Founded in May 1881 as the Pacific Coast Association of Architects, AIA San Francisco was organized to protect the integrity of the profession and to standardize the conduct and practice of its members. Demand for the services of builders and designers significantly increased as the city's population grew during the later part of the nineteenth century. Professionally trained architects of the time were continually challenged by the unethical practices of untrained "architects," who took advantage of patrons and thereby threatened the work of reputable and qualified architects.

Prior to the creation of the AIA charter, trained architects in California formed a short-lived professional society in 1869. A second and larger association of well-known and respected San Francisco architects, the Pacific Coast Association of Architects, was founded in May 1881. Augustus Laver, an important founding leader of this group, submitted the AIA charter petition that was signed by John Wright, George Sanders, William Curlett, Seth Babson, T.J. Welsh, and J.E. Wolf. These men were convinced that a unified group of professionals supported by the larger, national organization of the AIA would further protect the practice. In the spring of 1882, the AIA granted the organized architects of San Francisco their charter and thereby expanded its membership westward beyond Chicago. In February of 1927 the San Francisco chapter was renamed the Northern California Chapter, and was later incorporated on August 4, 1955. In 1980 the chapter became The American Institute of Architects, San Francisco chapter. The most recent name variation, AIA San Francisco, a Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, was adopted by members in 1992.

John Wright served as the chapter's first president. In his inaugural address, Wright expressed three concerns he found to be "the greatest need of the present day:"

"First, true taste and accurate knowledge of art in the designer, united with a thorough knowledge of materials and their proper adaptation to truthful construction; second, a public whose educated tastes will be satisfied only by the real; and third, a system of professional instruction for our students or young designers who shall educate teachers as well as be taught, and which, in effect, shall be practical, efficient and sure, and shall embrace not only the highest, but the lowest level of the art."

—Quoted in "History of the Chapter," by Elisabeth K. Thompson, in American Institute of Architects San Francisco Chapter Centennial Directory, 1982, 22.

A number of significant Bay Area architects served as chapter presidents, including John Galen Howard (1912), John Bakewell, Jr. (1918), George A. Applegarth (1921-1922), Frederick Meyer (1930), Henry Gutterson (1931-1932), and George Rockrise (1961).

Some of the more important activities and issues taken up by AIA San Francisco include the 1910 AIA Convention; the 1912 competition for a new city hall in San Francisco; the Panama-Pacific International Exposition of 1915; the Golden Gate International Exposition of 1938-1939; WWII and the defense industry in California; the post-war population; large public and invitational competitions; and controversial proposals such as the rebuilding of the Palace of Fine Arts, the Transamerica Building, redevelopment projects, the height of downtown and waterfront buildings, landmark preservation, freeways, and open spaces.

Today, AIA San Francisco is the third largest chapter of the AIA and represents 460 firms, including those responsible for many of San Francisco's most cherished buildings, as well as international projects in more than 40 countries on five continents. AIA San Francisco works locally to advance the profession and improve the quality of life in the Bay Area and participates in many community outreach projects.

The chapter proudly offers architectural expertise covering a diverse range of practice areas, including alternative work environments, health care facilities, design for aging, sustainable design, Americans with Disabilities Act, affordable housing, residential design, disaster preparedness, and more. Through partnerships with local related organizations, AIA San Francisco has helped formulate several major outreach programs, including the San Francisco Prize, Architects-in-Schools Program, the AIA SF/SFMOMA Architecture Lecture Series, Architecture and the City, and Small Firms, Great Projects. 
 
With the incorporation of the new Center for Architecture  Design and the completion of a new office and gallery space in summer 2006, AIA San Francisco looks to reach out to an even greater sector of the community.