Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Great San Franciscan Characters’ Category

Great San Franciscan Characters #10: Val Diamond

Posted in Great San Franciscan Characters, tagged , , , , , , on Mar 5, 2011| 1 Comment »


No less a San Franciscan institution than the Golden Gate Bridge or the cable cars is Val Diamond, the heartbeat for thirty years of the world’s longest running musical revue, Steve Silver’s Beach Blanket Babylon.

Valeria Adriana Maria Francesca Diamond was born, the daughter of a Jewish father and Italian immigrant mother, in Oakland in 1951 and raised in Castro Valley. Attracted to the theatre from a young age, she started her acting career in high school, playing the lead role in Medea and Anna in The King and I.   For the next eight years she was lead singer in a rock band called the Sounds of Joy that toured the country.

Becoming tired of life on the road she accepted an invitation to join the cast of Beach Blanket Babylon.  Despite initial reservations that a zany topical revue in which she had to wear increasingly gargantuan hats whilst attempting to hold a musical number, did not fit with her ambitions to be a serious actress and musician, she became one of  its most enduring and beloved icons.  Her first of around 11,500 performances came on 17th January 1979 when her roles included that of a singing waitress with a giant Coca-Cola bottle on her head and a singing envelope exhibiting just legs and face.

She made many other parts her own during her thirty year residence, including her favourite, a French whore, Jewish mother, cowgirl, Japanese maid, Marie Antoinette, the Singing Nun, the Queen and a tap dancing Yankee Doodle Ghandi.

But it should not be forgotten that the outlandish costumes and often surreal scenes were not able to mask a great voice too. Janet Lynn Roseman, in her book Beach Blanket Babylon – A Hats-Off Tribute to San Francisco’s Most Extraordinary Musical Revue, referred to  her as the “queen of the belters” and John F. Kennedy Jnr exclaimed “the one with husky voice, boy, can she sing”.  Amongst her show stealers were “There’s No Business Like Show Business”, “Lili Marlene”, “City Lights” and “Coroner Man”.The image, however, that audiences will most readily conjure up of  Diamond, is of, as Miss San Francisco, her gliding serenely onto the stage at the end of the show in her magnificent, three hundred pound San Francisco landmarks hat to lead them in joyous renditions of Happy Trails to You and San Francisco.

Perhaps her most treasured night was a seventeen minute Beach Blanket Babylon performance for Queen Elizabeth II at the Davies Symphony Hall in 1983.  At the end she appeared wearing an enormous London hat, containing replicas of Buckingham Palace (complete with marching guards), the Tower of London and Big Ben which opened to reveal photographs of the Royal Family.  The Duke of Edinburgh is reputed to have been particularly entranced by this moment, and the Queen claimed that visiting San Francisco was the highlight of her trip to the United States.

She also played before the Prince of Wales, Rock Hudson, Rudolph Nuryev and Mikhail Baryshnikov as well as countless American public figures and celebrities, and was invariably in the show’s welcome party for visiting dignitaries.  When the 1989 World Series resumed at Candlestick Park following the Loma Prieta earthquake, she led a singalong of San Francisco, wearing a giant (no pun intended) baseball themed hat.  More recently, she sang the national anthem at the Giant’s new home of Pacific Bell Park (now AT & T Park) (below).

Mindful that the huge hats she wore might have diverted the audience’s attention from the skill in her performance, she derived immense satisfaction as she explained in Roseman’s book: “when you really feel fine is when you’ve sung some touching ballad wearing something crazy on her head, and you’ve gotten the audience to stop laughing and listen to you sing, and then they give you an ovation.  That’s when it feels great!”.

Even when surgery in 2001 to treat nodes on her vocal chord nerves threatened her career, she was back onstage within five months.

Diamond’s departure from Beach Blanket Babylon has never been adequately explained and provoked much anger and bewilderment among fans.  Her final performance was on 23rd September 2009 when she knew was leaving, although it was not announced to the public for more than a week afterwards.

Nonetheless, producer Jo Schuman Silver, widow of the show’s creator Steve Silver, paid tribute to her by saying that she was “one of the most versatile and professional performers to ever grace the stage at Club Fugazi”, and that Beach Blanket’s long running success was “in part, due to Val’s immeasurable contributions”.

She married the company’s trumpet player, Steve Salgo, in 1987 and still lives in Sonoma.

