Ghost Sign #19 -- May 24, 2013

Carl Nolte mentioned in his Chronicle column that a building across the street at Fifth and Mission had been torn down, which uncovered a ghost sign, although he did not use that phrase.  The sign must date back to just after the 1906 Earthquake and Fire.  It says "RICHARDSON BROS. AGENTS" something "SAFE CO."  Below it mentions beer-drawing apparaturs, German silver and copper something and Beer Pumps.  Was that another business, or did Richardson Bros have a sideline besides safes?  The sign probably won't be there for long.

Be sure to click on the image to see a larger version.  I did not reduce the size of the image so people could see the details.  

Wapama to be Scrapped -- May 19, 2011

I was sad to read a Chronicle article by Carl Nolte (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/05/19/BABT1JGTES.DTL) which says that the steam schooner Wapama, which is the only survivor of its type, is beyond saving and will probably be scrapped later this year. Wapama was my favorite ship at the pier, after ferry Eureka. She had flying bridges, a mysterious engine room, passenger cabins, and a grand stairway, like an ocean liner. In 1980, she was put on a barge and sent to the Oakland Estuary. I remember seeing her from a Fremont BART train. Later she moved to the Bay Model in Marin. I kept hoping she would be restored and returned. Lately, she has been hidden in Richmond. There is no money or will to restore Wapama. The Park Service hopes to salvage her engine and perhaps some representative pieces.

I took the photo from the hurricane deck of the Eureka on 19-October-2010.

Mentioned in the Chronicle #2 -- January 2, 2011

Carl Nolte's Sunday Native Son column "California Street Without Cable Cars for 6 Months" talked about how today was supposed to be the last day of operation for the California Street line, but a problem with the cable on Christmas Eve caused Muni to shut it down early. The line is going to be refurbished for the first time since the great rebuilding in 1982-1984.

I spoke to Carl about it on Wednesday last week. The column includes a link to my cable car site. He quoted some of the writing of my friend Val Lupiz. As of today, the column is not available online, but it should be there Tuesday morning: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/01/02/MNTS1H1QND.DTL

I took the photo of two signs at California and Drumm on 31-December-2010. One sign was prepared for the planned outage. The other appears to be improvised. Click on the image to see a larger view.

Memorial Day #1 -- May 26, 2008

On Memorial Day it is fitting and proper to remember the men and women who gave their lives, who continue to give their lives, to give us the country we deserve.

I was not downtown at the end of last week to buy a poppy.

Carl Nolte, in a nice article in the SF Chronicle, quoted General George S Patton: "In my mind, we are here to thank God that men like this lived, rather than regret that they died."

I took this photo on 14-December-2007 at the national cemetary in the Presidio.

The new lander made it safely to the North Pole region of Mars.