Winter weather at the Wharf

I know, winter is still three weeks away, and anyway I took these pictures the last week of November. Also, the aftcast of the weather conditions when I took most of these pictures, (I wonder if I made that word up) was sunny although chilly, which is more in line with fall. After I took my pictures, real winter weather did slam in hard by the end of November. Anyway, when I was 15 I fell in love with San Francisco, and the first two places I came to know well were Chinatown and Fisherman’s Wharf. They were both places of adventure at that age. At Fisherman’s Wharf my buddies and I would sometimes sit by the Bay smoking cigarettes we’d swiped from our parents, and watch ships coming in and going out of the Bay, from and to faraway places we said we’d visit someday and haven’t yet. I sometimes still get that long-ago feeling walking around Fisherman’s Wharf that I did when I was 15.

Jefferson and Taylor Streets looking north, probably the most recognizable view of Fisherman’s Wharf and one of the most photographed intersections in the city: The vintage picture is from 1953. (San Francisco Pictures blog)

One block south of the previous picture on Taylor Street in 1956: Somebody didn’t take very good care of this old picture.

Looking southwest along Taylor Street from Jefferson in 1963: The Z backwards K Gallery is where the old Sea Captain’s Gift Shop used to be. Personally, I think Fisherman’s Wharf lost a little of its atmosphere when that gift shop went out of business. (San Francisco Pictures blog)

Pier 45, Shed B at Fisherman’s Wharf in 1932: Those baskets on the pier in my picture are crab nets being stored on Pier 45 until crab season opens.

“Yea, ho, little fish, don’t cry, don’t cry.”

The vintage picture reminds me of the 1937 movie ‘Captains Courageous’. The guy with the cap on the right could be Spencer Tracy and the kid could be Freddie Bartholomew, except they were on a bigger boat in the movie. (The Fisherman’s Wharf Merchants Association)

The Fisherman’s Wharf Boat Lagoon in 1955: Now, you see, here’s the way my mind works; the vintage picture doesn’t say anything about who the three gentlemen on the left were, but I see three plain clothes cops investigating a crime scene. It could have been. Somewhere underneath all those crab nets in my picture are a fleet of fishing boats. (Opensfhistory.org)

The end of Taylor Street north of Jefferson in the 1930s: I had a better line up with the old picture here on Taylor Street, but then a line of vintage cars past by and I took this picture. I like the two sea gulls on either side of the procession watching the vintage autos pass; a couple of car buffs. (Opensfhistory.org)

The best views from land in San Francisco of Alcatraz Island are from Fisherman’s Wharf, seen in both these pictures from the very end of Pier 45. The vintage picture was taken in 1935. Al Capone and “Machine Gun” Kelly were on the island when the old picture was taken. The ferryboat was leaving from the Hyde Street Pier for Berkeley. . (Opensfhistory.org)

Three blocks south of Fisherman’s Wharf is the cable car turnaround at Bay and Taylor Streets, seen in 1964. It used to take only one person to push the car off the turntable back then. (San Francisco Pictures blog)

Although there’s no geographical boundary I know of, the general rule is that the western side of Fisherman’s Wharf ends at the Hyde Street Pier. I wasn’t really going any further in this direction anyway. Still, I figured that I’d just shoot through the fence and tell people who worry about me that I ignored the sign.