Gold Dust Lounge Will Rise Again -- June 30, 2012

I recently reported the closing of the Gold Dust Lounge on Powell near Geary (http://cablecarguy.blogspot.com/2012/06/gold-dust-lounge-rip-june-4-2012.html).  Yesterday's Chronicle reported that the bar will open again in Fisherman's Wharf.  I took the photo today as we waited to photograph cable cars. 

Grim Reaper on Third -- June 29, 2012

Workers have been picketing on Third Street, protesting Blu Homes, which claims to use green methods and to respect the rights of workers, but which has been accused of various health and safety violations on its work sites.  Management has refused to recognize Carpenters Union Local 180, which has been trying to help the workers. 

Waterless Knox #14 -- June 28, 2012

From the 06-January-1907 San Francisco Call.  Golden Gate Avenue was San Francisco's original Auto Row. 

The latest addition to the Knox family of the air-cooled variety, the model H Knox waterless 25-30 horsepower automobile, has arrived at the sales rooms of the Mobile Carriage Company. It is one of the most pleasing cars of the 1907 models.  The power plant is under the hood, thoroughly and completely accessible, and the cylinders are cooled by the direct and patented Knox system of grooved pins.

The main points in the specifications are: Four cylinders, 4 3/8 x 4 3/4 inches; selective sliding gear transmission, shaft drive and bevel gear, three speeds forward and one reverse, 102-inch wheel
base, 50-inch tread, 32 inch by 4 tires, jump spark ignition; weight 2250 pounds.

The car will easily seat five persons and can develop a speed of forty-five miles per hour.

This is the. car that Vice President Wright of the Knox Company drove from Springfield. Mass. to New York, a distance of 600 miles, in nineteen hours and thirty-six minutes without a stop.  The performance was. exceedingly creditable when the condition of the Eastern roads at this time of the year is considered.

---

The Supreme court upheld most of the provisions of Obamacare. I was not confident that it was going to survive.

Model Yacht Regatta -- June 27, 2012

With the America's Cup race coming, many people are talking about yacht racing.  I used to like to go see the model boats at Spreckels Lake in Golden Gate Park.  The San Francisco Model Yacht Club was founded in 1898.  I assume that Brooklyn Basin is now the Alameda Estuary.  Brooklyn was an old name for Oakland and Alameda used to be a peninsula, not an island. 

From the 24-June-1895 San Francisco Call. William A Coulter did many maritime drawings for the newspaper. Click on the image to see a larger version.


The Giants beat the Dodgers today.  The teams have played each other since 1890 and this was the first time they have shut out the Dodgers in a three-game series. 

Red Devils Return to Pacifica #6 -- June 26, 2012

Pacifica is one of the two cities on the San Francisco peninsula that allow the sale of fireworks. The stands arrived this week.  I took the photo today at the booth near the Moose Lodge.

It's Hard Work Being a Cat #60 -- June 25, 2012

I took the photo on 23-April-2012.

Five Years - June 24, 2012

I launched this blog on 24-June-2007, after a false start on Geocities earlier that month. 1,353 entries later, I can say I've met many nice people and learned some interesting things.  A special thanks to those of you who have taken the time to comment. 

I took the opportunity to review the topics I have covered so far. I still see some personal interests that I have missed and will have to be sure to cover in the next year. I went back to older posts and retrofitted some of the labels to reflect my more recent practices.  I count 967 labels.


09/11 - 6
1000 - 1
1906 - 12
3-D - 1

Abbey Lincoln - 1
Abbott and Costello - 2
Abraham Lincoln - 9
AC Transit - 6
Aces - 3
Addams Family - 1
Admiral Daniel J Callaghan - 2
Admission Day - 2
Adolph Sutro - 2
Adolph Zukor - 1
Adrienne Ames - 1
Advent - 3
advertisement - 1
AEA - 1
aerial tramway - 1
Afghan War - 1
Al Christie - 1
Al Jennings - 1
Alan Turing - 1
Alaska - 13
Alaska Pacific Steamship Company - 1
Alcatraz - 2
ALCO - 1
Alexander Graham Bell - 2
Alexander Solzhenitsyn - 1
Alexis Smith - 1
Alfa Romeo - 1
Alice Guy-Blaché - 1
Alice Howell - 1
alley - 31
Ambrose Bierce - 2
American history - 1
Amos Rusie - 1
Amtrack - 2
Andrew Furuseth - 1
Angels Flight - 4
animation - 1
Anita Page - 1
Anne Cornwall - 1
anniversary - 4
apple - 3
April Fools' Day - 5
Arch Hoxsey - 2
architecture - 3
Ardenwood - 14
Argosy - 1
Arizona - 3
Armistice Day - 1
Art Clokey - 1
art deco - 2
Arthur Guy Empey - 1
Arthur Norris - 1
Ash Wednesday - 3
autogyro - 1
Automotive history - 44
Avenger - 1
aviation history - 62
Avitor Hermes Jr - 1
Ayala - 1

Barack Obama - 5
Barbara Kent - 2
Barbary Coast - 1
Barney Oldfield - 7
barnstorming - 1
barry bonds - 6
BART - 16
baseball - 100
baseball card - 1
Basque - 1
Bastille Day - 2
Batman - 6
Bay Books - 1
Bay Bridge - 11
Bay to Breakers - 1
Beach Chalet - 1
Bebe Daniels - 2
Ben Turpin - 1
Benicia - 1
Benjamin Franklin - 1
Benny Bufano - 15
Benny Goodman - 1
berlin wall - 1
Bert Williams - 1
Bessie Love - 1
Big Four - 2
Bill Clinton - 1
Bill Terry - 1
Bill Tilghman - 1
Bill's Place - 5
Billie Ritchie - 2
Billy Bevan - 1
Billy Dooley - 1
Billy Mitchell - 1
Bing Crosby - 1
Biograph - 2
Black Mask - 6
Blackhawk - 1
Blackhawk Auto Museum - 2
Blake Edwards - 1
Bleriot - 3
blimp - 3
Bliss and Faville - 1
blog-a-thon - 16
blogathon - 17
blood bank - 1
blues - 1
Bob Feller - 1
Bob Ferguson - 1
Bob Fitzsimmons - 1
Bobby Thomson - 2
Bobby Vernon - 1
book - 18
Booker T Washington - 1
bookstore - 1
boxing - 10
Boxing Day - 1
Bret Harte - 1
bricks - 2
bridge - 10
bridge unit - 1
British Columbia - 1
Broncho Billy - 1
Buck Jones - 1
Buck O'Neil - 1
Buddy Holly - 1
Buena Vista Winery - 1
Bunsen burner - 1
Burlington and Quincy - 1
buster keaton - 7
Buster Posey - 3

