18th and Dolores Streets, across the street from Dolores Park, in the 1950’s: They’re painting a mural on that building now! Well, no matter how artistic it will be, it won’t look as nice as, “SANDWICHES, MILK SHAKES, HOT DOGS, HAMBURGERS, ICE CREAM, and Coca Cola”. (SF Images)
Powell Street, looks like the mid 1960’s: The tall building in the center of both pictures is the Sir Francis Drake Hotel. For decades its Starlight Room at the top rivaled the Top of the Mark. Many people, including Herb Caen, preferred it. Then for some stupid reason, they allowed two enormous and ugly buildings to go up blocking its north and east view leaving it with, basically, just a view of Union Square. What a shame! (vintage everyday)
California Street at Powell on Nob Hill: Sometimes it works out just right! (vintage everyday)
I never get tired of the magic of Chinatown. I’ll bet I’ve posted more pictures on my blog from here than any other spot in San Francisco. I don’t have much patience for crowds anymore, but the crowds in Chinatown never seem to bother me! I’m not sure why that is. (vintage everyday)
“They’re creepy and they’re kooky, mysterious and spooky.”
Actually, this was Mark Hopkins mansion on the corner of California and Mason Streets not the Addams Family house. Burned down in the 1906 Earthquake and Fire, it’s now the site of the Mark Hopkins Hotel. (San Francisco History Center)
“Rome wasn’t built in a day” but it might not have taken as long as Grace Cathedral on Nob Hill did to build. Started in 1928, the church wasn’t completed until 1964. Still, the wait was worth it, it’s one of the most beautiful churches in San Francisco. In the vintage picture taken from the Top of the Mark circa 1960 it still wasn’t finished. Click on the link below if you want to explore Nob Hill further.
https://sfinfilm.com/?s=nob+hill
The Road Not Taken, I mean, taken before the road. (SF Images)
San Francisco Film Locations Then & Now 