Read Full Post »

Great San Franciscan Characters #9: “Sunny Jim” Rolph

Posted in Great San Franciscan Characters, tagged , , , , , , , , on Mar 3, 2011| Leave a Comment »


Charming, charismatic, successful businessman and whorehouse owner, “Sunny Jim” Rolph was the longest serving mayor in San Francisco history.

He was born to British parents in the city on 23rd August 1869 and educated in the Mission District where he  also lived in adult life in a large mansion at the corner of San Jose and 25th Streets.  After jobs as a newsboy, clerk and messenger he entered the shipping business in 1900, forming a partnership with George Hind.  For the next ten years he served as President of two banks, one of which he established, as well as founding the Rolph Shipping Company and James Rolph Company.  He also directed the Ship Owners and Merchants Tugboat Company and the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce.

Prior to his country’s entry into the First World War he supplied coal and ships to the Allied Countries.  With an estimated wealth of $5 million he bought a ranch west of Stanford University.  It is reported that the Department of Public Works made all the improvements to the ranch at the taxpayers’ expense, not the last time his appropriation of public funds for his own personal gain was mooted.

In 1911 Rolph was encouraged to run for Mayor against the incumbent P.H. McCarthy who had failed to curb the corruption that was rife in the city.  Following a six week campaign categorised by egg throwing, fist fights and police riots, he won comfortably.

His first major project was the construction of the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition, designed not only to celebrate the opening of the Panama Canal but, equally importantly, to showcase the remarkable renaissance of San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake.  It was  during the latter that he he had earned the gratitude of the city by, as head of a relief committee, delivering water and supplies with his horse and wagon.

Image:rulclas1$governor-jim-rolph-1931.jpg

He opened the Exposition by, pied piper style, leading 150,000  followers down Van Ness Avenue and Lombard Street to the Fairgrounds, now the Marina District.  The profits from the highly successful event were used to build the Civic Auditorium.

As Mayor, he personally oversaw the construction of City Hall, and on the day it was dedicated in 1915, climbed the golden dome, “beamed at the astonished faces below”, and ran up the American flag.

His nickname derived from his relentlessly cheerful, gregarious disposition.  With a theme song entitled “There Are Smiles That Make You Happy” he paraded about town in, alternately a stovepipe silk or derby hat, dapper black suit with a flower, usually a carnation, in the buttonhole, smiling and “pressing the flesh” of the city’s residents as if he were on a continuous election campaign trail. He would often pick up pedestrians on his way to City Hall and drive them to their destination.  He was known as the “Mayor of All the People”, relating to people of all races, religions and political parties.  He even invited Communist protestors into his office for a chat.

He had time for everyone as he “popped up” at just about every public event, seeing it as a photo opportunity to promote himself.  His role was primarily as the charming figurehead for city government, leaving the day to day running of his administration (which bored him), including several major public works projects such as the Bay Bridge, Hetch Hetchy water system, which supplies most of the city’s water,  and San Francisco Airport, to trusted colleagues.

Rolph’s affable manner and the spectacular but costly festivities he arranged to celebrate major political events may have endeared him to the man in the street, but he presided over a “lawless, debauched city”in which “gambling and prostituion thrived”.  Moreover, he contributed personally towards this by owning the Pleasure Palace, an “entertainment hideout”at 21st Street and Sanchez on Liberty Hill.  It is hardly surprising, therefore, that he made only half-hearted attempts to clean up the city.  This, along with his lax stance on enforcing Prohibition, may have partly accounted for his four re-elections and nineteen years in office.

His flamboyant image extended to appearances in several films, notably the 1915 documentary Mabel and Fatty Viewing the World’s Fair at San Francisco, directed by Fatty Arbuckle and the short, Hello Frisco.

Rolph’s drinking and alleged affair with movie star, Anita Page, however, scarred his final term in office.  He missed meetings at City Hall and drivers would be despatched to find him. When he did turn up he appeared drunk and patently unwell.

He was elected the 27th Governor of California from 6th January 1931 when he resigned as San Francisco Mayor.  However, the advent of the Great Depression and the budgetary constraints that that inevitably imposed upon the State, had serious personal and political consequences.  Moreover, laregly as a result of his shenanigans over a previous gubernatorial campaign, his contract to build three new ships for the Federal Government was cancelled and he was banned from selling ships to foreign governments, accelerating his financial ruin.

