June 16

1934: Helen Forbes and Dorothy Puccinelli paint the Fleishhacker Motherhouse mural on June 16.

On June 16, 1934, muralists Helen Forbes and Dorothy Puccinelli worked on the Fleishhacker Motherhouse mural in San Francisco, part of a wave of Depression-era public art projects that employed women artists. Their collaborative work exemplified how female painters claimed space in San Francisco's visual landscape during a era when women's contributions to monumental art were often overlooked. The mural survived decades of neglect before later rediscovery brought attention to these pioneering artists' legacy.

1903: Roald Amundsen sails from Norway aboard the Gjoa, seeking the Northwest Passage.

On June 16, 1903, Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen departed Norway with a crew of six aboard the Gjoa, a 69-foot converted herring boat. His expedition aimed to navigate the Northwest Passage and locate the magnetic North Pole. The Gjoa eventually reached San Francisco in 1906 after successfully traversing the Arctic, making it one of history's most celebrated polar voyages. A memorial in San Francisco honors both the ship and Amundsen's remarkable achievement.

1862: The Bulletin reports Rancho San Miguel vanishes into San Francisco's expanding urban sprawl.

On June 16, 1862, the San Francisco Bulletin documented the disappearance of Rancho San Miguel, a vast land grant that once dominated the Peninsula. As the city's explosive growth swallowed surrounding ranchos, San Miguel—like many Spanish colonial estates—fragmented under American survey laws, speculation, and development pressure. The rancho's erasure symbolized San Francisco's relentless transformation from a sleepy pueblo into an imperial metropolis, obliterating the pastoral landscape that preceded the Gold Rush.