Pier 1 -- October 23, 2014

Pier 1, just north of the Ferry Building, is the headquarters of the Port of San Francisco. 

Bechtel Plaza -- September 26, 2014

In 1978, the Bechtel Corporation celebrated its 80th anniversary by dedicating a plaza to Stephen D Bechtel, Senior, son of the company's found.  I took the photo of the plaque on 07-May-2014. 

The Bechtel Museum, is located in a railroad car in the plaza.   The Bechtel family lived in a railroad car, the WaaTeeKaa, at remote job sites in the 1920s. This car, originally from the Chicago, Saint Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha, was restored to externally resemble the WaaTeeKaa as a gift to Steve Bechtel, Senior and his wife Laura in 1988. The exhibits are arranged along one side of the car, with partitions between the sections. The exhibits are mostly photos with captions describing the company's founding in 1898 and the many projects which it has handled, including Hoover Dam, the Bay Bridge, and BART. Each section contains a few objects, like old hard hats or models of pioneering motorized equipment.  I took the photo of WaaTeeKaa on 19-November-2011. 

To Relieve the Poor, Sick and Provide Education for Young Girls -- July 31, 2014

This plaque is on the walls of the Old Ursuline Convent in New Orleans, which is supposed to be the oldest building in the Mississippi Valley.  This is the second building on the site.  The building was completed in 1751.  After the convent and girls' school moved to other sites, the building served as the home of the Bishop and then the Archbishop of New Orleans. 

I took both photos during our visit this month. 

Read more about our trip:
http://cablecarguy.blogspot.com/2014/07/new-orleans-saturday-july-19-2014.html
http://cablecarguy.blogspot.com/2014/07/new-orleans-sunday-july-20-2014.html
http://cablecarguy.blogspot.com/2014/07/new-orleans-monday-july-21-2014.html
http://cablecarguy.blogspot.com/2014/07/new-orleans-tuesday-july-22-2014.html
http://cablecarguy.blogspot.com/2014/07/new-orleans-wednesday-july-23-2014.html

Site of First US Branch Mint -- April 21, 2014

The first United States Branch Mint in San Francisco opened in a building on Commercial Street near Montgomery in 1854.  The building was too small and operations moved to what is now known as the Old Mint at Fifth and Mission in 1874.  The current mint, on Duboce, went into operation in 1937. 

A new building on the Commercial Street site later served as the San Francisco branch of the United States Sub-treasury. 

I remember when a bank wanted to tear down the building to put up a skyscraper.  Somehow they were persuaded to save part of the façade of the sub-treasury and some of the vaults.  The building now houses the Pacific Heritage Museum, which has some displays about the mint and sub-treasury on the bottom floor.  The rest of the museum has rotating art exhibits. 

Shoreline Marker #2 -- March 26, 2014

Two plaques at Market and Battery Streets mark the San Francisco Bay shoreline when gold was discovered on 24-January-1848.  This one is on the northeast side of the intersection.  It was placed by the Native Sons of the Golden West in 1921. 

You can see the other plaque here:
http://cablecarguy.blogspot.com/2014/02/shoreline-marker-february-26-2014_26.html

 I took the photo on 25-February-2014. 

Shoreline Marker -- February 26, 2014

Two plaques at Market and Battery Streets mark the San Francisco Bay shoreline when gold was discovered on 24-January-1848.  This one is on the southwest side of the intersection.  It was placed by the Native Sons of the Golden West in 1921. 

I took the photo on 20-February-2014. 

The Family -- January 27, 2014

This plaque, at Commercial and Montgomery Streets, marks the 100th anniversary of the 05-April-1902 founding of The Family, a private men's club.  Members of the Bohemian Club withdrew to protest the activities of newspaper mogul William Randolph Hearst, particularly the publishing of a poem by Ambrose Bierce about the assassination of Kentucky Governor William Goebel:

The bullet that pierced Goebel's breast
Can not be found in all the West;
Good reason, it is speeding here
To stretch McKinley on his bier.

Many people felt that Bierce and Hearst had called for the assassination of President William McKinley.  After McKinley was assassinated, a number of Bohemian Club members quit and formed The Family. 

The Family meets at Powell and Post and has The Family Farm in Woodside.  The Family has several charitable interests. 

William Leidesdorff -- December 21, 2013

A plaque honoring San Francisco pioneer William Leidesdorff is, fittingly, displayed on Leidesdorff Street.  He settled in Yerba Buena in 1841 and became an important land owner  and civic promoter.  He was of mixed race, but it didn't slow his career in early San Francisco.  He died in 1848.  I took the photo on 12-August-2013. 

Broadway Wharf -- November 26, 2013

This plaque at Drumm and Broadway marks the site of the Broadway Wharf, where Pony Express mail arrived in San Francisco.  I don't know why "River Steamers" is in quotes.  The ferry Oakland did not carry Pony Express mail.  The steamer Chrysopolis did carry Pony Express mail.  In later years, it was rebuilt into the Southern Pacific ferry Oakland.  The Oakland survived until 1940. 

Erected A.D. 1896 -- October 23, 2013

This marker at the front of the Ferry Building commemorates its construction.  Chief Engineer Howard C Holmes also built the Powell Street cable car lines.  I took the photo on 04-October-2013. 

Little Brown Church -- September 27, 2013

This plaque, placed by E Clampus Vitus, stands in front of the Little Brown Church in Pacifica.  The church was built by the Presbyterians in 1910, to serve the area's growing population after the 1906 Earthquake and Fire.  It served as Pacifica's police station from 1983 to 2003.  Now the Pacifica Historical Society is raising funds to make it into a city museum.

Tim Lincecum beat the Dodgers last night, in what may have been his last start as a Giant.

Tonight I was happy to see Hunter Pence win the 2013 Willie McCovey Award. 

What Cheer House -- August 27, 2013

This plaque, at Leidsdorff and Sacramento, marks the site of the What Cheer House, a famous San Francisco tea-total hotel founded by Robert Woodward, who later created Woodward's Gardens.

What Cheer House later became a generic name in 19th Century California for hotels that did not serve or sell alcohol. 

http://cablecarguy.blogspot.com/2013/08/ghost-sign-22-august-22-2013.html

Firehouse #69 -- July 5, 2013

This plaque hangs outside old Engine 2 at 460 Bush Street, which was built in 1908 and used by the Fire Department until 1970. I took the photo on 29-March-2013.

http://cablecarguy.blogspot.com/2009/08/firehouse-22-august-3-2009.html

Propelled By Cable -- June 27, 2013

A plaque dedicated to Andrew Hallidie and the Clay Street Hill Railroad. It was moved to the lower terrace of Portsmouth Square when the Square was remodeled in 2001. I took the photo in April 2002.

Fort Gunnybags -- April 27, 2013

This plaque, on Sacramento near Davis, marks the site of Fort Gunnybags, a warehouse barricaded with sandbags, that served as headquarters of the Vigilance Committee of 1856.  James Casey and Charles Cora were hanged here on 22-May-1856.