Marilyn Janeck Blaisdell
May 20, 1928 - September 28, 2016
Marilyn Janeck Blaisdell, a San Francisco historian and a major collector of early San Francisco photography, author and publisher of multiple books about the city's landmarks, died at UCSF's Moffitt Hospital on September 28, 2016.
Born on May 20, 1928, in Yakima, Washington, the second daughter of Marie Graham Janeck and Louis Fechter Janeck. She grew up in Spokane and Portland. Her childhood passions for collecting, tennis and bike-riding lasted her lifetime. She first visited San Francisco in 1939 with her family to attend the World's Fair. "That was the start of my love affair with San Francisco," she told a daughter. She earned her B.A. and M.A. (in education) from Stanford University, and taught school in South San Francisco before marrying F. William Blaisdell, her college boyfriend, in December of 1950.
As she and her husband moved around the country for his medical training and prominent surgical career, they had six children ...
When her husband completed his surgical training in 1960, he accepted the position as chief of surgery at San Francisco VA Hospital and the family lived in VA housing on the hospital grounds. She became fascinated with the history of the area—Lands' End, the Cliff House, Sutro Baths, and Golden Gate Park. Thus began her historical career as she collected photographs and history of the area.
After George Whitney closed Sutro Baths in 1964, he asked her help in disposing of his collection of historical artifacts and offered her a shop in the Cliff House to sell off his items and any of hers she wished. She ran that shop for some 20 years even after the family moved to Sacramento when her husband's job changed. The shop brought her into contact with all the local historians and her historical interest and collecting expanded to all of San Francisco. In 2000, following her husband's retirement she and he moved back to San Francisco.
With the remodeling of the Cliff House she gave up her shop, but her wholesale business expanded as she became the primary local distributor of her popular books, historical prints, postcards, and posters as well as her unique photographic histories of the Sutro Baths, the Cliff House, and Play land-at-the-Beach. Thanks to Whitney, she had exclusive access to the famous poster of Sutro Baths, which sold world- wide as she reprinted it in various sizes large and small. She participated in the movies by Tom Wyrsch—Playland at the Beach 2010, Sutro Baths 2011, and Cliff House 2013.
In the last several years, after publishing her final book, Woodward's Gardens, she delighted in organizing her immense collections of photographs as gifts to the San Francisco Public Library, where they are now maintained.
She will be remembered with love and admiration by her husband of 66 years, her six children, 14 grandchildren and three great grandchildren as an endearing and vibrant wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother.
At her request, services will be limited to her immediate family. In lieu of flowers she requested donations in her name be to the San Francisco Historical Society.
Published in San Francisco Chronicle from
Oct. 1 to Oct. 3, 2016
May 20, 1928 - September 28, 2016
Marilyn Janeck Blaisdell, a San Francisco historian and a major collector of early San Francisco photography, author and publisher of multiple books about the city's landmarks, died at UCSF's Moffitt Hospital on September 28, 2016.
Born on May 20, 1928, in Yakima, Washington, the second daughter of Marie Graham Janeck and Louis Fechter Janeck. She grew up in Spokane and Portland. Her childhood passions for collecting, tennis and bike-riding lasted her lifetime. She first visited San Francisco in 1939 with her family to attend the World's Fair. "That was the start of my love affair with San Francisco," she told a daughter. She earned her B.A. and M.A. (in education) from Stanford University, and taught school in South San Francisco before marrying F. William Blaisdell, her college boyfriend, in December of 1950.
As she and her husband moved around the country for his medical training and prominent surgical career, they had six children ...
When her husband completed his surgical training in 1960, he accepted the position as chief of surgery at San Francisco VA Hospital and the family lived in VA housing on the hospital grounds. She became fascinated with the history of the area—Lands' End, the Cliff House, Sutro Baths, and Golden Gate Park. Thus began her historical career as she collected photographs and history of the area.
After George Whitney closed Sutro Baths in 1964, he asked her help in disposing of his collection of historical artifacts and offered her a shop in the Cliff House to sell off his items and any of hers she wished. She ran that shop for some 20 years even after the family moved to Sacramento when her husband's job changed. The shop brought her into contact with all the local historians and her historical interest and collecting expanded to all of San Francisco. In 2000, following her husband's retirement she and he moved back to San Francisco.
With the remodeling of the Cliff House she gave up her shop, but her wholesale business expanded as she became the primary local distributor of her popular books, historical prints, postcards, and posters as well as her unique photographic histories of the Sutro Baths, the Cliff House, and Play land-at-the-Beach. Thanks to Whitney, she had exclusive access to the famous poster of Sutro Baths, which sold world- wide as she reprinted it in various sizes large and small. She participated in the movies by Tom Wyrsch—Playland at the Beach 2010, Sutro Baths 2011, and Cliff House 2013.
In the last several years, after publishing her final book, Woodward's Gardens, she delighted in organizing her immense collections of photographs as gifts to the San Francisco Public Library, where they are now maintained.
She will be remembered with love and admiration by her husband of 66 years, her six children, 14 grandchildren and three great grandchildren as an endearing and vibrant wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother.
At her request, services will be limited to her immediate family. In lieu of flowers she requested donations in her name be to the San Francisco Historical Society.
