Steamed Crabs on Fisherman's Wharf, S.F.

Addressed to "Lois & Gil Yorba, 110-Morton Ave., Sierra Madre, Cal." This is the second postcard I have, sent to the Yorba family during World War 2. (Navigate back one to see the other.) The great depression and the war were great periods of internal migration in American history. The Yorba family had either family or friends who, at least, got to San Francisco and New York City. If they were like most Americans they knew people who spent time at a military training camp in some other part of the country, working at a war plant far from home, or overseas in Europe or the South Pacific. My father was born in 1919, dropped out of high school in the ninth grade because of the depression. He and his father ended up living in a dug out. (They dug out a flat spot on a hill side, pounded in some planking as a roof, shored it all up, and had an old rug for a door.) Then he ended up a homeless teenager, spending time with both the CCC and WPA. Then it was into the peace time army, then a few months after returning to civilian life, drafted into the war time army. As a cryptographer he never saw combat. but he did live in Iceland, England, France and then Germany. He thought that that was a good thing, and if it hadn't been for the depression and the war, he may have never got further than a few hundred miles from his small, home town.

"One of the principal industries of San Francisco is fishing, and centers around this point. From Fisherman's Wharf the fishing boats leave each morning to make their catches in shell fish and other sea foods. Here one may partake of the freshly caught ocean delicacies in one of the many outdoor stands or in the fine restaurants adjacent." Post marked, "SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF MAY 31 9:30 PM 1944" And the message, "Hello, We are simply eating ourselves in to a stupor but surely enjoying it. Going dancing at the Mark tonite. C you this weekend. Mary & Steve." And written in a different hand with a different ink, 'STAN HAS A NEW CADILLAC!" Of course since the auto industry had been turned over to war work, Stan had a used Cadillac new to him.

Cable Cars of 1939

Postmarked, "SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF. SEP. 29, 3:30 PM 1939" Addressed to "Miss Ruth Cain, 201 S. Wright St., Champaign, Ill." Message, "Hello every body, How is everything in Champaign and surrounding territory? I've been up here for a convention. Here another week then back to Los Angeles. You would love these funny little cable cars. Pretty hills here to climb. Hope all are well. Love, Fairmont Hotel, San Fransisco, Calif." Another Cain family postcard to follow.

Old California 1

I picked up this small collection of California snapshots from an on-line estate sale. There are 33 images in the group, which I will be posting as three setts of 11. The photographer's life seems to have been centered around the bay area, both San Francisco and Oakland, and the Los Angeles area, for the first ten years or so of the twentieth century. The photo of the tower is easily recognizable as the ferry building in downtown San Francisco. It's still there and still in use. The Lyric Theater sign isn't much use in identifying a location. Lyric Theater was just too common a name for early music halls and Vaudeville theaters. The mansion on the hill photo is labeled, "Home on hill above Ocean at Santa Monica." For those who don't know California, Santa Monica is right next to Los Angeles. The house looks familiar to me, and the next time I'm in Santa Monica, I'll see if I can find it. Pacific palisades, I would think. The football statue from the Berkley Campus is printed on postcard stock, and while it could be a commercially produced card, the lack of patent and copyright info on the back makes me think it might have been printed in a home darkroom. The baby carriage photo is labeled, "Betty at 241 E-31 ST, Los Angeles." The ostrich pictures could have been shot at any of the farms in California that raised exotics for meat, and hides, but it looks like the sight of the commercial ostrich farm in South Pasadena. There is an apartment building on the sight now. The two children photo has a difficult to make out embossing, but under a magnifying glass it looks like, "Mushet Los Angeles." The two Asian gentlemen image has Chinese letters down the left margin, and in English, "Heap Good." And my favorite from this group; the Shriner's photo. California has always been a state that puts a value on boosterism. It's our real estate based economy, I think.

Emma Alexander

No, I don't know the name of the woman in these snapshots. When I found this small group of photos of the same lady over the years, I was most interested in the image of her in the blue jeans and bikini top, and the earliest of the collection, the photo of her leaning on a ship's rail. The ship picture is labeled "S.S. Emma Alexander" and that gave me a starting point to do some research. The S.S. Emma Alexander was built by the New York Ship Building Corporation for The Pacific Coast Steamship Company. The ship's keel was laid down on August 31, 1912 and was launched on May 17, 1913. Originally named the Congress, the ship was damaged in a fire off the Oregon coast in 1916, and then repaired and sold in 1918 to the China Mail Company for use on the San Francisco to Hong Kong route. The Congress was renamed The Nanking. In 1923, the ship was sold to The Admiral Line, renamed the Emma Alexander, and 1n 1924, was returned to service on the Pacific coast routes from San Diego, California, to the bay area, to Victoria, British Columbia, Seattle and Tacoma, Washington, and Portland, Oregon. The ship went out of service in 1936, and in 1941 was sold to the British Ministry of War Transport Service, survived World war 2, only to be scuttled in the mid-Atlantic in 1946 with a load of gas bombs in her hold. So, we can date the first photo from no earlier than 1924, and no later than 1936. Based on the clothing, closer to 1924. Researching old photos can lead into some interesting directions. When I entered S.S. Emma Alexander into the search engine, all I was hoping for was a date range on the photo, but I also found some history on the coastal liners. The Admiral Line employed white crews, but like the Pullman Railroad Car Company, they employed black stewards. Go to www.nps.gov/safr/historyculture/thomasfleming.htm for an article about Thomas Fleming, the future founder of the San Francisco Sun-Reporter, an important black newspaper, who, as an 18 year old, fresh out of Chico High School, was a steward on the Emma Alexander. It's possible that Mr. Flemming served breakfast to this lady. The only other photo with any written information is the photo of her standing in front of the large house, labeled "Monterey, Calif." The date range on these photos look to be from the mid-twenties to the late forties, early fifties.

