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A collection of 57 posts

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Grab Bag

Grab Bag #41

World Series parade, gas stations, and Great Highway history—a San Francisco grab bag.

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

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.

Chinatown

Chinatown Demolition

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

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Grab Bag

Grab Bag #37

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

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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.

Embarcadero

The Legend of Lois Jordan’s White Angel Jungle

Thoughts on a famous San Francisco soup kitchen.

Grab Bag

Two Years of San Francisco Story: Grab Bag #35

Celebrating two years of San Francisco Story with an Anchor Steam at Temple Bar, a little car polo, and a lot of gratitude.

Russian Hill

A Park is Born

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

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Grab Bag

Grab Bag #34

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

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.

Haight-Ashbury

Haight Baseball

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

Mission District

Mixed-Use Mission Street

What changed and what didn't on one San Francisco block after the 1906 earthquake and fire.

Pacific Heights

One Million Bricks

Was San Francisco's massive Calvary Presbyterian church moved more than 20 blocks in 1901? Yes and no.

Golden Gate Park

Sweeny’s Observatory

Golden Gate Park's former castle on the hill.

Union Square

Castle on the Square

The mini-citadel which once faced Union Square.

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.

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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.

North Point

The Cobweb Palace

Abe Warner's cobweb-filled saloon in San Francisco's North Point neighborhood was captured on film before demolition and now we know when.

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Grab Bag

Woody Grab Bag #008

A preview of Woody's San Francisco Story Annual 2022 featuring an excerpt about the larger-than-life diva, Lilian Slinkey, AKA "Madame Durini."

Mission District

A Day Trip on the Mission Road, Part 2

Sunday pleasure resorts like Woodward's Gardens made San Francisco's Mission District more family-friendly in the 1860s and 1870s.

Mission Dolores

A Day Trip on the Mission Road, Part 1

In the 1850s, San Francisco Sunday recreation meant getting across sand dunes and marsh to the Mission.