His political inadequacies were also regularly exposed, provoking a recall movement against him within two years of taking office.  His tenure was dogged by controversy, not least when he publicly praised the citizens of San Jose, whilst promising to pardon anyone involved, following the November 1933 lynching of the confessed murderers of Brooke Hart, the son of a wealthy local merchant.  He was thereafter known as “Governor Lynch”.

As he fell into serious debt his health failed, although he continued to make personal appearances against medical advice.  Following a number of heart attacks he died on 2nd June 1934 at Riverside Farm, Santa Clara County.  He was brought home to lie in state in the City Hall rotunda.

Notwithstanding his many flaws, Rolph’s popularity in his home town was unquestioned. and illustrated in the decision to name the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, that had begun to be built under his stewardship, the “James “Sunny Jim” Rolph Bridge”.

Finally, I am particularly indebted for much of the detail in this article to the historical essay on Rolph written by Daniel Steven Crofts.

 

Read Full Post »

Great San Franciscan Characters #8: Rev. Cecil Williams

Posted in Great San Franciscan Characters, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on Feb 24, 2011| 3 Comments »


One of the most controversial and radical religious and social leaders of his time, the Rev. Cecil Williams has been an influential figure in San Francisco public life for the past half century.  Combining spirituality, left-wing politics and unstinting social activism he has been a inspirational spokesperson for the poor and margininalized in the city and across the country.  

He was born on 22nd September 1929 in San Angelo, Texas, one of six children.  After graduating from Huston-Tillotson University in 1952, he was one of the first five African American graduates of the Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University three years later.

He bacame the pastor of the GLIDE Memorial United Methodist Church at Ellis and Taylor in San Francisco in 1963.  Its mission has been to “create a radically inclusive, just and loving community mobilized to alleviate suffering and break the cycles of poverty and marginalization”. 

Diversity and compassion have been at the heart of Williams’s work.  People of all races, ethnic backgrounds, social classes, cultures, ages, faiths and sexual orientations are welcome to join in the Celebrations held every Sunday at 9am and 11am to “experience the energy of spiritual liberation coupled with the fusion of jazz, blues and gospel performed by the renowned GLIDE Ensemble choir and the Change Band”.  An example of this is contained in the following video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wg7jmgnwAds

It is the practical demonstration of his belief in diversity that has earned him both veneration and notoriety.  In 1965 he became the first minister to perform  same sex marriages long before the battles of the past decade and he was also instrumental in forming the Council on Religion and Homosexuality in 1964.  The church provided healing and comfort for the LGBTQ community in 1978 in the aftermath of Harvey Milk’s assassination, and it was the first  in the US to offer HIV testing after Sunday services during the AIDS epidemic of the eighties.

In 1967 Williams courted further controversy by ordering the cross removed from the church’s sanctuary, stating that it was a symbol of death and that his congregation should celebrate life and living instead.

Rev. Cecil Williams Mike Kepka / The Chronicle

His contribution to the struggle for civil and human rights is unquestioned and prompted him to host political rallies in which Angela Davis and the Black Panthers spoke in the seventies.  He has also arranged lectures by Bill Cosby and Billy Graham.  Other prominent public figures that have frequented and supported the church’s work include Bill Clinton, Oprah Winfrey, Robin Williams, Maya Angelou and Warren Buffett.

Under his leadership, GLIDE Memorial became one of the most prominent liberal churches in the US, and now boasts a diverse congregation of over 11,000 members.  It is the largest provider of social services in the city, serving over 3,000 meals a day, providing AIDS / HIV screenings, innovative adult education programs, creative arts and mentoring for youth,  computer and job skills training, drug and alcohol recovery programs and giving assistance to women dealing with domestic violence, homelessness, substance abuse and mental health issues.  GLIDE Health Services was hailed by House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi as a model for national healthcare in March 2008.

Williams retired as pastor in 2000 in accordance with United Methodist Church rules.  However, the local congregation and affiliated non-profit foundation hired him in the newly created role of Minister of Liberation, thus enabling him to continue officially serving the community and church.

He was married to school teacher Evelyn Robinson from 1956 until their divorce in 1976.  They had two children, Albert and Kim.

He has been married to Janice Mirikitani, who co-founded the GLIDE Memorial Church with him and who has worked with him on many social programs, since 1982. 

