The night school was renamed the Evening College on October 1 , 1896 , and became a full-fledged operation in 1901 with the creation of a law school . The law school was the first of the Y 's educational departments to offer a full degree-level course , and thus the university traces its founding to the law school 's establishment . Courses in Accountancy and Business Administration leading to the degree of Bachelor of Commercial Science began in 1908 . Later , courses in foreign trade were added . The YMCA building was destroyed in the fire that followed the 1906 earthquake . Following the earthquake , the school was conducted out of tents , and later leased space at 1220 Geary St. ( now Geary Boulevard near Franklin Street in the Western Addition ) . In November 1910 the school moved into the YMCA 's new building ( closed in 2009 ) at 220 Golden Gate Avenue at Leavenworth Street , in the Tenderloin neighborhood
1906 earthquake
1906 San Francisco earthquake
Golden Gate University