Brooks Hall

Brooks Hall (originally Civic Center Exhibit Hall, nicknamed Mole Hall[1] and Gopher Palace[2]) is a disused 90,000-square-foot[3] event space Coordinates: 37°46′44″N 122°28′17″W / 37.7788°N 122.4715°W / 37.7788; -122.4715 underneath Civic Center Plaza in San Francisco.

It was built in late 1950s for the cost of $4,500,000,[4] and dedicated on April 11, 1958. It was named after Thomas A. Brooks, a chief administrative officer of city and county of San Francisco, who retired the same year the building was dedicated.[5]

Brooks Hall became home to events such as the Harvest Festival, the San Francisco Gift Show,[6] and West Coast Computer Faire.[7] It was also where Apple hosted the first Macworld convention in 1985,[5] and many subsequent ones.[2] (Contrary to popular belief, the 1968 Mother of All Demos wasn’t held at Brooks Hall, but in a nearby Bill Graham Civic Auditorium.[8]) But while before 1981 the auditorium and Brooks Hall were used as the city’s primary convention center,[5] after that date Brooks Hall suffered because of competition from more modern event spaces such as Moscone Center, Fashion Center (later Zynga headquarters), and the Marriott Hotel.[6]

The space was closed to the public in 1993 because of the construction of the new Main Library,[6] and hasn’t reopened as of 2018. Ideas for its reuse involved a computer museum, an antiques mart, an expansion of the nearby parking garage,[6] a food hall,[3] or a performance hall.[5] As of 2015, Brooks Hall is used as an impromptu storage for historical artifacts and library books,[9] as well as a pipe organ manufactured for the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exhibition.[5]

References

  1. ↑ "Five wells to drain wet foundation". Western Construction. March 1957. p. 64. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  2. 1 2 "SFChronicle Vault". January 31, 2018. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  3. 1 2 "San Francisco asks designers for new plans for Civic Center". San Francisco Business Times. January 24, 2017. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  4. ↑ "A THOUSAND citizens gathered today for dedication of Brooks Hall, the $4.5 million underground exhibit area beneath Civic Center Plaza. At right, Mayor Christopher and Chief administrative Officer Thomas A. Brooks, for whom the hall was named, cut ribbon as highlight of ceremonies". April 11, 1958.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "Abandoned Convention Hall Part Of Civic Center Revitalization Plan". Hoodline. January 4, 2018. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Brooks Hall's future thrown open to debate". San Francisco Examiner. August 22, 1996. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  7. ↑ "ROM goes to the Faire". ROM Magazine. June 1984. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  8. ↑ "Reference to Mother of All Demos".
  9. ↑ "Report chastises S.F. over preservation of its artifacts". San Francisco Chronicle. September 6, 2015. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
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