cable cars - 32
California Academy of Science - 1
california historical society - 7
California history - 1
California poppies - 1
California Tourist Guide and Handbook - 1
California Western Railroad - 3
calliope - 4
CalTrain - 1
Camanche - 1
Canada - 2
Cantinflas - 1
Caproni - 1
Captain America - 2
Captain Future - 1
Captain Marvel - 1
Carl Herz - 1
Carl Nolte - 3
Carole Lombard - 1
Carroll John Daly - 1
Carson City - 5
Carter B Smith - 1
Cartoon Art Museum - 3
Carville - 2
cat - 60
catching up - 4
Catholic Schools Week - 5
Central County Fire Department - 1
Central Pacific - 3
Charles Addams - 1
Charles Carter - 2
Charles Dickens - 1
Charlie Chaplin - 13
Chesapeake and Ohio - 1
Chessie - 1
Chester Conklin - 1
Chevrolet - 1
Chevy - 1
Chicago - 1
child labor - 1
China Clipper - 1
chinatown - 6
Chinese New Year - 6
Ching Ling Foo - 1
Christmas - 26
Christmas tree - 3
Christy Mathewson - 1
Chronicle - 10
Chutes - 2
Cinco de Mayo - 4
Cinematograph - 1
City of Paris - 2
civil rights - 3
Civil War - 12
Clara Bow - 2
Claude Choules - 1
Clement Street - 1
Cliff House - 9
Clover Milk - 1
Coast Artillery - 1
Coast Guard - 2
Coastside Fire Protection District - 3
Colleen Moore - 1
Colma - 3
Colorado River - 1
Columbus Day - 5
comic book - 15
comics - 10
communism - 1
Count Basie - 1
Coyle and Sharpe - 1
crab - 4
crane - 1
Crazy Crab - 1
Creature Features - 1
cruise - 11
CSRM - 11
curtiss - 7

D W Griffith - 1
D-Day - 1
Daly City - 1
Daniel Rasmussen - 1
DARPA Challenge - 1
Dashiell Hammett - 14
David Belasco - 1
David Putnam - 1
DCA - 1
deer - 1
Delage - 1
department store - 2
Devil's Slide - 2
Dimaggio - 2
dime novel - 1
Disney Family Museum - 1
Disney Museum - 1
Disneyland - 18
Doc Savage - 1
Doctor P. H. Van der Weyde - 48
Dodgers - 3
door - 23
Doris Lessing - 1
Douglas Tilden - 4
duck - 5
Duesenberg - 1
Duke Ellington - 2
DVD - 17
DW Griffith - 3
Dwight Eisenhower - 1

E Clampus Vitus - 2
E-M-F - 1
Earth Day - 1
Eartha Kitt - 1
earthquake - 18
East Bay Terminal - 21
Easter - 7
Eddie Colla - 2
Edgar Allan Poe - 1
Edward Kennedy - 1
Egypt - 2
El Granada - 3
election - 12
Elizabeth Taylor - 1
Ella Raines - 1
Emporium - 2
Ernst Udet - 1
escapology - 6
Essanay - 2
Esther Ralston - 1
ethics - 1
Etta James - 1
Eugene Ely - 2

F-4 Phantom - 1
Fairbanks - 2
Famous Monsters of Filmland - 1
Farley Granger - 1
Father Damien - 1
Fathers' Day - 6
Fay Wray - 1
FDR - 1
Felix the Cat - 1
ferry - 10
Ferry Building - 3
Film Fun - 2
film noir - 1
Fior d'Italia - 1
fire - 11
fire truck - 1
fireboat - 3
firehouse - 56
fireworks - 8
fishing - 3
Flag Day - 5
flying - 3
fog - 2
Fokker - 1
food - 1
football - 1
Ford - 4
Forrest J Ackerman - 1
Fort Bragg - 1
Fort Sumter - 1
Frances Lee - 1
Francis Ford Coppola - 1
Frank Buckles - 1
Frank Lloyd Wright - 1
Frank Merriwell - 1
Frank Norris - 2
Fred Karno - 2
Frederick H Meyer - 1
Frederick Marriott - 1
free speech - 1
Fresno - 1
Friday the 13th - 6
funicular - 3

G8 - 1
Gaumont - 2
Gaylord Perry - 4
geese - 1
Gelett Burgess - 3
Gene Autry - 1
George Foreman - 1
George M Cohan - 1
George Mestach - 1
George Washington - 4
Georges Méliès - 3
Gertrude Stein - 1
Ghirardelli Square - 1
ghost sign - 8
Giants - 116
Gil Evans - 1
Gil Scott-Heron - 1
Ginger Rogers - 1
Glenn Martin - 1
Gloria Swanson - 1
Gold Dust Lounge - 1
Gold Hill - 1
Gold Rush - 1
Golden Gate - 1
Golden Gate Bridge - 5
Golden Gate Express Railway - 4
Golden Gate National Recreation Area - 1
Golden Gate Park - 15
Golden Gate Theatre - 1
Golden State Limited - 1
Good Friday - 4
Good Shepherd - 53
graffitti - 2
Grand Prix - 1
Grauman's Chinese - 16
green energy - 1
Green Lama - 1
Groundhog Day - 3
Guest Blogger - 2
Guiseppe Garibaldi - 1
Gumby - 1
Gundlach Bundschu Winery - 1
Gunsmoke - 1
Gustave Whitehead - 1

