The Maritime Museum at Aquatic Park with Ghirardelli Square in the background in 1939: The old and now closed Art Deco restroom and snack bar is on the right. (opensfhistory.org)
The WPA built Maritime Museum opened in 1936 as a casino. Here it’s seen in a picture from 1955. (opensfhistory.org)
The steps behind the Maritime Museum with the Hyde Street Pier in the background in 1972: (opensfhistory.org)
Hyde and Beach Streets in 1971: The Buena Vista Café sign can be partially seen on the right in both photos. (opensfhistory.org)
As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, in 1939 my 17 year old mother took a train from Grand Forks North Dakota to spend the summer with her cousin Frances. Here they are swimming in the Bay behind the Maritime Museum that summer. My mom is the teenager on the left, She also took a picture of “The Rock” that day. There were still some pretty rough characters out on Alcatraz at that time, including Alvin Karpis from “Ma” Barker’s gang, and “Machine Gun” Kelly.
San Francisco Film Locations Then & Now 