Landmark Designation Report: Sam Jordan’s Bar, 4004-4006 Third Street (Draft)

This Landmark Designation Report was prepared for the San Francisco Historic Preservation Commission, a seven‐member body that makes recommendations to the Board of Supervisors regarding the designation of landmark buildings and districts. From overview: "Sam Jordan’s Bar derives its historic significance from its association with the life and work of Sam Jordan. The bar is located at 4004‐4006 Third Street in the Bayview neighborhood of San Francisco. The two‐story Italianate‐style building was constructed c. 1883 and consists of a commercial bar at the first story and a residential unit at the second story. The original owner of the property was a French immigrant named Bernard Lagrave. Lagrave’s Tavern served as a gathering place for the area’s working men, employed largely in the animal processing trades, which dominated the neighborhood then known as Butchertown. The Lagrave family retained ownership of this property for approximately 75 years, and in 1958 sold the property to Bayview entrepreneur Sam Jordan. Sam Jordan was an African American Navy veteran who arrived in San Francisco directly after World War II. After a decade spent working as a longshoreman, boxing in the Golden Gloves league, and trying out a variety of entrepreneurial business activities, Jordan purchased the property at 4004‐4006 Third Street, renovated it, and reopened it in 1959 as Sam Jordan’s Tavern. The bar, which has undergone several minor name changes but has long been referred to simply as “Sam’s”, quickly became a gathering place for the neighborhood’s African American working class. Jordan himself spearheaded a community-minded attitude that distinguished both himself and the bar. Jordan and his bar fostered activities that strengthened the community fabric of the Bayview neighborhood, ranging from scholarship drives and evenings highlighting local musicians, to African American businessmen’s luncheons and political brainstorming sessions. Jordan ran for mayor of San Francisco in 1963 —the first African American to do so—running on a progressive platform of social justice and racial equality. Although he was not elected mayor of San Francisco, by the time of his death in 2003, Jordan was widely referred to as the “Mayor of Butchertown” and his influence and reputation have expanded well beyond the bounds of the Bayview neighborhood. The property at 4004‐4006 Third Street has been in near‐continuous operation as a working‐class neighborhood bar for almost 130 years—with 53 of those years as Sam Jordan’s Bar. The property continues to be owned and operated by the Jordan family, and retains many of the traditions and the community‐supportive tone that Sam Jordan established." Funding was provided in part by a 2010 Preserve America grant to the City of San Francisco (grant number 06-10-AP-5034) for the Market and Octavia Historic Resource Preservation Project. The grant was administered by the State, Tribal, and Local Plans and Grants Division, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. Preserve America is a federal initiative that encourages and supports community efforts to preserve and enjoy our priceless cultural and natural heritage. The goals of the program include a greater shared knowledge about the nation's past, strengthened regional identities and local pride, increased local participation in preserving the country's cultural and natural heritage assets, and support for the economic vitality of our communities.

Landmark Designation Report: Sam Jordan’s Bar, 4004-4006 Third Street (Draft)

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