H Bedford-Jones - 1
Half Moon Bay - 15
Hall Brothers - 1
Halloween - 10
Hank Aaron - 1
Hap Arnold - 1
Hardeen - 1
Harlem Hellfighters - 1
Harold Geissenheimer - 1
Harold Lloyd - 8
Harold Pinter - 1
Harry Faulkner Van der Weyden - 1
Harry Langdon - 3
Harry Lundeberg - 1
Harry Morgan - 1
Harry Potter - 1
Harvard (Steamer) - 5
hats - 3
Heald - 2
health care reform - 1
Hearst - 3
Henri Salmet - 1
Henry Casebolt - 1
Henry Van Der Weyde - 7
herald - 14
Herb Caen - 1
Herrmann the Great - 1
Hetch Hetchy - 1
Hiller Aviation Museum - 1
Hitchcock - 11
holiday - 83
Hollywood - 14
Hollywood Walk of Fame - 1
Holy Saturday - 1
homeless - 2
Horace Goldin - 1
horse car - 6
horsecar - 6
Houdini - 5
Howard Zinn - 1
Huckleberry Finn - 2
Hyde Street Pier - 3

Independence Day - 6
Indianapolis 500 - 2
Ingmar Bergman - 1
interurbans - 1
IOOF - 1
iPad - 1
ipod - 4
Irish Bank - 2
Italy - 5
Ivy Baldwin - 1
IWW - 3

Jack Benny - 1
Jack Dempsey - 1
Jack Duffy - 1
Jack Lalane - 1
Jack London - 2
Jacques Tati - 2
Jaime Escalante - 1
James Arness - 1
James C Mars - 2
James Garfield - 1
James J Corbett - 1
James Moody - 1
James Norman Hall - 1
Jane Russell - 1
Janis Paige - 1
Japantown - 1
Jason Schmidt - 1
Jasper Fforde - 1
jazz - 13
Jazzbeaux - 1
JD Salinger - 1
Jean Harlow - 2
Jeanette MacDonald - 1
Jejune Institute - 3
Jerry Flamm - 1
Jim Carroll - 1
Jimmy Adams - 2
Jimmy Durante - 1
Jimmy Parrott - 1
Joan Blondell - 1
Joan Leslie - 1
Joaquin Miller - 1
Joe - 4
Joe Choynski - 1
Joe Frazier - 2
Joe Louis - 1
Joe Palooka - 1
Joe Venuti - 1
Joe Zawinul - 1
John Barrymore - 1
John Brown - 1
John Bunny - 1
John C Frémont - 1
John Glenn - 1
John J Pershing - 2
John Lennon - 3
John McGraw - 1
John Moisant - 1
John Stephenson - 1
John Updike - 1
Johnny Griffin - 1
Johnny Otis - 1
Juan Marichal - 3
Juana Briones - 1
Judy Garland - 1
Julia Morgan - 1
June Haver - 1
juneau - 1
jury duty - 1

Kalem - 1
Kansas City Southern - 1
KARC - 2
KCBS - 3
KCSM - 1
KDFC - 1
Kellar - 2
Ketchikan - 1
Kevin Brownlow - 1
Key System - 6
Keystone - 5
KFRC - 3
Kim Jong-Il - 1
Kino - 1
KJAZ - 2
KLSI - 6
KNBR - 2
Knox - 18
KPIX - 1
KPO - 2
KRE - 2
KSFO - 4
KUSF - 2
KYA - 1

Labor Day - 5
Lafayette Escadrille - 2
LAMWD - 1
Land's End - 11
Lansing - 1
Larry Gelbart - 1
Larry Semon - 3
LASSCO - 5
Laurel and Hardy - 2
Lawrence Halprin - 1
Lawrence Strike - 1
Lefty O'Doul's - 2
Leila Hyams - 1
Lena Horne - 1
Lent - 2
Leon Errol - 1
Leonce Perret - 1
Leslie Nielsen - 1
Libya - 1
Life on Mars - 2
Lige Conley - 1
lighthouse - 1
Lilly Langtry - 1
Lincecum - 15
Lincoln Beachey - 1
Livy - 1
llama - 1
Lloyd Hamilton - 2
locks - 1
Locomobile - 1
locomotive - 8
Lon Chaney - 2
Los Angeles - 5
Lottas Fountain - 1
Louis Armstrong - 1
Louis Feuillade - 1
Louis Franchet d'Espèrey - 1
Louise Fazenda - 1
Louise M Davies - 1
Lu Watters - 2
Luciano Pavarotti - 1
Lucille Ball - 1
Luisa Tettrazini - 2
Lurline Baths - 1

Mabel Hite - 1
Mabel Normand - 7
Mack Sennett - 3
macworld - 1
Madge Evans - 1
magic - 20
Mal Sharpe - 1
Maltese Falcon - 2
Manufacturer and Builder Magazine - 21
Mardi Gras - 2
Mare Island - 2
Marie McDonald - 1
Marin - 1
Marion Davies - 1
Mark Twain - 3
Market Street Railway - 3
Marmon - 1
Martha Vickers - 2
Marvin Benard - 1
Marx Brothers - 2
Mary Anderson - 1
Mary Brian - 1
Mary Ellen Pleasant - 1
Mary Pickford - 2
Matson Navigation Company - 1
Matt Cain - 2
Matthew B Sellers - 1
Matty Alou - 1
Maurice Chevalier - 2
Maurice Sendak - 1
Max Roach - 1
Max Schmeling - 1
May Day - 3
Mazzetti's Bakery - 4
Memorial Day - 5
menko - 1
Mexico - 5
MG - 1
Michael Chabon - 1
Michael Jackson - 1
Michelangelo Antonioni - 1
Midwinter Fair - 2
Mike Donlin - 1
Mile Rock lighthouse - 1
mission - 1
MLK - 5
Monadnock - 1
monitor - 2
Mono Lake - 1
monorail - 4
Monte Collins - 1
Monte Irvin - 3
Monticello Steamship Company - 3
moon - 1
moon landing - 1
Moss Beach - 1
mothers' day - 5
Mount Tamalpais - 1
movies - 95
msr - 1
Muhammed Ali - 1
muni - 20
Musee Mecanique - 2
Museum of Flight - 1
music - 14
musicals - 1
mutoscope - 5

