1850s

A collection of 15 posts

Bernal Heights

Precita Valley's Park

From garbage-pit-swamp to a Bernal oasis.

Grab Bag

Grab Bag #61

A gaseous San Francisco history grab bag of hats, instant photos, and one famous recipe.

Union Square

The White House

Remembering a store and a man that every San Franciscan once knew.

Paid-members only

Grab Bag

Grab Bag #56

Parades, grizzlies, and a new San Francisco time-machine destination.

Lake Merced

Guns and Golf

A duel between two prominent California politicians took place near San Francisco's Lake Merced in 1859.

Paid-members only

Grab Bag

Grab Bag #55

Babylands, acid-scarred roses, and three formidable women on a San Francisco vacation.

Telegraph Hill

Telegraph Place

Having a crush on some long-gone San Francisco houses and wondering what happened to Good Children.

Octagon Houses

A Home for All

San Francisco's landmark octagon houses.

North Beach

The Beach at North Beach

San Francisco's North Beach may not have been where you thought it was.

Vigilance Committee

Return of the Vigilantes

On May 14, 1856, a public shooting catalyzed a vigilante (and political) movement in San Francisco.

Paid-members only

Grab Bag

Grab Bag #50

Apartments in a park, baseball in a pasture, parents in a nightclub, and one goat.

Russian Hill

Living Off the Grid

San Francisco's 1840s Laguna Survey gave the city some growing pains

Paid-members only

Grab Bag

Grab Bag #47

Portsmouth Square in the 1850s, old photos found, and memorializing motherhood.

Western Addition

Moved by Faith

The 1850s San Francisco church that kept moving west.

Gold Rush

Gold Rush Prefab

"Portable houses" were one solution to San Francisco's 1849 housing crisis.