The title is in reference to the pictures I took because they’re about as close to the locations of the vintage pictures as I could match. These are now and thens rather than then and nows because I took the pictures first, and then looked for vintage pictures afterwards that would come close to the locations of my photos. It’s kind of a private scavenger hunt I like to do sometimes, and it wouldn’t be possible to find reasonable facsimiles to match my pictures without opensfhistory.org. Last Sunday, about the only place in the Bay Area to get some relief from the warm weather was San Francisco, so I took another visit to Chinatown to take some pictures with my cellphone, and tried to match them up with vintage pictures when I got back to the office. (Thumbnail images)
I got off the Metro Central Subway at Washington Street, and turned into Ross Alley, seen in 1910 in the vintage picture.
Coming out of Ross Alley at Jackson Street, I took a picture looking east toward the Bay Bridge, barely visible in the 1960 photo.
I headed down Jackson Street, turned left at Grant Ave, and walked down to Broadway, passing the old Mandarin Theater Building, seen from the opposite side in 1934.
When you get to Broadway you’re leaving Chinatown, so I turned around and headed back south. I took a picture looking south at Grant Avenue and Jackson Street, and found a picture at the same intersection, but taken from the opposite side of Grant Avenue in 1960.
I cut back through Ross Alley, heading south this time. This might have been a perfect match up to the vintage picture taken inside Ross Alley, except that I was looking south and the photographer in 1890 was looking north.
I exited Ross Alley at Washington Street, and moved uphill a few yards to Old Chinatown Lane, seen in another picture from 1960.
Doubling back down to Grant Avenue, I proceeded south, and took one last photo looking east down California Street from Grant. There are many pictures at this intersection from opensfhistoey.org, but this vintage picture, taken after the 1906 Earthquake and Fire in 1906, was the closest to where I was standing.