Nancy Carroll - 1
NASA - 3
National Train Day - 3
Navy - 9
Neal Burns - 2
Negro Leagues - 2
Nestor - 1
Nevada - 13
Nevada State Railroad Museum - 3
New Deal - 2
New Orleans - 3
new year - 9
New York Central - 1
New York to Paris Race - 1
New Zealand - 1
newspaper - 2
Nicholas J Vander Weyde - 1
Nick Carter - 1
Nick's - 2
nickname - 15
nitrate film - 5
Nonpareil Jack Dempsey - 1
Norma Talmadge - 1
Norman Corwin - 1
Norman Mailer - 1
Norman Rockwell - 1
North Beach - 2
North Coast County Fire Authority - 4
Northwestern Pacific - 10
Norton Buffalo - 1
Nuova Porziuncola - 1
Nut Tree - 3

O. Henry - 1
Oakland - 8
obsolete technology - 11
occupy movement - 5
Occupy Oakland - 1
Occupy SF - 7
Ocean Shore Railroad - 11
octopus - 1
Ogden Nash - 1
Okito - 1
Old Clam House - 1
Old Mint - 2
Old Sourdough - 1
Oliver Hardy - 1
Olympic Club - 2
olympics - 1
Once Upon a Time - 6
opera - 3
oracle - 8
Original Joe's - 1
Orlando Cepeda - 5
Ormer Locklear - 2
Oscar Peterson - 1
Osha - 1
otr - 8
Otto Messmer - 1
Overland Limited - 1
Owen Smith - 7

P H McCarthy - 2
P-38 Lightning - 1
P-52 Mustang - 1
P-80 Shooting Star - 1
Pacific Coast Steamship Company - 2
Pacific Navigation Company - 3
Pacifica - 85
Palace Hotel - 4
Palm Sunday - 3
Pancho Villa - 1
parade - 1
Paramount - 1
Parking Day - 3
parkmobile - 1
Parseval - 1
Patricia Neal - 1
Patrick McGoohan - 1
Patton - 2
Paul Revere - 1
Pearl Harbor Day - 4
Peggy Shannon - 2
Pentecost - 1
Pescadero - 2
pge - 2
Phantom Detective - 1
Phil Frank - 1
Phillips W Page - 1
phonoautograph - 1
photography - 5
photophone - 1
Photoplay - 1
Phyllis Haver - 2
Pier 39 - 2
Pike Place Market - 1
PIPA - 1
pirate - 1
playing tourist - 1
Playland-at-the-Beach - 3
Pluck and Luck - 1
podcast - 1
poetry - 1
Point Richmond - 1
Pony Express - 2
Port Costa - 1
Portola - 1
Powell Street Promenade - 2
PPIE - 10
Presidents' Day - 4
Presidio - 8
Prizmacolor - 1
pulp - 32
pumpkin - 2

Q-FM - 3

Race Williams - 1
racing car - 23
racism - 4
radio - 23
ragtime - 1
Railroad history - 93
Ralph DePalma - 1
Raoul Walsh - 1
Ravenswood Winery - 2
Ray Bradbury - 1
Raymond Chandler - 1
Red's Java House - 1
Regia Marina - 1
Reminiscences of an Active Life - 23
Reno - 7
restaurant - 20
Revolutionary War - 1
RFK - 1
Rialto Building - 1
Rich Aurilia - 1
Richard Dix - 1
Rincon Hill - 2
Roald Amundsen - 2
Robert Burns - 1
Robert Falcon Scott - 1
Robert Heller - 1
Robert Louis Stevenson - 1
Robert-Houdin - 1
Rock Island - 1
rock'n'roll - 2
Rockaway Beach - 3
Rod Beck - 1
Rogier van der Weyden - 2
Roman Missal - 1
Rome - 1
Ronald Reagan - 1
Roof Rides - 1
Roscoe Arbuckle - 3
Roy Rogers - 3
Rube Goldberg - 2
Ruth Hall - 1

Sacramento - 8
Sacramento Northern - 2
Sailors' Union of the Pacific - 2
Saint Francis of Assisi - 4
Saint Igantius - 2
Saint Joseph's Day - 5
Saint Monicas - 4
Saint Patrick's Day - 6
Saint Peter's Pacifica - 1
Saint Valentine's Day - 5
Sally Phipps - 1
Sam Spade - 5
samtrans - 20
San Bruno - 1
San Bruno Fire Department - 1
San Francisco Call - 2
San Francisco history - 245
San Francisco History Expo - 2
San Francisco International Auto Show - 5
San Francisco State University - 6
San Juan Bautista - 4
San Luis Obispo - 1
San Mateo County Fair - 1
San Rafael - 1
Santa Fe Railroad - 4
Santa Rosa - 2
Sarah Palin - 1
Schell-Vista Volunteer Fire Department - 1
sculpture - 18
Seabiscuit - 1
seagull - 1
Seals - 2
Seattle - 14
Secret Agent X - 1
See's - 1
Selig Polyscope - 2
serials - 5
Servais Le Roy - 1
Shadow - 3
Shakespeare - 2
Shawn Estes - 1
Sherlock Holmes - 2
ships - 36
sidewalk art - 2
Sidney Bechet - 1
Sidney Lumet - 1
Signor Blitz - 1
signs - 43
Silas Christofferson - 1
silent movies - 68
Skagway - 3
slapstick - 41
slavery - 1
SMART - 2
snake - 1
Snub Pollard - 2
Solidarity - 1
Sonoma - 7
SOPA - 1
Sopwith - 1
sound recording - 1
South Park - 2
South Pole - 1
Southern Pacific - 19
space shuttle - 2
Spamalot - 1
Spanish-American War - 3
Sparky Watts - 1
speaking - 4
Spectre - 1
Spider - 1
spring - 4
SPUR - 2
Spy Smasher - 1
Stan Laurel - 2
Standard Aircraft Corporation - 1
stanford - 9
Stanley Steamer - 1
State Fair - 1
statue - 19
Steve Jobs - 1
storm - 41
streamline moderne - 1
strike - 1
submarine - 1
Suicide Squad - 1
summer - 1
Sunny Jim Rolph - 1
Superman - 2
Sutro Baths - 4
Sydney Chaplin - 1

