It will be an exciting weekend for San Francisco history geeks aficionados! San Francisco History Days is an event that brings together history geeks aficionados from all across town, and it’s happening this weekend at the Old Mint.

Former Bernal neighbor (and Bernalwood correspondent emeritus) David Gallagher  shares some of the highlights:

San Francisco History Days is coming up this weekend (Saturday 11-5, Sunday 11-4) at the Old Mint, 5th and Mission.

Vicky Walker from the Bernal Heights History Project and I have been working hard on the host committee to make this the best year ever.

It’s going to be larger than ever before with more presentations, exhibits, and more of the Mint open to the public than ever before.

Vicky and John Blackburn of Bernal History Project are doing “How to Research your San Francisco House—For Free!” on Saturday at 2pm.

The Western Neighborhoods Project (Woody LaBounty, Nicole Meldahl, and I) are doing a presentation on our new OpenSFHistory site on Saturday at 3 pm.

UPDATE: Neighbor Vicky tells us about more Bernal celebrities who will be attending:

Bernal neighbors Emperor Norton and Countess Lola Montez will be there too, aka Park Street neighbors Joseph and Gav.

Bernal History Project will be displaying ephemera, posters, maps, and Terry Milne’s collections of historical Bernal photo books on display, as well as postcards to give away, and a running slide show of neighborhood photos. We’ve got ads for long-gone Bernal businesses, and photos of people who may have lived in your house.

In addition, John Blackburn of BHP has constructed a 10-by-14-foot “ghost” earthquake shack from PVC pipe. You can take a “shack selfie” and read more about how many earthquake refugee cottages survive to this day in San Francisco — with dozens of them in Bernal Heights. (And can anyone loan us a potbellied stove?!)

IMAGE: Top, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev drives past Bernal Hill in 1959, on his way into San Francisco. via OpenSFHistory’s Bernal Heights collection.