Published in San Francisco Chronicle from
Oct. 1 to Oct. 3, 2016
Marilyn Janeck Blaisdell
May 20, 1928 - September 28, 2016
Marilyn Janeck Blaisdell, a San Francisco historian and a major collector of early San Francisco photography, author and publisher of multiple books about the city's landmarks, died at UCSF's Moffitt Hospital on September 28, 2016.
Born on May 20, 1928, in Yakima, Washington, the second daughter of Marie Graham Janeck and Louis Fechter Janeck. She grew up in Spokane and Portland. Her childhood passions for collecting, tennis and bike-riding lasted her lifetime. She first visited San Francisco in 1939 with her family to attend the World's Fair. "That was the start of my love affair with San Francisco," she told a daughter. She earned her B.A. and M.A. (in education) from Stanford University, and taught school in South San Francisco before marrying F. William Blaisdell, her college boyfriend, in December of 1950.
As she and her husband moved around the country for his medical training and prominent surgical career, they had six children ...
When her husband completed his surgical training in 1960, he accepted the position as chief of surgery at San Francisco VA Hospital and the family lived in VA housing on the hospital grounds. She became fascinated with the history of the area—Lands' End, the Cliff House, Sutro Baths, and Golden Gate Park. Thus began her historical career as she collected photographs and history of the area.
After George Whitney closed Sutro Baths in 1964, he asked her help in disposing of his collection of historical artifacts and offered her a shop in the Cliff House to sell off his items and any of hers she wished. She ran that shop for some 20 years even after the family moved to Sacramento when her husband's job changed. The shop brought her into contact with all the local historians and her historical interest and collecting expanded to all of San Francisco. In 2000, following her husband's retirement she and he moved back to San Francisco.
With the remodeling of the Cliff House she gave up her shop, but her wholesale business expanded as she became the primary local distributor of her popular books, historical prints, postcards, and posters as well as her unique photographic histories of the Sutro Baths, the Cliff House, and Play land-at-the-Beach. Thanks to Whitney, she had exclusive access to the famous poster of Sutro Baths, which sold world- wide as she reprinted it in various sizes large and small. She participated in the movies by Tom Wyrsch—Playland at the Beach 2010, Sutro Baths 2011, and Cliff House 2013.
In the last several years, after publishing her final book, Woodward's Gardens, she delighted in organizing her immense collections of photographs as gifts to the San Francisco Public Library, where they are now maintained.
She will be remembered with love and admiration by her husband of 66 years, her six children, 14 grandchildren and three great grandchildren as an endearing and vibrant wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother.
At her request, services will be limited to her immediate family. In lieu of flowers she requested donations in her name be to the San Francisco Historical Society.
Published in San Francisco Chronicle from
Oct. 1 to Oct. 3, 2016
May 20, 1928 - September 28, 2016
Marilyn Janeck Blaisdell, a San Francisco historian and a major collector of early San Francisco photography, author and publisher of multiple books about the city's landmarks, died at UCSF's Moffitt Hospital on September 28, 2016.
Born on May 20, 1928, in Yakima, Washington, the second daughter of Marie Graham Janeck and Louis Fechter Janeck. She grew up in Spokane and Portland. Her childhood passions for collecting, tennis and bike-riding lasted her lifetime. She first visited San Francisco in 1939 with her family to attend the World's Fair. "That was the start of my love affair with San Francisco," she told a daughter. She earned her B.A. and M.A. (in education) from Stanford University, and taught school in South San Francisco before marrying F. William Blaisdell, her college boyfriend, in December of 1950.
As she and her husband moved around the country for his medical training and prominent surgical career, they had six children ...
When her husband completed his surgical training in 1960, he accepted the position as chief of surgery at San Francisco VA Hospital and the family lived in VA housing on the hospital grounds. She became fascinated with the history of the area—Lands' End, the Cliff House, Sutro Baths, and Golden Gate Park. Thus began her historical career as she collected photographs and history of the area.
After George Whitney closed Sutro Baths in 1964, he asked her help in disposing of his collection of historical artifacts and offered her a shop in the Cliff House to sell off his items and any of hers she wished. She ran that shop for some 20 years even after the family moved to Sacramento when her husband's job changed. The shop brought her into contact with all the local historians and her historical interest and collecting expanded to all of San Francisco. In 2000, following her husband's retirement she and he moved back to San Francisco.
With the remodeling of the Cliff House she gave up her shop, but her wholesale business expanded as she became the primary local distributor of her popular books, historical prints, postcards, and posters as well as her unique photographic histories of the Sutro Baths, the Cliff House, and Play land-at-the-Beach. Thanks to Whitney, she had exclusive access to the famous poster of Sutro Baths, which sold world- wide as she reprinted it in various sizes large and small. She participated in the movies by Tom Wyrsch—Playland at the Beach 2010, Sutro Baths 2011, and Cliff House 2013.
In the last several years, after publishing her final book, Woodward's Gardens, she delighted in organizing her immense collections of photographs as gifts to the San Francisco Public Library, where they are now maintained.
She will be remembered with love and admiration by her husband of 66 years, her six children, 14 grandchildren and three great grandchildren as an endearing and vibrant wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother.
At her request, services will be limited to her immediate family. In lieu of flowers she requested donations in her name be to the San Francisco Historical Society.
Published in San Francisco Chronicle from
Oct. 1 to Oct. 3, 2016
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