Tanforan - 6
tapeworm - 2
tax - 1
tcm - 2
tea baggers - 1
telephone - 2
Tennessee Williams - 1
Tennyson - 1
Terry Moore - 1
Thanksgiving - 5
The Pneumatic Rolling-Sphere Carrier Delusion - 6
The Prisoner - 1
theater - 4
Thelma Todd - 2
Thelonious Monk - 1
Theodore Roosevelt - 3
Thin Man - 1
Thomas Flyer - 3
Thomas H Ince - 1
Thomas Jefferson - 1
Thursday Next - 1
Timothy Pflueger - 3
Tippi Hedren - 1
Titanic - 5
Tito Falconi - 1
Tom Lantos - 1
Tom Mix - 3
Tommys Mexican Restaurant - 1
Tracy Arm Fjord - 1
train station - 49
transit - 61
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory - 1
triplane - 1
TST - 1
tsunami - 1
Turk Murphy - 1
Turner Classic Movies - 2

Ub Iwerks - 1
Underground Railroad - 1
union - 2
Union City - 1
Union Iron Works - 1
Union Labor Party - 1
Union Pacific - 2
Union Square - 3
United Railroads of San Francisco - 1
US Army Corps of Engineers - 1
US Open - 2
USRC Bear - 2
USRC Rush - 1
USS San Francisco - 2

Vallejo - 1
vandalism - 1
Vanderweyde - 60
vaudeville - 13
Vera Steadman - 1
Vernon Alley - 1
Vertigo - 2
Veterans Day - 5
Victor Hugo - 1
Victoria - 1
Vietnam War - 2
Vincent Price - 1
Virginia and Truckee - 8
Virginia City - 5
Vitagraph - 2
Václav Havel - 1

W. A. Coulter - 29
Wachovia - 1
walking tour - 9
Wall of Fame - 19
Walt Disney - 4
Walter Brookins - 1
Walter Rice - 1
Walter Wellman - 1
Wapama - 1
war - 6
War of 1812 - 1
Warner Brothers - 1
Warren Hellmann - 1
Watchmen - 1
water wars - 1
Wax Museum - 5
WC Fields - 3
wedding - 3
Wells Fargo - 6
Western Pacific - 2
Western Railway Museum - 3
westerns - 9
whales - 1
whaling - 1
what is this - 2
Whipple S Hall - 1
Whisperer (pulp) - 1
White Motor Car - 2
White Pass and Yukon - 2
Whiz Comics - 1
why - 10
Wicked - 1
William Manley Vander Weyde - 6
William Taft - 1
Willie Howard - 1
Willie Mays - 10
Willie McCovey - 7
Willis K Polk - 1
Willits - 1
windmill - 2
Winston Churchill - 1
Winton - 1
Wizard of Oz - 3
Woodward's Garden - 1
World Cup - 1
World Series 2010 - 7
Worst of Hollywood - 1
WPA - 2
wright - 2
WWI - 26
WWII - 23

yakyu - 2
Yale (Steamer) - 6
Yerba Buena Gardens - 12

Zeppelin - 2
Ziegfeld Follies - 4

Alan Turing 100 -- June 23, 2012

Mathematician and logician Alan Turing was born 100 years ago today in London.  He came up with many of the basic concepts of computer science and artificial intelligence.  His work as a codebreaker at Bletchley Park helped the right side win in World War II. He helped to develop devices that automated important steps of cracking the German Enigma cyphers.  These devices had many of the features of computers.  After the war, he collaborated on the design of an early electronic stored program computer.  He devised the Turing test, as a way to prove that an entity was intelligent.  Sadly, he fell afoul of laws against homosexuality and committed suicide after being treated shamefully.  

Ghost Sign #8 -- June 22, 2012

The E Jordan Brookes Company is still in business, but not in this building on Howard near Second.  The sign has been more visible since they tore down the ramps from the East Bay Terminal, but someone has stuck a big For Lease sign on top of it.  I took the photo on 15-August-2011.

Comic Book #13 -- June 21, 2012

I was impressed when DC brought back the Spectre, the ghost of murdered cop Jim Corrigan, in 1974. Michael Fleisher wrote the stories, Jim Aparo drew the art. The stories were very dark and emphasized the Spectre's spirit of vengeance.

The image is from the wonderful site CoverBrowser (http://www.coverbrowser.com/)

BART Rail Grinder -- June 20, 2012

I was sitting on the southbound BART train Monday when it stopped before Daly City station.  I was able to get a photo of one of BART's rail grinders.  It cruises around the system at night, grinding down corrugations in the rails caused by braking.

Pulp #32 -- June 19, 2012

The cover of the March, 1932 Aces features David Putnam, who served as a pilot for France in the Escadrille Lafayette and for the United States during World War One.He was shot down and killed on 12-September-1918.  He received a posthumous Distinguished Service Cross.

