Index to Papers on File

Index to Papers on File, San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library

It's an abstract-sounding title, but Index to Papers on File signifies a set of ledgers with a very concrete application: giving building researchers a "way in" to Edward's Abstract from Records. Since Edward's Abstract is a daily publication that has no index, that's no mean feat.

These 17 giant, handwritten volumes index building contracts filed with the City of San Francisco between March 1891 and December 1962, with some gaps in coverage. Each volume contains an alphabetical index of owner and contractor names that, with a little resourcefulness and patience, you can use to get further details on your building. Here's how:

If you already have either an owner or contractor name gleaned from some other source, such as water tap records,  handy block books, or Assessor's Office title records; together with a year or approximate year associated with the building,  you can look it up in the Index to Papers on File to discover--if there is indeed a listing--a date for the contract, a date when the paperwork was filed with the City, and the other one of the two names (owner or contractor) that you don't already have. 

Still with me? This is where Edwards Abstract comes in. Next, you can use the Date Filed as the entry point for Edwards Abstract by looking in issues of the Abstract surrounding that date. For instance, if the date filed is Aug. 10, 1909, check issues of Edwards Abstract from Aug. 10-15 or thereabouts. Once inside an individual issue of Edwards Abstract, the section to search for building contracts is labeled Miscellaneous Papers in earlier volumes and Building News in later volumes. If you hit pay dirt, you'll be rewarded with a short paragraph recording some combination of factoids, including owner and/or contractor name, architect name, date, summary and location of work to be done, and cost.

To use the Index to Papers on File and Edwards Abstract from Records, please visit the San Francisco History Center during our open hours. To learn more about how to research your building, take a look at the pathfinder on our website, and make sure to talk with us in person here at the Reference Desk for more leads.

Happy hunting!