misc Today in San Francisco History - a Gold Rush shaving-saloon Timecapsule: February 1852 We love personal accounts of the goings-on in our little town more than just about anything. The sights, the smells, the daily routine ... We want the nuts and bolts of
misc Today in San Francisco History - Ghosts of Lands End Timecapsule: February 19, 1921 On this date the cornerstone for San Francisco's spectacular Palace of the Legion of Honor Museum was levered into place. The Museum was to be a vehicle for the
misc Today in San Francisco History - The laceration of Rincon Hill Timecapsule: February 1869 There aren't too many people living who remember this now, but Rincon Hill was once the fanciest neighborhood in San Francisco. You know the place, right? It's south of Market
misc Today in San Francisco History - Eye of the Gold Rush Hurricane Timecapsule: February 1, 1849 The spring of 1849 -- dawn of a year forever branded into the national consciousness as the era of the California Gold Rush. And so it was -- but
misc Today in San Francisco History - San Francisco gets its name Timecapsule: January 30, 1847 Yerba Buena That was the name given to the tiny bayside settlement back in 1835, a name taken from the wild mint growing on the sand dunes that surrounded
misc Today in San Francisco History - Tong boss "Little Pete" assassinated in a Chinatown barbershop Timecapsule: January 23, 1897 The "tong" secret societies are as American as Chop Suey -- which is to say, invented in San Francisco and completely unknown in China. The first tong was organized
misc Today in San Francisco History - Passing of the notorious Countess Lola Montez Timecapsule: January 17, 1861 As was undoubtedly marked on your calendar, San Francisco's patron saint Emperor Norton died last week, January 7, 1880. But his was not the only January passing worthy of
misc Today in San Francisco History - "Small Boy Defends Himself" Timecapsule: January 14, 1899 In this San Francisco Chronicle story from 1899, a North Beach street urchin defends himself in court. No, we don't know why he was allowed to act as his
misc Today in San Francisco History - "Demon of the Belfry" goes to the gallows Timecapsule: January 7, 1898 The most notorious criminal of San Francisco's Gilded Age was executed 111 years ago today. Sure, Jack the Ripper had set a certain tone for serial killing just a
misc Today in San Francisco History - the First Cliff House Burns Timecapsule: December 25, 1894 On Christmas Day, 1894, the first San Francisco Cliff House burned to the ground. As the Chronicle poetically reported the next morning, San Francisco's most historic landmark has gone
misc Today in San Francisco History - Escape from Alcatraz, maybe Timecapsule: December 16, 1937 Braving armed guards, bone-chilling water, and a mythical one-finned shark named Bruce, Theodore Cole and Ralph Roe take advantage of the heaviest fog on record to escape from the
misc Today in San Francisco History - "Miss Goldie Griffin Wants to Become Cop" Timecapsule: December 9, 1912 Another item culled directly from the pages of our historical newspapers, this one from the period in which California women had just won the right to vote -- something
misc Today in San Francisco History - "Haberdashery Issue Stirs Butchertown" Timecapsule: November 24, 1899 This item flowed from the pen of some long-forgotten San Francisco Chronicle beat writer, a little piece in which a neighborhood dispute is lovingly detailed. Butchertown was a tough
misc Today in San Francisco History - Mary Ann Patten, Heroine of Cape Horn Timecapsule: November 15, 1856 We ran across this little item while looking for something else altogether, and couldn't resist passing along such an amazing and (almost) ready-for-Hollywood story. It was the era of
misc Today in San Francisco History - "Kolb and Dill" Timecapsule: November 3, 1910 We noticed a short notice in the local papers from, oh, 98 years back, announcing that the entire theatrical wardrobe of Kolb and Dill -- the most popular comedy
misc Today in San Francisco History - The Black Cat Café Timecapsule: October 31, 1963 On Halloween night, the "Black Cat Cafe" -- that notorious, flamboyant and most historically significant of San Francisco's gay nightspots, held a final celebration before closing down for good.
misc Today in San Francisco History - "A Hoodlum Raid" Timecapsule: October 20, 1880 Sometimes we like to let the past speak in its own words, and even better, on subjects that never show up in history books. Here's an item from an
misc This week in SF History - the First Cliff House opens Timecapsule: October 15, 1863 The first Cliff House opened its doors on this date 145 years ago. The brainchild of a real estate speculator and a State Senator, this first of umpteen incarnations
misc This week in SF History - The Head of Joaquin Murieta Timecapsule: September 24, 1855 The preserved head of Joaquin Murieta and the hand of Three-Fingered Jack were sold at auction today to settle their owner's legal problems. Joaquin Murieta was a notorious and
Arts & Entertainment Tippling with Kipling, San Francisco 1889 Ah, today should be a citywide holiday, it really really should. December 5th marks the 74th anniversary of the end of Prohibition, just a tick of the geological clock since that final state
Arts & Entertainment San Francisco, "the Paris of the West" Yup, "the Paris of the West". It's a phrase that's been liberally applied to our fair city, perhaps most notably when the mayor of the Paris of, um, "France", arrived in San Francisco
Arts & Entertainment nugget o' history: Anniversary of a Flesh Wound The violent melodrama characterizing the recent murder of a journalist investigating "Your Black Muslim Bakery" has conjured the entire Bay Area history of political violence into our memories. Dan White, James P. Casey,
Arts & Entertainment nugget o' history: Mark Twain torched Lake Tahoe? The wildfire raging up near Lake Tahoe reminded us of our dear old cousin Mark. Mark Twain, that is, and what we remembered was his own brush with accidental arson up Tahoe way.
Arts & Entertainment nugget o' history: Island for Sale... Who knew that one of the five islands in San Francisco Bay was privately owned? Even stranger, "Red Rock Island" is now up for sale, for a paltry $10 million. The last time