The cover comes from the wonderful site CoverBrowser: http://www.coverbrowser.com/

Nickname #15 -- June 18, 2012

Amos Rusie, the Hoosier Thunderbolt, was the hardest-throwing pitcher of the 19th Century.  He played most of his career for the New York Giants.  After he hit Hughie Jennings in the head with a pitch, Jennings was unconscious for four days.  This led baseball to move the pitcher's mound farther away from home plate, from 50 feet to 60 feet, six inches.  He is a member of the Hall of Fame.

Happy Fathers' Day #5 -- June 17, 2012

Happy Fathers' Day to all my fellow fathers. I miss my dad.

When I read the book To Kill a Mockingbird and then saw the movie, Atticus Finch reminded me of my father.  My dad rarely lectured about what was right or how to do things.  He mostly led by example.  His example showed me how to be honest and brave and to try to do the right thing.   I hope I have come close to setting a similar example as a father. 

The poster is from the wonderful site LucyWho (http://www.lucywho.com/).

US Open Shuttle Station -- June 16, 2012

We went by the Colma BART Station this morning and there was a long line of people waiting for a shuttle bus to the US Open.  Later, there were shuttle buses parked along Junipero Serra.  I took the photo on 11-June-2012 from the BART station garage, looking at the large white tent in the park and ride lot.

Black Hills Detour -- June 15, 2012

The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad, the Q, connected the Northern Pacific and Great Northern transcontinental railroads with Chicago. In this ad from the March, 1930 Photoplay Magazine, the Q encourages people on their way to or from Yellowstone Park to take a side trip to the Black Hills and see the Old West.

Happy Flag Day #5 -- June 14, 2012

Actress Joan Leslie poses with a flag.  I remember her best for High Sierra and Sergeant York.

Thank you for the photo to LucyWho (http://www.lucywho.com).

Door #23 -- June 13, 2012

The door of the Kohler and Chase Building at 26 O'Farrell.  Kohler and Chase was a pioneering music business, founded in San Francisco in 1850.  The building once held their store and their piano factory.

Matt Cain just threw the first perfect game in Giants franchise history.  The Giants also managed to score 10 runs against the Houston Astros.

Alley #31 -- June 12, 2012

Security Pacific Place must have had a different name before the building at the right was a branch of Security Pacific, before it was taken over by Bank of America.  It is currently a men's clothing store.

US Open Shuttle -- June 11, 2012

When I got to the Colma BART station this morning, I saw a sign pointing to the bridge to the park and ride lot.  I didn't see anyone heading to the US Open, but I saw lots of people coming back on the way home.  Note that the orange pieces of tape say "OUT OF SERVICE."  On my way home, I looked down from the parking garage and saw a big white tent in the park and ride area, and several buses.

Harvard Arrives From South -- June 10, 2012

The Harvard and the Yale were fast turbine steamers brought from the east coast by the Pacific Navigation Company to operate between San Francisco and San Pedro, the port of Los Angeles. They sailed the route from 1911 until World War One and from 1921 until 1931 (by the Los Angeles-San Francisco Steamship Company), when Harvard hit rocks near Point Arguello and sank. The effects of the Great Depression and competition from autos and railroads caused LASSCO to stop service with the Yale after 1936. Both ships carried troops to Europe during WWI and Yale served the Navy during WWII.

This advertisement, from the 08-September-1911 San Francisco Call describes Harvard's first arrival in San Francisco.  The postcard shows Harvard sailing out of the Golden Gate, past Mile Rock lighthouse. 

 Harvard Arrives From South

The Pacific navigation company's fast steamer Harvard, twin sister to the Yale, put in its first appearance yesterday after an 18 hour run from San Pedro.  Captain Jepsen, formerly with the Pacific Coast steamship company, is master of the Harvard. The Harvard is a duplicate of the Yale with all the features that make the other vessel attractive to the traveling public. The Harvard brought 80 passengers from San Pedro and sailed in the afternoon with about 100. This was a better showing than had been expected on account of the holidays.

In going to the dock the Harvard poked its nose into Jackson street wharf and carried away a freight apron. A barge moored at the end of the wharf was blamed for the accident. One of the sharp corners of the barge slightly damaged the Harvard's bow.  The Pacific navigation company has asked the chief wharfinger to have the berth used by the Harvard and Yale kept clear of obstructions in future.

The Harvard and Yale will contribute a regular service. There will be a sailing from this port every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday and from San Pedro every Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday

Jekyll and Hyde -- June 9, 2012

Henry Van Der Weyde was a son of Doctor Peter Henri Van Der Weyde. After service in the American Civil War, Henry emigrated to England, where he became a pioneer in taking photographs using artificial light.  Van Der Weyde took this photo of actor Richard Mansfield, the first person to play Robert Louis Stevenson's Doctor Jekyll and Mister Hyde on stage. 

Train Station #47 -- June 8, 2012

Schellville Station is the traditional junction between my favorite railroad, the Northwestern Pacific, and the outside world, originally the Southern Pacific and now the California Northwestern.  When I took this photo on 28-July-2011, the Northwestern Pacific had not resumed operations.  Now it is running and SMART is preparing a section for commuter operation. 

Carter, Boy Magician -- June 7, 2012

Charles Carter, a native of San Francisco, was one of the great American magicians of the early Twentieth century. He worked abroad for many years. His home in Sea Cliff still stands.

This ad is from the 01-December-1889 Pittsburg Dispatch.The Casino Museum, in the tradition of Barnum's American Museum in New York displayed freaks, oddities and occasional educational exhibits.  What do you suppose "HARRY HARTMAN'S HUMAN HOOF" could have been?  I can imagine Miss Lizzie Sturgeon's foot piano act.  The two headed baby was coming on December 23, just in time for Christmas.  Carter was billed as "Master Chas. Carter, Boy Magician" because he was about 15 years old. 

