San Francisco in the 1930s

"Perhaps the finest single volume on these 47 square miles." San Francisco Chronicle "Stylish paperbacks" T Magazine - The New York Times "Reading both is like finding hidden treasures. The San Francisco edition is a must have for anyone interested in the city... The San Francisco and Los Angeles guidebooks offer both traditional tours of the city as well as historical writing more closely akin to poetry. These are books that people can read aloud to one another." Beyondchron "More than just a tool to help you find the nearest Presbyterian church or a convenient tennis court, the guides, part of the Depression-era Federal Writers Project, included thoughtful essays on history, life and culture in each destination, as well as blow-by-blow tours through city neighborhoods and other information that in many cases remains at least partially relevant (or interesting) today." New York Post "A useful book as well as an important historical volume." Foreword "A fascinating book." -- Robert Walch Salinas Californian

The Federal Writers Project (FWP) of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) not only provided jobs and income to writers during the Depression, it created for America an astounding series of detailed and richly evocative guides, recounting the stories and histories of the 48 states (plus Alaska Territory and Puerto Rico) and many of the country's major cities. David Kipen served for five years as Director of Literature at the National Endowment for the Arts, where he led the Big Read initiative, and for seven years as book editor and book critic of the San Francisco Chronicle. He is the author of The Schreiber Theory: A Radical Rewrite of American Film History and translator of Cervantes' The Dialogue of the Dogs.

List of Illustrations List of Maps The San Francisco Seven. By David Kipen Preface 1940 I. Gateway to the West The Bay and the Land The Opening of the Gate Earth and Water The Climate Wild Life A Frontier to Conquer Natives of the Country The White Men Came Yankee Invasion Emporium of a New World World Port Smokestacks Around the Bay Engineering Enterprise Golden Era Centers of Learning Argonauts of Letters Art and Artists Calendar of Annual Events II. "The City" GENERAL INFORMATION Hotel and Other Accommodations Restaurants Sports Churches SAN FRANCISCANS: I940 THE CITY's GROWTH The Village of Yerba Buena (I835-1848) Capital of the Gold Coast (I848-1856) Bonanza (I8S6-I875) Big City (I875-I906) Rising Phoenix (I906-I940) SAN FRANCISCANS AT WORK Wall Street of the West Labor's Thousands SOCIAL HERITAGE High Life and Low Life Before the Footlights Music Makers San Francisco Goes to Church Gentlemen of the Press III. Around the World in San Francisco CIVIC CENTER METROPOLITAN SCENE LANDMARKS OF THE OLD TOWN CHINATOWN LATIN QUARTER: TELEGRAPH HILL AND NORTH BEACH LORDS OF THE HILLTOPS EMBARCADERO SOUTH OF MARKET WESTERN ADDITION RIM OF THE GOLDEN GATE GOLDEN GATE PARK IV. Around the Bay THE HARBOR AND ITS ISLANDS The Farallones Alcatraz Angel Island Yerba Buena Treasure Island EAST BAY: CITIES AND BACK COUNTRY Oakland Berkeley Alameda East Bay Tour 1 East Bay Tour 2 NORTH BAY North Bay Tour DOWN THE PENINSULA Peninsula Tour SAN JOSE V. Appendices A CHRONOLOGY OF THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY REGION A SELECT READING LIST INDEX