[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 179 (Tuesday, November 13, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1508-E1509]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                CELEBRATING THE LIFE OF SYDNEY GOLDSTEIN

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                           HON. NANCY PELOSI

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 13, 2018

  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Sydney 
Goldstein: a pioneering San Francisco impresario, founder and driving 
force of City Arts & Lectures, who died September 25. Her passing is a 
great loss to our community and to the nation.

[[Page E1509]]

  Sydney Goldstein made a difference. With a deep belief in a brighter 
future, she used her enormous gifts and talents to expand community 
engagement with public conversations that were always relevant to 
current events.
  Sydney Goldstein was a San Franciscan through and through. She was 
born on October 13, 1944 in our city of Saint Francis. Her father, 
Edward Goldstein, owned the Diamond Palace, at the corner of Fifth and 
Market streets. Her mother also came from a family of shopkeepers. 
Sydney graduated from Lowell High School and attended San Jose State, 
before leaving to begin a lifetime of service in the world of arts and 
culture.
  Sydney began her career by organizing successful public events at the 
College of Marin, where she successfully brought visionary and 
legendary arts icons to the campus. She had a talent for knowing who to 
invite, what they brought to the table and how to organize and mobilize 
leaders with strong cultural resonance.
  Following the success of planning public speaking events at the 
College of Marin, Sydney Goldstein went on to found the popular City 
Arts & Lectures series, hosting the series at the then-refurbished 
Herbst Theatre in the War Memorial Veterans Building for many years. 
For four decades, Sydney invited notable writers, critics, artists and 
musicians to share their insight and brilliance with the community.
  Later, Sydney opened the Nourse Theater and doubled the capacity for 
the City Arts & Lecture Series with 1,600 seats. Sydney also partnered 
with KQED to broadcast the talks to the Bay Area, as well as more than 
130 public radio stations nationwide. The partnership continues to this 
day, bringing learning and the arts to so many.
  Sydney was an extraordinary woman, mother, partner and friend to 
many, who left this world with a phenomenal legacy of service.
  Paul joins me in sending our deepest sympathy to Sydney's beloved 
husband Judge Charles Breyer, her children Kate and Joseph, her three 
grandchildren and her sister Dorian Lewis. May it be a comfort to 
Sydney's family and loved ones that so many mourn their loss and pray 
for them during this sad time.

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