Ray Bradbury, RIP -- June 6, 2012

Ray Bradbury has died.  I'm not usually a science fiction fan, but he wrote science fiction that was very human-centered, and he wrote many stories that were not science fiction.  I first read Dandelion Wine while I was in grammar school and it made an impression on, especially the part about the trolley.  I think I head a series of  X Minus One or Dimension X adaptions of The Martian Chronicles before I read it.   He wanted to be a magician.  I went with my family to hear him speak at the Palace of Fine Arts Theater, but I was too young to remember much.

Firehouse #56 -- June 5, 2012

I voted for President Barack Obama in today's primary.  I'm worried about the new open primary system.  I can't imagine who is going to be running against Senator Feinstein.  There was a long list of mouth breathers and low brows. 

I took the photo of Station One today.  My polling place is in a former school. 

Gold Dust Lounge RIP -- June 4, 2012

Another San Francisco institution bit the dust last month, the Gold Dust Lounge on Powell near Geary.  I never went into the place, but I remember looking at the marquee when it featured old Lu Watters and Turk Murphy associates.  I took the photo on 11-April-2012.

Today during a rare Monday day game, the Giants completed a four game sweep of the Cubs.  We are creeping up on the Dodgers. 

1949 MG TC Roadster -- June 3, 2012

San Francisco's Academy of Art University has a fine collection of classic cars available for study by its design students. They shared the collection at the 2010 San Francisco International Auto Show. MG's first model introduced after World War II was the TC Midget.  It was popular in the US. DSCN6394. 

Mary Pickford and David Belasco -- June 2, 2012

www.lucywho.com

Library of Congress

This is my post for the Classic Movies – Mary Pickford Blogathon.  Check out Classic Movies for more great articles. 

Mary Pickford was America's greatest celebrity and best-paid woman.  David Belasco, theater director, producer and playwright helped her reach those heights.

Mary Pickford, born Gladys Smith in Toronto, was three when her drunken father abandoned his family.  To support herself and her  three children, Gladys' mother began to take in boarders.  One of her boarders got seven year old  Gladys a part in a production by a Toronto stock company.  Gladys quickly became an accomplished actress.

David Belasco, born in San Francisco, had worked in every aspect of the theatrical business and had become the greatest producer in America.  Gladys ducked out of a rehearsal for another show and somehow talked her way into an audition with Belasco.  He gave her a supporting role in his new production, The Warrens of Virginia, written by William C de Mille.  Belasco insisted that Gladys change her name to Mary Pickford.

This ad, from the 03-December-1907 New York Tribune, is for the opening of the play.

The Warrens of Virginia was a great success and Mary stayed during the Broadway run and subsequent tour.  Needing work after the play closed, she visited a movie studio, the American Biograph.  She met some success there, working with director DW Griffith.  Mary became popular, but Biograph did not publicize its actors by name.  In late 1910, seeking more money and publicity, she signed a contract with the Independent Motion Picture Company, IMP, which became the foundation of Universal.  Unhappy with the quality of IMP's product, Mary went back to the Biograph and Griffith.

Mary billed by name and popular sobriquet, Little Mary.  From the 14-May-1912 Bemidji Pioneer. 


In late 1912, David Belasco brought her back to the stage to play in A Good Little Devil.

The play was a great success.  Click on the ad from the 29-December-1912 Washington Herald to see Mary's name.

Miss Pickford and Ernest Truex Praised for Characterizations. 

The realism of David Belasco runs riot in the staging of "A Good Little Devil," seen at the New National Theater last night, and this, together with the amusing and at times poignantly moving scenes depicted and the excellence of the acting makes the offering one of the most remarkable of the season, even if "A Good Little Devil" is neither dramatic flesh, fish nor fowl.

In this French fairy play by the wife and son of Edmond Rostand, there are scenes and lines of true poetry and scenes also of low comedy which excite, correctly enough, the greatest amusement, although their inclusion prevents the "Good Little Devil" being as artistic and coherent a whole as "Peter Pan" and "The Bluebird."

Mechanical Devices Are True To Nature.

When the staging of a new play is by Belasco, it is certain to challenge interest. Obviously, in putting on the stage a tale in which fairies play a part, Mr. Belasco had opportunity to revel in new devices and to gratify fully his passion for microscopic imitation of nature. Nor has he been slow to seize that opportunity, perhaps conscious the while that the rats which climb up on the bedstead of the little boy in the attic, the cat, the squirrel, the friendly deer, and the devoted collie dog in the garden of the blind girl, together with a hundred other stage effects, and objects will please at the theater those for whom the most finished acting and the most delicate poetry are as invisible as was the whole physical world to the heroine of this particular play.

As for the acting -- "A Good Little Devil" contains in the cast some of our best actors. There is Ernest Lawford, the first Captain Hook In "Peter Pan," whom one enjoyed again as the bookworm in "Love Watches," and last year as the outcast In "Passers By," a play which unfortunately did not come here.

Then there is William Norris, whose stage career is one of the strangest in America. A dozen years ago one saw Norris playing Pepe in Boker's "Francesco, da Rimini" with Otis Skinner, and playing the malevolent jester who betrayed the lovers to the elder brother like an actor who should devote himself to nothing but the greatest roles.

Norris' Acting Of Beldame Good.

Since then one has seen Norris as the amusing comedian in a half dozen musical comedies, and now he appears acting an old woman, a beldame who abuses fearfully the "Good Little Devil," her grandson, so that the fairies come to console him in his rat-infested attic.

This, by the way, is one of the loveliest scenes the stage here has known for some time and is one of the highlights of the play. The miserable, unhappy boy, a believer in fairies, is visited by the radiant beings of another world who come to console and cherish this suffering mite of humanity.

Yet more interest attaches to the acting of Mary Pickford than in any other player on the stage. No such poignantly appealing figure has one seen in a long, long time than the blind little girl in her garden, waiting wistfully for her young lover, than this helpless child as characterized by Miss Pickford.

