donate now!

Saturday, October 10, 1-3:30 pm

Oak Woodlands of Golden Gate Park

An Urban Walk & Talk

Tom Radulovich of Livable City, and a long-time Oak Woodland volunteer gardener, will lead a lively tour of this corner of Golden Gate Park, home to some of the oldest trees in the area, and a thriving woodland full of all kinds of native species.

RSVP to shaping@foundsf.org

This is a free event, but we gladly accept donations. donate now!