 

The church is credited with helping Will Smith and his son get back on their feet in the 2006 film, the Pursuit of Happyness.  His autobiography I’m Alive was published in 1980.

In recent years he has received numerous honors and awards, including Southern Methodist University’s Most Distinguished Alumni, the National Caring Award and an appointment as Chairman for the Northern California Dr Martin Luther King Jnr Birthday Observance Commitee at the personal request of Dr King’s widow.

The challenges for Williams and his church are no less demanding than they were when he became pastor neary fifty years ago, and are best expressed, along with a restatement of his original vision, by the GLIDE website:

“a suffering economy, poverty, drug abuse, violence, and despair continue to persist in San Francisco as they do across the country. By working to combat these problems, GLIDE serves as an oasis in a desert of hopelessness, marching to the edge where victories for social justice are won. GLIDE is a place where old, destructive ways of being are thrown out and new ones created. Where names are named and love is celebrated and a simple call goes out to all races, classes, genders, ages, and sexual orientations: It’s recovery time. It’s time to love unconditionally”.

I trust we can all say “Amen” to that.

Read Full Post »

Great San Franciscan Characters #7: Tessie Wall

Posted in Great San Franciscan Characters, tagged , , , , , , on Feb 17, 2011| 4 Comments »


In an era when cheap prostitution was rife in San Francisco, Tessie Wall’s brothel in the then fashionable Tenderloin district was a beacon of elegance and good taste, making her the best known and most successful parlor-house madam in town.Teresa Susan Donohue was born south of Market Street of Irish Catholic parents in May 1869.  A “flamboyant, well-upholstered blond” with blue eyes, she weighed 250 pounds, neither uncommon nor unpopular for a lady in her profession at the time.  She was a ribald, hard drinker with a big heart and is alleged to have outdrunk boxer John L. Sullivan.

Her first husband, a fireman, died in the early nineties, leaving her to support herself and a young son.  To make ends meet she entered the household of wealthy banker Judah Boas as a domestic servant, graduating to a dance hall girl.

In 1898 she opened her first brothel at 211 O’Farrell Street but this was  destroyed by one of the many fires triggered by the earthquake of 1906.  Undaunted she reopened it in a three storey brick building with terracotta facing at 337 O’Farrell Street.  It was a grand affair with the first floor comprising a saloon whilst upstairs was a large, mirrored ballroom, dining room, kitchen, twelve bedrooms and several parlors.

She usually had between ten and fifteen girls, most under twenty years of age, on call at any one time, charging around $20 a “trick”.  The brothel’s proceeds were doubled by the sale of liqour and champagne.

Clients were met at the back door by a black maid who ushered them into the parlor to meet Tessie.  As he entered the main receiving room he would be confronted by a needlepoint motto that read “If every man was as true to his country as he is to his wife – God help the USA”.

Tessie would invariably call out “Company, girls!”, heralding the sedate entrance of several prostitutes.  Whilst the client made up his mind he was expected to buy drinks for the company and put coins into an automatic music box.  Tessie had strict rules on manners and bad language.

She astutely befriended many in the police department.  Indeed, her fame and popularity were never better displayed than at the annual Policeman’s Ball held in the Civic Auditorium.  Bejeweled and elegantly attired, she would hang on the arm of Mayor “Sunny” Jim Rolph before she made her grand entrance by planting herself at a table reserved for other ladies in her profession, slapping a $1,000 bill on the bar and exclaiming “Drink that up boys!”.

Although earning $5,000 a month, her penchant for horse racing, and antiques to furnish her establishment, prevented her from ever becoming rich.

The city’s brothels were closed in January 1917 on the orders of the Navy Department in an attempt to prevent sailors fighting in the war from enjoying themselves on leave.

She had married her second husband, gambler, pool hall owner and Republican boss of the Tenderloin‘s vice activity, Frank Daroux, in 1906, but after he had been unfaithful to her and sought a divorce, she shot him twice in 1917 because, she claimed, “I Loved Him, Damn Him”.  However, she was released when he refused to press charges.

She retired to a small apartment in the Mission, which, unsurprisingly, became a speakeasy at Prohibition.  She died in 1932, leaving many of her most prized antiques.  The massive gold-plated Napoleon bed that Daroux had bought her in 1900 for $1,000 was sold at auction for just $105.

