Audio in this Podcast

1. the reber plan for san francisco bay

   

   it’s easy to forget that the shape of san francisco’s built environment was determine... (740 days ago)

2. lotta crabtree - the san francisco favourite

   

   as i mingled with thousands of my fellow citizens at the "san francisco rising" earthqu... (748 days ago)

3. caruso, the palace, and the 1906 earthquake

   

   enrico caruso (the greatest opera singer in the world), checks into william ralston’s legen... (762 days ago)

4. the notorious lola montez

   

   it was may of 1853, and a ship was steaming into san francisco bay. on the gently rolling deck st... (770 days ago)

5. the bella union and the barbary coast

   

   through the years following san francisco’s gold rush all the way up until being burned to ... (777 days ago)

6. the trolls of san francisco (APRIL FOOLS!)

   

   san francisco is a city with many layers, both metaphorically speaking and in a very literal sens... (777 days ago)

7. adolph sutro, the populist millionaire

   

   adolph sutro, the populist millionaire adolph sutro is one of those names "hidden in plai... (784 days ago)

8. the columbarium and the caretaker

   

   looming over the inner richmond like a miniature roman temple, the columbarium is one of those fe... (790 days ago)

9. the balclutha and the chantey sing

   

   one cool saturday night last month i found myself shivering with a group of strangers down at the... (798 days ago)

10. sam clemens and the celebrated jumping frog

    

    though the rest of the country thinks of samuel langhorne clemens as a southerner, it was a littl... (805 days ago)

11. mark twain and the great earthquake of 1865

    

    by now just about every san franciscophile has been alerted to the fact that april 18th of this y... (812 days ago)

12. robert louis stevenson - chinatown treasure

    

    san francisco has a long-standing reputation as a literature-loving town, as evidenced by governm... (819 days ago)

13. san francisco fortune cookie

    

    on a tour of the alleyways of chinatown last week i learned a story that i hadn’t heard be... (826 days ago)

14. frank chu just shows up

    

    downtown san francisco on a tuesday afternoon, and every businessman’s face looks the same.... (833 days ago)

15. moving the dead - san francisco cemeteries

    

    there are only three cemeteries left within the city limits of san francisco. note the phrase car... (840 days ago)

16. san francisco motorcycle club - since 1904

    

    established at the dawn of the century, the san francisco motorcycle club has thrived for over a ... (847 days ago)

17. alexander leidesdorff - the black millionaire

    

    it was 1841, and like so many of those who have washed up on these shores, then or since, william... (854 days ago)

18. the golden gate bridge, a modest proposal

    

    “so what do you think of that beautiful bridge?” i started to say, but she suddenly s... (861 days ago)

19. luisa tetrazzini and christmas eve

    

    “i will sing in san francisco if i have to sing in the streets, for i know that the streets... (868 days ago)

20. the great diamond hoax

    

    it was 1871. william ralston had become one of the richest and most powerful men in california, p... (882 days ago)