The San Francisco Mint

I remember being taken to the Mint when I was still in my single digits.  I believe it was one in Washington D.C.  I was so disappointed, not sure why but maybe it was because I went with a my class to a donut factory we all got samples and at the Mint we could not get close enough t actually see the money, just the stacks on a conveyor belt below our glass glorified catwalk.

In any case, it did give me a taste for how money is actually made.  Therefore, when I read an article in The Arts Journal, one of the art blogs I subscribe to, I latched onto this headline “The Museum where they Print Money”. The article came from the San Francisco Chronicle, “SF Newest Museum is opening in the City’s Oldest Mint”.  In 1792 Congress passed the Coinage Act, establishing the first national mint which Congress declared would be in Philadelphia, this country’s Capital at the time.  Congress directed that “In copper: half cent and cent, In silver: half dime, dime, quarter, half dollar, and dollar and In gold: quarter eagle ($2.50), half eagle ($5), and eagle ($10)”.   Only the gold and half penny have disappeared in the meantime!

When gold fever gripped the country, they needed to open U.S. branch Mints with assay offices to weigh and value the gold. The California Gold Rush began in 1848 and the San Francisco Mint opened in 1854 , the oldest one in the West, turning nuggets and gold dust into coins.  It was soon too small, and a new mint was established in 1874.  This building known both as the Old United States Mint and “The Granite Lady” was one of the few to survive the 1906 earthquake.  Only the base and basement were made of granite, the upper stories were done in sandstone.  It is very much in the same Classical Style as the Metropolitan Museum built in the same decade but by different architects.

By the time of the fire, the San Francisco mint held $300 million, one third of the United States Gold Reserve.  Fort Knox was established only in 1936 and in 1937 got the first shipment of the country’s precious bullion reserve.  At the same time San Francisco built a new Mint. 

Designated a National Historical landmark, the old Mint was open to the public until 1993. In 2003 the Federal government sold it to the City of San Francisco for $1.  They used an 1879 silver dollar struck at the mint to pay. It was supposed to become a historical museum and called San Francisco Museum at the Mint.  They finished the first phase but then the project languished between many possible owner museums.  In 2014 the San Francisco Museum and Historical Society began raising funds for phase 2 but they failed. Vice president of the Historical Society was also active in real estate and saw an opportunity in this property located in the heart of the oldest part of the city.  He made a deal with the city that if he left the original building intact and it remained a museum he could build on the property.

The Historical Society has a 5-year lease with an option to renew.  They have started out modestly with an exhibition on the untold stories of the men of the gold rush, which I certainly would be interested in seeing.  If you go let me know what you think.

Highland’s University Statue

For my birthday my wife surprised me with a visit back to the Castaneda ...

http://www.geraldstiebel.com/2019/06/the-town-that-time-forgot.html

The idea was that their much-touted restaurant and 12 course tasting menu would be open and ready, but that was not to be.  Construction delays as always.  We had a lovely time anyway, and, wanting to visit a part of town we had not been to before, we went over to Highlands University. It was founded in 1893 as a teacher training school but is now a branch of the state university system.

On a Saturday afternoon the campus was almost empty and even the library was closed.  That would, of course, not have been the case in my day but then, I didn’t have the internet for research. As we walked around, we found the Commons with a bronze statue in the center.  Titled “Harmony” it consists of three figures by artist and educator Gary Coulter (1935-2000). It was dedicated in 1987 to “to recognize and honor the cultural and ethnic diversity of New Mexico Highlands University’s students”. Definitely not a great work of art but what they did with it I found so appropriate for a place of learning in these days of conflict.

Large plaques on each side of the base have excerpts from the writings of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, and José Marti, as well as “A song of the Tewa”.

The Tewa are a linguistic group of Native Americans living today in pueblos along the Rio Grande. The Song of the Tewa, is looking to the day when tame animals and children are blessed as are their brother Indian tribes and even the Mexican and Anglo-American people, wishing all “may make our lives together here”.