Moving Picture Actress Depicts Heroine Wonderfully.

Miss Pickford, as has been announced recently, is a recruit from the moving picture world. The moving picture studios will mourn her loss but it is the gain of the legitimate stage. Either Miss Pickford knew it herself or Belasco taught her, but I there was less suggestion of the overacting common to the moving picture play in her performance last evening than of any other player on the stage.

The other of the principals Is Ernest Truex, playing the title role. Truex, whose acting gained steadily in strength of appeal throughout the performance, portrayed his part so well that many went home believing him
just a little boy. 

"A Good Little Devil." in tabloid, tells of a boy persecuted by a miserly grandmother, a believer in witchcraft, who sent him away o a terrible school where boys are sometimes beaten to death. This "Good Little Devil" as he is called because he is both good and bad like most boys, is in love with a little blind girl who dwells in a garden.

The first act takes place in the grandmother's home, the main room and the attic above, both scenes showing at once. The second act is in the girl's garden. The third in the old house again, but years later. The boy now grown to manhood, has come back forgetful of his childish sweetheart and all else that was young and noble in his soul.

Meeting Of Boy and Man Develops Powerful Scene.

But his young self appears to him.  It is another actor who plays the grown-up character and the boy who appears as the youthful soul of the grown-up man of the world is the original player. This sceno is a powerful one as played.

Mr. Lawford plays an unsympathetic part and it was interesting to watch his audience being won over to like the Poet, something of an unworldly weakling, a character generally held up to ridicule on the stage and therefore not received in the beginning with much friendliness. Mr. Lawford is also the chorus of the play and he reads the prologue and the epilogue as but few could.
JULIA MURDOCK.
The Washington Times, December 31, 1912


Mary decided that she preferred acting in films, and signed a contract with Famous Players, the forebear of Paramount.

One of the movies that Mary made with Paramount was a production of A Good Little Devil.  Belasco appeared as himself. 

The Sky Monster -- June 1, 2012

Moving Picture World 02-May-1914

LZ 11, the Viktoria Luise, was a passenger-carrying Zeppelin operated by DELAG before World War One. She was requisitioned by the Germany Army during the war. The Imperator was an ocean liner operated by the Hamburg America Line (HAPAG). After the war, Cunard took her over as a war reparation and operated her as the RMS Berengaria. 
http://www.silentera.com says that this film was "Originally a German drama on Zeppelins and their possible use in war; reedited and retitled and released as The Sky Monster by The Universal Film Manufacturing Company, Incorporated [Universal Special] in 1914."

The article is  from the 30-May-1914 issues of Moving Picture World. 

The Sky Monster (Four Parts)

Walter Johnson, a New York millionaire, decides to aid his friend and incidentally reimburse himself and secure a large wager by flying from America to Europe and return in the given period of three days.

It seems that Johnson's friend, Mr Parker, is in love with a music hall star named Gerdie Belle, who has left America to appear in Europe.  Johnson bets his friend $100,000 that he will have the lady in question in American within three days from the time of his departure, and accordingly arranges his dirigible, Keppelin (Zeppelin- JT) Victoria Luise, for the flight across the Atlantic.  Johnson embarks, and after an uneventful flight, arrives in Berlin in 17 hours, where after considerable difficulty he finally locates Gerdie Belle in a moving picture studio in Berlin.  She suddenly leaves, however, for Russia, where she is to appear in a musical comedy, and there is nothing to do but for Johnson to follow her in his air craft.  He arrives in time for the opening performance, and takes Gerdie Belle into his confidence, but she refuses to be inveigled into the plot.  by means of a bottle of chloral, Johnson succeeds in carrying her off bodily and after an exciting chase though the wilds of Russia, he finally outdistances the Cossacks who are pursuing them, and takes her aboard his "Sky Monster."

The heroine recovers consciousness and finds herself a prisoner in Johnson's keeping, as the dirigible is now on its way towards New York. Far in the distance the continent is gradually disappearing from view and Gerdie Belle, realizing the folly of continuing to be cold toward her captor finally softens her heart toward his advances.

Everything points towards a successful arrival in America, but in his hurry, Johnson has forgotten to fill his tank with gasoline, and they find themselves stranded on the Atlantic, midway between America and Europe, without fuel.   Luck is again with him, however, for looking in the distance they see the "Imperator," queen of the seas, approaching.  They immediately get in wireless communication and tell her of their plight, and she comes to the rescue.  We see the gigantic sky monster hovering over the largest vessel afloat, and they take on a goodly supply of gasoline, and depart.  Later the "Victoria Luise" runs into the iceberg zone, and as the cold air causes her gas to lose its buoyancy, she settles on the ocean, in danger of being wrecked any minute.  Again the airship is on its way, making all haste toward the shores of the land of liberty.

About 10 o'clock on the third day, when the "Victoria Luise" is ploughing through space at 280 miles an hour, a spot appears on the horizon and by means of her searchlight she is enabled to pick up the small crafts on the shore front of the great Atlantic.  She is now approaching Barnegate, and turning her head northward, steers for New York at all possible haste, for seconds are now valuable.  They pass along the coast by Sandy Hook and arrive at Governor's Island with only a few minutes to spare.  We see the millionaire's club, with Mr Parker surrounded by his friends, looking at his watch and rubbing his hands with glee, because already feels sure he has won the wager.  But he is mistaken, because promptly at 12 the door opens and Johnson, who has now won the heart of his lady love, enters amid cheers.  Parker feels that even though he has lost money he at least has a chance to win the heart of Gerdie Belle, for little does he suspect that Johnson has already won his way into the famous beauty's heart.  There is nothing left but praise and a promise to attend the wedding of the first man to cross the Atlantic in three days and the world's famous beauty, Gerdie Belle. 

Moving Picture World 16-May-1914

Moving Picture World 23-May-1914

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