The collection consists of 479 black and white gelatin silver prints and 423 gelatin silver print negatives of urban and rural postwar Bay Area and greater Northern California taken by photographer Minor White while he resided in San Francisco from 1946 to 1953. The bulk of the photographs document San Francisco county neighborhoods, including the downtown financial and produce districts; the Embarcadero and waterfront; and the Potrero, Mission, Glen Park, Bayshore, Nob Hill, Chinatown, Bernal Heights, Laurel Heights, Fillmore, Sunset and Richmond districts. The images document African American, Japanese American and Chinese American neighborhoods and businesses in San Francisco. A significant number of photographs document the postwar housing construction boom in San Francisco including the construction of the planned neighborhood Parkmerced; the construction of single family housing in the Sunset district; the development of former cemeteries into residential and commercial areas; and the construction of public housing in the city.

The collection also includes many photographs taken in counties in proximity to San Francisco County, including Alameda County, Amador County, Calaveras County, Contra Costa County, Marin County, Mariposa County, Mendocino County, Placer County, San Mateo County, Santa Clara County, Solano County, Sonoma County, and Tuolumne County. These photographs document many of the historic buildings located in these California counties. Of particular note are images of one of the oldest Chinese temples in California, the Temple of Kwan Tai in Mendocino County; the first Serbian Orthodox Church in America, the Saint Sava Serbian Orthodox Church and the Argonaut Mines in Amador County; and flood damaged buildings in Alviso, San Jose, Santa Clara County.