local history

A collection of 70 posts

Cliff House

Stuck in Zero Gear

I used to walk to work daily, mixing in the 38-Geary bus now and then. But job responsibilities have had me mostly behind the wheel this year and I’m trying to find a way to get back walking. Driving is the American norm, of course. The most recent AAA

City College

Save the Whales

Migrating for 20 years, the old Academy of Sciences whales may finally find a permanent home.

1906 earthquake

Captive Airship

How did George R. Lawrence take his amazing aerial panoramas after the 1906 earthquake?

Mission District

Spirit of Victory

A San Francisco Spanish-American War monument with some muddy messaging.

Grab Bag

Grab Bag #38

Weird bits of San Francisco history from Fisherman's Wharf to Ocean Beach.

Chinatown

Chinatown Demolition

Plague fears led to chopping down parts of San Francisco's Chinatown in 1903.

Kelly's Cove

The Naming of Kelly’s Cove

What or who inspired the name for a magical stretch of San Francisco's Ocean Beach?

Paid-members only

Grab Bag

Grab Bag #37

Is a house from the Gold Rush still standing in San Francisco's Western Addition?

Gold Rush

Gold Rush Prefab

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

Paid-members only

Grab Bag

Grab Bag #36

Animalia of San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, a Richmond District dairy, Willie Mays, and more of my favorite things.

City College

Finding Founder’s Rock

The short-lived fame of a boulder at City College of San Francisco.

Embarcadero

The Legend of Lois Jordan’s White Angel Jungle

Thoughts on a famous San Francisco soup kitchen.

Russian Hill

A Park is Born

The 75-year journey to turn a Russian Hill reservoir into a San Francisco park.

Paid-members only

Grab Bag

Grab Bag #34

I come to praise San Francisco, not bury it, plus news on old stuff getting older.

Lake Merced

Lake Merced Roadhouses

San Francisco's Lake Merced was the home of roadhouse resorts from the 1850s to the early 1880s.

Pacific Heights

Victorian Comeback II

An invitation for this Saturday and the comeback of an architectural style synonymous with San Francisco.

Grab Bag

Grab Bag #33

Woody's 100th San Francisco Story heads to Eureka Valley.

1906 earthquake

Last Night in Old San Francisco

Things to do on the eve of the 1906 earthquake.

St. Mary's Park

The Bell of St. Mary's (Park)

One San Francisco neighborhood has a design best appreciated from above.

Haight-Ashbury

Haight Baseball

When America's pastime had a place next to San Francisco's Golden Gate Park.

Mission Bay

A Walk on Long Bridge

When San Francisco's Mission Bay was a bay.

Grab Bag

Grab Bag #028

San Francisco History Guy goes all stream-of-consciousness on the Broadway tunnel, buried ships, and petting parties in alleys.

Christmas

The 12 Firehouses of Christmas

From 1948–1950, San Francisco fire stations went crazy with an annual Christmas decoration contest. Here are Woody's top dozen.

Mission District

Maguire's Houses

Life on one Mission District block on February 22, 1887 at 11:35 a.m.

Paid-members only

Grab Bag

Grab Bag #009

A true Woody LaBounty Grab Bag: Pawn Stars, Chinatown revealed, historic real estate for sale, and the first San Francisco Story Annual released.