She once claimed that she would rather be a lamppost on Powell Street than own all of San Mateo County.  Well, San Francisco does get you like that doesn’t it?

Read Full Post »

Coming soon on “Great San Franciscan Characters”

Posted in Great San Franciscan Characters, tagged , , on Feb 2, 2011| Leave a Comment »


As may already be apparent to anyone who has kindly read any of the first four entries in this series, my writing ship has been steering clear of political waters.  And, certainly for the foreseeable future, that will continue to be the case. 

At the outset I envisioned alternating between the serious and the populist, but as I consider future subjects I find myself drawn towards those individuals that most closely embody the word “character” in the sense of being “an unusual or amusing person” (OED), rather than those whose deeds have  been commendable but whose persona has been dull.

That is not to say that the occasional politician or other staid public figure will not gatecrash (formally, of course) the party at intervals, but the focus will continue to be on people whose lives and achievements reflected a colourful personality.    

So in coming features you can expect to read about such characters as Mrs Friedel Klussmann, “the woman who saved the cable cars”, Herb Caen, the legendary San Francisco Chronicle columnist, Lillian Hitchcock Coit, the fire engine follower whose bequest to the city funded the construction of the tower that bears her name and Diego Rivera, the Mexican painter whose dramatic murals adorn parts of the city.

In order that the features retain an interest for anyone stumbling upon this blog I would also very much welcome any requests for future subjects.

Read Full Post »

Great San Franciscan Characters #4: Willie Mays

Posted in Great San Franciscan Characters, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on Jan 31, 2011| 3 Comments »


“There have been only two geniuses in the world”, actress Tallulah Bankhead said, “Willie Mays and Willie Shakespeare”. A trifle exaggerated perhaps (is Shakespeare THAT good?), but the former Giant was arguably the greatest baseball player of all time.

William Howard “Willie” Mays Jnr. was born on 6th May 1931 in Westfield, Alabama of talented sports playing parents. He came to prominence through playing for Birmingham Black Barons in the Negro American League and, having been declined by the Brooklyn Dodgers, was signed by the New York Giants on the day he graduated from high school in 1950.

After an impressive early season spell with the Minneapolis Millers of the American Association at the beginning of the following season he was called up for his Major League debut on 25th May 1951. Despite career lows in batting average, RBIs and HRs that year he was still voted Rookie of the Year.  His speed and agility in centre field were gaining notice, and in one game against Pittsburgh, he stopped a 475 foot drive with his bare hand.

Missing most of the 1952, and all of the 1953, seasons through Army service, he returned to the Giants in 1954, helping them to win their last World Series before 2010 and being voted National League MVP.  His phenomenal over the shoulder running catch in deep center field off Vic Wertz at the Polo Grounds, which is still regarded as one of the most spectacular pieces of fielding in baseball history, was instrumental in securing a first game win against the Cleveland Indians, leading to a four game sweep of the series.

In 1957, the last season of the Giants’ tenure in New York, he won the first of his 12 consecutive Golden Glove awards. There were few more exhilarating sights than Mays in full sail, chasing a long fly ball, oversize cap flying off his head as the ball sunk into his enormous, wide-palmen hands.  He perfected the “basket” catch in which the glove was held waist-high and face up like a basket.   Along with Joe diMaggio he is also reputed to have had the greatest throwing arm in the game.

His reception in San Francisco, following the Giants’ relocation in 1958, was not a particularly welcoming one – he was booed whilst the locals took rookies like Orlando Cepeda and Willie McCovey to their hearts and he and his wife experienced racial prejudice in their attempts to find a home in the city.   His wholehearted, stylish performances won over the fans and in 1961 he hit 4 home runs against the Milwaukee Braves in County Stadium and was on deck when the Giants’ final innings closed.  He is the only Major League player to have a 4 home runs and a 3 triple game.

His final World Series for the Giants was in 1962 when, having beaten the Dodgers in a three game play-off, they lost in seven to the Yankees.  He won his second league MVP with a career high 52 home runs.  He played in 150 games for 13 consecutive years between 1954 and 1966, another Major League record.  Despite hitting his 600th home run in 1969 he had an injury hit season, but returned to his best form and helped the Giants win the  National League West in the following year.  He was named “Player of the Decade” for the sixties by The Sporting News in 1970. 

