JCC Celebrates New Year with Move to Presidio

By Carol Dimmick

About 150 people attended services at the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco (JCC), located at 3200 California St., in September to celebrate Rosh Hashanah and to say goodbye to a 66-year-old building that has served as the heart and soul of the Jewish community in San Francisco.

As families and friends came together to eat apple slices dipped in honey and watch the blowing of the Shofar horn that signaled the beginning of the Jewish New Year, 5762, preparations were already underway for the demolition of the Moorish-style edifice with its Spanish and Art Deco details.

One of the last inner-city JCCs to survive while others were abandoned in favor of suburban locations, the center was designed by Arthur Brown, Jr., whose best-known works include City Hall, PG&E building, San Francisco Art Institute and Coit Tower.

Last year the JCC announced plans to demolish the building that has served as home to the Jewish community for more than 33 years and replace it with a 130,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility.

The first stage of the project began last month with a salvage operation that involves reusing more than 80 percent of the materials from the old building.

A courtyard mural by Bernard Zackhelm (which is being restored by his son and grandson), beautiful terra cotta tile, wainscotting and Art Deco light fixtures will be removed and stored for use in the new building.

With the first stage of the razing under way, JCC officials now believe a new facility is more than just a dream.

"What was at a dream-like level now is a reality," said Nate Levine, the executive director of the JCC who came on board in 1999 to develop the project.

During the next two years, while the new $70 million to $75 million facility is under construction, the JCC will continue to serve the community from its temporary site at 1808 Wedemeyer St., located next to the old Public Health Service Hospital at the Presidio.

The following programs and classes will continue at the Presidio site: adult and community programs, California Street preschool, Club 18 teen program, dance and gymnastics, emigre services, Havurah Youth Center, Interfaith Connection, Jewish education, music, recreation, singles programs and the Tikvah music and dance program.

Only one class was dropped when the center opened its doors at the Presidio.

"We had to drop ceramics because the Presidio does not have the facilities we needed," said Sharyn Saslafsky, communications director at the JCC.

She said the beautiful green grass and large open fields for children to play in have made the transition to their new home in the Presidio an easy one.

To minimize disruption for seniors, the Montefiore Senior Program and the Emigre Senior Program have been relocated to classrooms at Menorah Park, Saslafsky said. English as a Second Language classes for seniors and the kosher nutrition program also began in mid-September at Menorah Park.

Project $3 million to $5 Million Over Budget

The new building was projected to cost $70 million several years ago, but Levine said the project may run $3 million to $5 million over budget before opening in the fall of 2003.

Plans for the new facility still include a 5,000-square-foot restaurant at the corner of California Street and Presidio Avenue. A Jewish bookstore, which will add to the intellectual life of the center, is still planned along California Street.

A new fitness center, operated by the JCC, will take on a new dimension when the new building opens. The JCC wants to expand its traditional center to include a wellness program that will address cardiac and stroke rehabilitation, sports injuries and a variety of health screening programs.

"We are talking with several local hospitals and universities to put together a wellness program as a component of the fitness center," Levine said.