SFist: Images: St. Patrick's Day Parade, 3/14

zig

Tue, 17 Mar 2009 23:39:14 -0800

The first fact that you might want to consider is the proportion of Irish in San Francisco at the turn of the century of the last century was higher than in Chicago that had a much diverse white ethnic make up at the time with so many Eastern Europeans and Catholic Germans. The labor movement in Chicago, for instance, was much more diverse than that in San Francisco which was primary Irish. Chicago is as much influenced by Germans and Poles as Irish. There was one dominate white ethnic in SF and it was the Irish.

Joel

Tue, 17 Mar 2009 15:30:02 -0800

Also I would argue the Irish presence and influence in SF was more dominate than it was in Chicago. You'd be wrong.

zig

Tue, 17 Mar 2009 15:25:01 -0800

Also I would argue the Irish presence and influence in SF was more dominate than it was in Chicago. Don't know anything about the parade though. St Paddy day I would rather be in San Mateo where they live now.

zig

Tue, 17 Mar 2009 15:22:49 -0800

What makes you all think this wasn't also a city with a significant Irish presence? At the turn of the last century it was over 30% Irish and Irish Americans ran much of the city. then you sissys started moving here

polymergirl

Tue, 17 Mar 2009 09:12:59 -0800

Kind of a sad parade. I used to live in Holyoke, Mass. Now that was a St. Paddy's Day parade. (2nd largest in the country in a town with a 39,000 person population.) You gotta love those old Irish industrial cities in the Northeast for their ability to drink and party on St. Patrick's Day.

Darkmoon

Tue, 17 Mar 2009 00:21:58 -0800

I noticed I was able to actually get across Market St. this year during the parade. Is it me or does the crowd seem to be getting smaller and smaller every year for this parade here in San Francisco?

fizzandpop

Mon, 16 Mar 2009 17:33:46 -0800

I see there are still some fringe lunatics who yearn for the 70s.

manys

Mon, 16 Mar 2009 17:30:30 -0800

Oh, and I LOVE that last picture of girl scout cookies being sold by a tie-dyed ADULT. Sorry, it's a peeve of mine.

phlavor

Mon, 16 Mar 2009 16:26:46 -0800

Yeah, those girls are tore up from the floor up.

Joel

Mon, 16 Mar 2009 16:07:29 -0800

Chicago has two, the big one downtown and the smaller, drunker, more "genuine" Southside Irish Parade down in the SW side neighborhood of Beverly

withak

Mon, 16 Mar 2009 15:54:37 -0800

Chicago's isn't really any better. Fewer gay entries, maybe. And the drunk bridge & tunnel crowd doesn't have to actually use a bridge or tunnel to get there.

karulee

Mon, 16 Mar 2009 15:11:48 -0800

The St. Patrick's Day parade needs to either be overhauled or canceled. What a god awful representation of my country (born and grew up in Dublin, Ireland). In my opinion, we should leave the parades to those cities where the Irish population is significant (e.g. New York, Boston, Chicago). We have the Chinese New Year festivities.

Generic

Mon, 16 Mar 2009 14:18:28 -0800

You think Bevan Dufty's might be our new mayor?

manys

Mon, 16 Mar 2009 13:41:11 -0800

Are those really the best beauty pageant winners SF could come up with?