José Marti (1853-1895) was Cuban poet, and philosopher who is regarded as a hero in his country as a revolutionary activist. In 1893 he writes, “Man has no special rights because he belongs to a particular Ethnic Group, “Anyone, you might want to send this plaque to?

JFK writes in 1962, “In a time of turbulence and change, it is more true than ever that knowledge is power…” “Liberty without learning is always in peril and learning without liberty is always in vain.”  Oh, how I wish that our politicians would learn their history before aspiring to a political office.

The plaque with the best known quotation is, of course, Martin Luther King’s, “I have a dream” speech of 1963, It continues, “I have a dream that one day, on the red hills of Georgia the sons of slaves the sons of former slave owners will sit together at the table of brotherhood.”

Just think if every student who came to Highlands University would just sit in front of this statue and take in the lessons that each of these plaques had to offer what fabulous individuals and politicians they would make!

“Me Too” and the Arts

Like so many concepts, ideas and even laws, good intentions often have unintended repercussions.  The idea was or is that if enough people (95% women) say they were sexually harassed then it would call attention to the issue.

The principle that people should not take advantage of others is undeniable but there are always people who do so be it for money, real estate or sex.  The issue is the fact that the humans are built to be attracted to each other for the perpetuation of the species and one must initiate the interaction making the other the victim, if you will.  Of course, in the modern age, we expect the overture not be pursued if unrequited. 

Where that boundary is, is not my concern here. What I find a tragedy is that we are throwing out the baby with the bathwater. The situation has become so toxic that we have lost too much talent as organizations are frightened to continue association with any accused individual.

 I am sure that the sex drive has something to do with ambition, success and the sense of power.  We have a perfect example of this in our president, --you know what he has said about and done to women but with no repercussions.  He is certainly not the first and won’t be the last.  One of my heroes, President John F. Kennedy, was a famous womanizer as well.  In fact, I knew one woman whose apartment in New York he stayed at regularly, who complained that every time he came to stay in the apartment, he had a different woman with him!

But look at all the good people we have lost in this frenzy to change others’ behavior. One of the saddest “Me Too” victims was James Levine, Music Director at the Metropolitan Opera for 40 years.  Levine was fired as Music Director Emeritus the day after the New York Times published allegations of his sexually harassing several performers early in their careers, male by the way.  Am I saying that is OK? Of course not, but this came out in 2017 about events that happened from the 60’s to the 80’s. It seems trial and punishment with the trial missing.  Banishment from music as orchestras elsewhere have followed suit? That is not only a life sentence for the performer but also punishment for all who enjoyed his talent. Levine sued the Met for defamation and breach of contract and a settlement was recently reached but I resent the fact that Levine was not allowed to continue to conduct.

James Levine still conducting from his wheel chair

On January 2, 2018 Senator Al Franken resigned from the House after allegations of sexual harassment.  He denied that one of these accusations ever happened but was obviously complicit in a photo of him on a military transport coming from a USO tour during his earlier career as a comedian.  He posed as if about to put his hands on a woman’s breasts when she is clearly asleep but wearing at least three  layers of clothing, including what seems to be a life vest There is no question that this photo is in bad taste but  is in keeping with his humor as a contributor to Saturday Night Live where he often pushed the boundaries of taste.  I do not believe it was justification for the Democrats to force out one of their most dedicated and effective colleagues in the Senate.

Just this past week one of “The Three Tenors”, Placido Domingo, arguably the three most famous opera singers of our time has left the Metropolitan Opera.  The New York Times reported “The star singer, accused by multiple women of sexual misconduct, dropped out of Verdi’s ‘Macbeth’ and indicated he would not return to the Met”.  An excerpt from Domingo’s statement “I strongly dispute recent allegations made about me, and I am concerned about a climate in which people are condemned without due process” echoes my concern.