[7] In 1979 the organization was named the official state historical society, in a bill signed by Governor Jerry Brown.

[15][16]: Note 10 The society bought the Whittier Mansion in Pacific Heights as its headquarters in 1956, subsequently adding an adjacent building.

Holliday, it sold both and bought the San Francisco Builders Exchange Building at 678 Mission Street, which had housed E. M. Hundley Hardware and served as headquarters for Nancy Pelosi's first campaign for Congress.

[5][6] For several years the Society studied the feasibility of moving to the Old San Francisco Mint building, which would be renovated to house a museum and a community center.

Artists represented in the Fine Art Collection include Albert Bierstadt, Maynard Dixon, George Albert Frost, William Hahn, Thomas Hill, Grace Carpenter Hudson, William Keith, Arthur Frank Mathews, and Theodore Wores.

[21] The Historical Society holds the papers of noteworthy organizations and businesses, including those of the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California, League of Women Voters, California Tomorrow, Stern Grove Festival Association, Peoples Temple, and the Heller Ehrman law firm.

The Society also holds the papers of influential persons, including the Burr-Allyne Family, San Francisco Mayor James Rolph, Jr, Asbury Harpending, and Isaias W.

Dating from 1841 the collection includes ephemera created by or related to churches; civic associations and activist groups; clubs and societies, especially fraternal organizations; labor unions; auditoriums and theaters; historic buildings, landmarks, and museums; hotels and resorts; festivals and fairs; sporting events; hospitals, sanatoriums, prisons, and orphanages; schools, colleges, and universities; government agencies; elections, ballot measures, and political parties; infrastructure and transit systems; geographic features; and other subjects.