About Us

City Guides Mission Statement

City Guides volunteers are serious about sharing the fun of discovering San Francisco and its neighborhoods. Our purpose is to preserve and perpetuate the history and folklore of San Francisco and to celebrate its rich history of cultural diversity. In the spirit of our primary sponsor, the San Francisco Public Library, we provide this service free of charge.

History

In 1976, officials contacted San Francisco librarian Gladys Hansen, seeking someone to give tours of City Hall. She began training volunteers, and two years later, in 1978, San Francisco City Guides was officially established. As the group grew, it became a San Francisco Public Library program. Tours moved beyond City Hall, and the organization was recognized as the official docent of San Francisco.

Over forty-eight years later, we proudly continue our work as “volunteer ambassadors”, conducting free walking tours of the City’s richly diverse neighborhoods. We help to expand visitors’ and residents’ understanding of local history, art, and culture through our tours and publications and by creating a “sense of place.” We have grown to nearly 300 volunteer guides and over 75 different tours, all within San Francisco. We have a formal training program, continuing education, and evaluation. Our three paid staff are busy! We remain a program at the San Francisco Public Library. San Francisco City Guides is an independent nonprofit 501c3 organization.

City Guides Board of Directors and Staff