L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2016 www.italoamericano.org L'Italo-Americano 9 J.B. Monaco - The Dean of North Beach Photographers Part I. Is History A Thing of the Past? P erhaps s ome people believe history is a thing of the pas t. Think again. It is all around you. You look at it every day and likely even admire it. Examples are the many Italian cultural sites of San Francisco's North Beach such as the Columbus Tower and St. Francis Church. Thes e monuments to our cultural pas t w ere captured, admirably we might say, by the D ean of N orth Beach photographs, J.B. Monaco. You may not have heard of him, as he w as before our time, but, nonetheless, his imprint on our Italian culture is ever-present, captured in his toric images spanning over 70 years. When Columbus Avenue was still called Montgomery Street, renow ned photographer J .B. M onaco (G iovanni Battis ta, 1856-1938) w as there to document the area that was then cons idered one of the mos t significant outposts of Italians in the United States. He took many of the images you s ee in numerous books devoted to the City's historic Italian quarter. His impressive photographic collection spans over 70 years. The image of him seen here was taken in 1908 when Monaco was 52 and is thought to be a self- portrait. Monaco was born in Verscio, near Locarno, on December 12, 1856. Verscio closely borders northern Italy and is considered S w itzerland's Italian region where most of its residents speak Italian. He immigrated to the U.S. in 1875 joining his brother, Louis, in Eureka, Nevada, then moved to S an F rancis co in 1888. Their original San Francisco photographic studio was 1228 Market Street, and later 702 Market. After Louis' passing in 1887, J .B. moved the photography business to North Beach, at 205 Columbus Avenue, when the street was still called Montgomery. That portion of Montgomery is now called Columbus Avenue, the change having been made in 1909. In 1915, M onaco purchas ed a V ictorian ho me at 2434 Leavenworth Street on Russian Hill above North Beach. The house survived the 1906 fire which took the studio that he moved to 234 Columbus until his retirement in 1937. J.B. had a way with the lens that captured early San Francisco during a period of dynamic change. Although he was well- known for his studio portraits of San Francisco's prominent and wealthy citizens, he was also one of the photographers that captured the 1906 disaster as it happened, including numerous images of his ow n family's personal losses. Accounts of the time report J. B. would enjoy saying that his first job in the city was washing dishes in a house of ill repute when actually it was a job at the Bella Union, a melodeon, or variety theater back in the 1800s, famous for its shows considered suitable for men only. J. B. was a painter of some talent, so Louis put him to work as color artist in his City Photographic Gallery, touching up and tinting photographic portraits. At the s ame time, Louis taught his younger brother the basics of photography. He did work for L'Italia newspaper, although he w as not their official photographer. O ne of his many famous photographs is the image of the intersection of Montgomery and Kearny Streets, the intersection that was called the Gateway to North Beach in the 1800s. Dick M onaco, grands on of J .B. Monaco, donated this image for the cover of the book "Images of America-San Francisco's North Beach & Telegraph Hill". Historian Kevin Starr wrote an article for the San Francisco Examiner in which he described M onaco's w ork as "frozen motio n, fragments of a continuous flow of life rather than s tatic and is olated compo s itions . A bove all, Monaco obviously loved the w orld of N orth Beach. H is portraits glow with affection." J. B. Monaco considered San Francisco his adopted city, a city he documented in a photographic collection, a legacy consisting of hundreds of photographs that have survived and were left in the caring hands of his grands on, Richard M onaco. In 2009, Richard donated the J . B. M onaco Collection to the San Francisco H is tory Center at the S an Francisco Public Library. The legacy of J.B. Monaco is so rich and important to today's thriving, youth-driven S an Francisco that his story is best told in two parts. In the next issue, we will explore part two; How the Past is the Present, w hich includes recent SAN FRANCISCO ITALIAN COMMUNITY CATHERINE ACCARDI o ion l C C 6 y e m y ser ce m ices, ty n m d tio n ation er an r o m w h ncs t com t or and ww an d a Coloniale J n li dent and p he • y ude: ca l ta d ion d d good l. .italiancs.com 6 www 5 6423 • ncisco, CA 94133 362 • 415 n F an Francisco, CA 94133 G S 678 Green Street S 78 Green Street 678 Green Street C C a o o asa e J Casa Coloniale J ude: ill. wil d tion and good dw dw s n t cation and good uca du du d p y, e on y, e ed ed ty, e un ty, e i unit it eng y, comm muni il il ily, comm m amil mil f h om f fam ng t t r uo an a and s ia e h th engt hasi ul r tr s he s t r hasis on t the s h an emp d p h an emp phasis on t phasis on t th an emp th an emp nd it e, w wi ur tur cult ing alian lang iv liv tiv talian lang It he d p ing t the e ving t ving t mm r er r dent and p re e p and p pr pr de ing r d to hono ed to hono ed to hono i ie e m commi mi p h nd e liv r ctive liv d uctiv rodu pendent and p prod li am hem y, inde ependent and p ependent and p and hy, inde th alt e he eal liv hem liv ve he an t f p t them liv them liv h n-A help t d r ed rour ed rour te rust trus h th it ili w wi Ita Ser a amili w fam fam and and f it rs rs io enio ican se ican mer e alian-Amer er C t n C talian-Ame talian-Ame It It alia Se v es id B rovid prov vices r Italian Community Ser rvices rvices l c n in t, os o cos t n a er ices, v er S l i d n ti als r err eferr d r n ormation an v In f n • Inf formation an mmunity Co dination g migrants i w vice coor r / • Community ser s sl s o an w immigrants e ne /ne s or senior anslation f for senior r T • T Tr Tr . . t om d 94133 m t com A 94133 A 94133 . zi Fugazi h F hn F F F. Fugazi ha e hat com at com and t tha and uage e g e e ar to . W We ar v v. W c to our rc to B a ea r y A ay A B Ba ants The Gateway to North Beach, the intersection of Columbus and Kearny Streets, c1900. Copyrights: J.B. Monaco Collection (SFP 48), San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library J.B. Monaco self-portrait, 1908. Copyrights: J.B. Monaco Collection (SFP 48), San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library

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