George Christopher (mayor)
George Christopher | |
---|---|
34th Mayor of San Francisco | |
In office January 8, 1956 – January 8, 1964 | |
Preceded by | Elmer Robinson |
Succeeded by | John F. Shelley |
Personal details | |
Born | Georgios Christopheles December 8, 1907 Agios Petros, Arcadia, Kingdom of Greece |
Died | September 14, 2000 San Francisco, California, U.S. | (aged 92)
Political party | Republican |
Spouse |
Tula Sarantitis
(m. 1935; died 1990) |
Profession | Accountant, businessman |
George Christopher (born George Christopheles; December 8, 1907 – September 14, 2000) was a
Early years
Born George Christopheles in Arcadia, Greece, the son of James and Mary (née Koines) Christopheles.[1] He and his family emigrated to the United States in 1910 and settled in San Francisco's South of Market Street neighborhood, then known as "Greektown", when Christopher was two years old. Christopher left school at the age of fourteen when his father James became seriously ill, and he became sole support of his family. He sold newspapers and became a copy boy at the San Francisco Examiner.[1] While working, he also attended night classes at Golden Gate College and earned a bachelor's degree in accounting. After becoming a citizen of the United States in 1930, Christopheles changed his last name to Christopher.[1]
In 1935, he married Tula Sarantitis.[1]
Career
After college, Christopher worked for numerous small firms keeping their accounts and eventually bought out a small dairy on Fillmore Street, which became the Christopher Dairy.
San Francisco City Government
Regarded as a moderate Republican,[3] Christopher began his political career in 1945 when he was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors; on re-election, he became board president. Christopher ran for mayor in 1951 and lost by fewer than 3,000 votes to incumbent mayor Elmer Robinson. In November 1955, Christopher again sought the post of mayor. He won in a landslide over Democrat George Reilly.[1] During his administration, San Francisco hosted the 1956 Republican National Convention at the Cow Palace, in which the party renominated incumbent president Dwight D. Eisenhower as its candidate in the upcoming presidential election. Christopher was re-elected in 1959 for a second term.[4]
Christopher was instrumental in bringing the New York Giants baseball team to San Francisco in 1958 (where they became the San Francisco Giants) and securing the funding to build Candlestick Park on the abandoned lands of Sunset Scavenger on Candlestick Point with the ballpark opening for the Giants’ 1960 season. His administration has been credited with the building of the Brooks Hall, 12 new schools, 17 firehouses, six public swimming pools, the five-story Fifth and Mission and the underground Civic Center garages.[1]
Christopher was known for his strong stand on civil rights. He gained worldwide headlines offering his home to Willie Mays after it was reported that a Forest Hill realtor had refused to sell to Mays.[5] Christopher also lobbied and succeeded in opening mental health and alcohol treatment centers under city funding.
Christopher presided over the redevelopment of major portions of city and private lands, labeled
In Christopher's second term, the
Other elections
Christopher's various bids for higher office failed. In 1958, Christopher was defeated in the Republican primary for
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Nolte, Carl (September 15, 2000). "George Christopher 1907–2000: Big-Thinking S.F. Mayor Of '50s and '60s Is Dead". The San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
- ^ Nolte, Carl; Writer, Chronicle Staff (September 15, 2000). "GEORGE CHISTOPHER 1907-2000 / Big-Thinking S.F. Mayor Of '50s and '60s Is Dead". SFGate. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
- ^ ISBN 9780199768400.
- ISBN 9780520244740.
- ^ Spander, Art (November 15, 2007). "Discrimination, S.F. style, hit Mays". Oakland Tribune. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
- ^ De Looper, John (October 19, 2010). "Operation Abolition and Operation Correction". The Reel Mudd. Princeton University.
- ^ a b "Operation Abolition". Time. Vol. 77, no. 12. March 17, 1961. Archived from the original on February 5, 2008. Retrieved September 12, 2015.
Further reading
- Dorsey, George (1962). Christopher of San Francisco. New York: MacMillan Company. LCCN 62013596.
- Gladys Hansen (September 14, 2000). "George Christopher (1907–2000)". Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco. Archived from the original on July 27, 2010. Retrieved 2010-05-07.
- Oral history interview on California politics, At the Bancroft Library, University of California