In May 1972, unable to guarantee him a retirement income, the Giants  traded the 41 year old Mays to the New York Mets for pitcher Charlie Williams and $50 ,000.  He made his debut on the 14th against the Giants, hitting a home run.  His final home run, number 660, was made against the Reds on 17th August the following year.  He also made 3,283 hits and ran in 1,903 batters in his career.

For his two seasons in New York he was the oldest regular position player in baseball and the oldest to figure in a World Series Game during the series that the Mets lost to the A’s.  He stayed with the club until the end of the 1979 season as hitting instructor.

 

On 23rd January 1979 he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, colecting 95% of the ballots.  But the period after his retirement was a difficult one, culminating in his being banned from baseball for working, along with Yankees legend Mickey Mantle, as a meeter and greeter for Bally’s Casinos in Atlantic City.  Although the ban was eventually rescinded, the decision affected Mays badly, inducing him to shun many public appearances, including All-Star games.  

In 1999 he was included in the Major League All-Century team in a popular vote by fans.

There is no doubting the affection in which he is held, not only by Giants’ fans but the citizens of San Francisco.  Since 1986 he has served as Special Assistant to the President of the San Francisco Giants, a lifetime appointment.  The address of AT & T Park is 24 Willie Mays Plaza and a larger than life statue of Mays in full slugging mode stands proudly in front of the main entrance. 

Although his #24 shirt had been formally retired, and even when Mays offered it to his godson Barry Bonds, who had visited him in his locker room in search of bubble gum when just five years old.  Such was the esteem in which he is held, however, that Bonds refused and opted to wear the #25 jersey instead.  

At former mayor Willie Brown’s instigation, and with the subsequent endorsement of mayor Gavin Newsom, he is now commemorated every 24th May in San Francisco which has been designated Willie Mays Day.  On his 79th birthday in 2010 the California Senate proclaimed Willie Mays Day in the state, and three years before, he had been inducted into the California Hall of Fame by Governor Arnold. Schwarzenegger.

For all the adulation and honours accorded him in California, it should not be forgotten that he is no less idolised on the East Coast for his services  to New York at the beginning and end of his career.  This was evident when he  joined the Giants organisation on 21st January 2011 in parading the newly won World Series trophy, visiting the grade school built on the site of the old Polo Grounds in Harlem, answering the students’ questions and distributing memorabilia.  

Willie Mays visits PS 46 in Harlem, next to the site of the former Polo Grounds, where the new York Giants played before moving to San Francisco in 1958, on Jan. 21, 2011 in New York City. The Giants hadn't won the World Series since 1954.

I can’t finish this piece without reference to more of Mays’s remarkable playing achievements:

  • selected for the All-Star Game a (tied) record 24 times, including 20 consecutive years between 1954 and 1973;
  • MVP in the All-Star Game twice (1963, 1968);
  • the only player to have hit a home run in every innings from 1 to 16;
  • a record 22 extra innings home runs;
  • only one of five National League players to have hit at least 100 RBIs in eight successive seasons;
  • stole 338 bases; and
  • 7,095 outfield fielding putouts – Major League record

But the statistics and records do scant justice to his genius – constantly on the move, athletically and mentally, whether at the plate, on base or in the outfield, he was a menace to the opposition from start to finish.

I started with a quotation and I shall end with one.  Mays, who, in all modesty, believed himself to be the best baseball player ever, summed it up in these simple words: “If you can do that – if you run, hit, run the bases, hit with power, field, throw and do all other things that are part of the game – then you’re a good ballplayer”.  Well, he could do all of those things with a level of skill, style and, above all joy, unparalleled in the game’s history.

Read Full Post »

Great San Franciscan Characters – Introduction

Posted in Great San Franciscan Characters, tagged , , on Jan 6, 2011| 4 Comments »


In addition to the “On This Day in San Francisco” feature I also want to use this blog to celebrate the lives and achievements of prominent, and perhaps some less well known but no less extraordinary, San Francisco characters.  Whilst names like Emperor Norton, Adolph Sutro, Harvey Milk, Jerry Garcia and Willie Mays might spring immediately to mind I want to focus on others whose contribution to the city’s colourful history has been equally as remarkable.  I’m even open to offers as to suggestions who might be covered!

Again, I intend to introduce my first character in the coming days.

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts