San Francisco's Lost Landmarks. James R. Smith
San Francisco’s
Lost Landmarks
James R. Smith
Fresno, California
Copyright © 2005 by James R. Smith. All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review.
Published by
Craven Street Books
An Imprint of Linden Publishing
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Printed in the United States of America
ISBN 978-1-61035-191-1
57986
Craven Street Books project cadre:
Doris Hall, Dave Marion, Stephen Blake Mettee
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Smith, James R.
San Francisco’s lost landmarks / by James R. Smith.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 1-884995-44-6
1. San Francisco (Calif.)—History. 2. San Francisco (Calif.)—History—Pictorial works. 3. Historic sites—California—San Francisco. 4. Historic sites—California—San Francisco—Pictorial works. 5. San Francisco (Calif.)—Social life and customs. I. Title.
F869.S357.S64 2005
979.4’61—dc22
2004023982
This book is dedicated to all San Franciscans, an indomitable people determined to seek their own path, and to my mother, Ruth Elaine Johnson Smith, who had the courage to marry one of them.
Contents
CHAPTER 1: THE ORIGINAL LAND AND SHORES: SCULPTING A CITY
Walk Around the Coastline—Mid-Nineteenth Century
The Filling of the Bay and the Abandoned Gold Rush Fleet
San Francisco’s Sand Dunes and Marshland
Remembrance of Woodward’s Gardens
The Chutes at Tenth and Fulton
CHAPTER 3: OCEAN, BAY & WHARF-SIDE ATTRACTIONS
Meigg’s Wharf and the Cobweb Palace
Sutro Heights
Adolph Sutro’s San Francisco
The Cliff House
The Cliff House and the Parallel
Sutro’s Baths & Museum
Memories of Sutro Baths
CHAPTER 4: GAMBLING HOUSES, PARLORS, CLUBS, SALOONS AND DIVES
The Gold Rush Era
The Enterprise Years
Post-Quake San Francisco
The Depression and War Years
The Fillmore Jazz Clubs
The Beat Era—Post WWII
The Primalon on Fillmore Street
The Curtain Falls
David de Alba at the Finocchio Club
CHAPTER 5: EARLY THEATRES & STAGE
The Early Years—First Half of the Golden Era
Elisa Biscaccianti
San Francisco’s Star Rises—Second Half of the Golden Era
Civil War and Silver
CHAPTER 6: CALIFORNIA MIDWINTER INTERNATIONAL EXPOSITION—1894
California Midwinter International Exposition—
CHAPTER 7: PANAMA-PACIFIC INTERNATIONAL EXPOSITION - 1915
The Planning Begins
Building the Exposition
The Exposition City and Its Exhibits
State and International Buildings and Facilities
The Joy Zone