On the 80th Anniversary of the Signing of the U.N. Charter

On the 80th Anniversary of the Signing of the U.N. Charter 
— by David Eugene Perry

Today in History: June 26, 1945. 80 years ago today, the United Nations Charter was signed in the Herbst Theatre at San Francisco War Memorial and Performing Arts Center, which also encompasses San Francisco Opera. My first job in The City — and what enabled me to move here along with the support and machinations of my friend and mentor Anthony Turney — was with the Opera. I’ve always found it fitting that San Francisco’s official requiem to WWI is where the UN document was signed: a place of healing art to commemorate “the war to end all wars.” Yes, well…

The San Francisco conference took place while WWII was still raging in the Pacific, and yet representatives from 50 nations gathered in person (Poland’s representative was unable to attend but signed later, and is considered a founding UN member) to chart a hoped for better world. Given the past 80 years, not to mention the last 80 months, 80 weeks, 80 days or 80 hours, I’d say there is still a lot of work to be done. 

Often during my time working at the Opera, and since, I’ve stopped by to see the painting in the Herbst Green Room marking the occasion. I remember well the 50th anniversary of the signing and ceremonies at UN Plaza and Fountain in front of SF City Hall — a troubled civic site perhaps fitting to its inspiration’s troubled legacy. 

However, my favorite tribute to that optimistic moment in the City of Saint Francis is not in a government building, it’s in a church: Grace Cathedral. That mural, by Bolivian artist Antonio Sotomayor (1902–1985), for me captures perfectly the spirit of the time.

While our efforts to beat swords into plough shares seem continuously to be beaten back, we must not consider the ideals of June 26, 1945 to be beaten. 

Keep on keeping on.

Below: the mural from Grace, and a link to coverage of the conference.