True Found Photography

This should be the last post for the next three or four days, which makes it the last for 2010, so I thought I'd end up with something more symbolic than visually interesting. This summer, June and July, I worked for the Census Bureau. In one of the older, run down apartment buildings I visited, I found these five snapshots. They were in the garbage that had been removed from a vacated unit. Most of my found photographs are found in thrift shops, antique malls, and EBay, but finding something that has been thrown out or left behind, well that doesn't happen often. I often wonder why people discard their old family photographs. These all have a printers stamp dated, "AUG 60," and 50 years isn't all that old. It's quite probable that the people in these photos are all still alive. Did the person who left these behind, after saving them for half a century, just give up on their memories of the past?

To Miss Nellie Baker of Clinton, Maine From California

What I'd do to see the letter that accompanied these photos, when mailed, from the San Francisco Bay area to Clinton, Maine. All we know for sure is that someone mailed these photos from somewhere in California on June 23, 1908, that it was then relayed from the San Francisco post office on June 28, 1908, and arrived at Clinton, Maine on July 4, 1908. (TheClinton post mark is on the back of the envelope.) This is where the fun comes in from collecting old photos. While we can't know things for sure, we can speculate, logically. There are two probable scenarios here. The first is that Nellie Baker's friend was on a trip to California. The second, and more likely, is that her friend moved to the bay area. Are the photos of the school house, children, and library work places for Nellie's friend, or is she ( I'd bet money that we are dealing with a woman.) trying to brag to her friend that in California, we've got better schools, libraries, churches, and houses than you do, back home, in Clinton. The picture of the men in the boat, leads me to think that this family didn't live in San Francisco, but the head of the house commuted, by water, to the city. East bay, maybe Oakland, or perhaps from Marin? I think there is a good chance that the church and possibly the old school house are still standing, so if anyone out there recognizes them, please leave a comment.

The Persian Room

Like a lot of people, I'm somewhat nostalgic for a world I'm a bit too young to have experienced. When I was born in the 1950's, big bands were dying, and jazz clubs were just staring to be replaced with folk and rock venues. Written on the inside front cover, "Just like old times-being together! If only we were sober!! Alice." "Its a long while between drinks! Ed." "Wish New York was always as Frisco is tonight. Head." Zingy-How about a reunion in L.A. Come on out-the water is fine! Alice." I'm guessing Zingy must be the Doris whose name is written on the front corner and can be seen in the scanned image. Written on the matt around the photo, "Frisco 4-2-44." It's always nice to have a date, and to have the day, month and year is quite rare. Printed on the back cover beneath a war bonds ad, "For additional prints write to Hollywood Nite Club Photos. PICTURES ARE $1.25 EACH. PRICE INCLUDES TAX AND MAILING CHARGES. Be certain to mention SIR FRANCIS DRAKE, this number 16 and date APR 2, 1944. 6304 Riley Way, Carthay Circle Theatre Bldg., Los Angeles, Calif. WAlnut 9880." Of course, The Hotel Sir Francis Drake wasn't in Los Angeles, but San Francisco, and in fact, unlike many of the night club souvenir photos I post, The Sir Francis drake is still there, on Union Square in downtown. The Persian Room, though has closed. A quote from S.F. columnist Herb Caen, who referred to the Persian Room as the snake pit. "You never heard such hissing or saw such writhing as in the Persian Room." I've got a number of these night club souvenir photos in the collection. Go to the labels section at the bottom of this post and click on night clubs to pull up some others.

Monaco Theatre Restaurant 1947

Another souvenir photo folder from the age of night club floor shows, dining and dancing. I've done an internet search for the Monaco, and couldn't find anything specific. The date written on the front of the folder, Feb. 6, 1947 puts this image in the immediate post war years that was the beginning of the end for this type of club. Printed on the inside front cover, "When in Los Angeles--Visit the Riviera 845 North Broadway" On the back cover, ""FOR ADDITIONAL PICTURES WRITE WALLACE-ZORN PHOTOS 935 MARKET STREET, ROOM 203, SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF. PHOTOGRAPHS ARE $1.25 EACH, TAX AND MAILING INCLUDED PLEASE MENTION THE MONACO DATE AND NUMBER ON BACK OF PICTURE AND WHETHER GROUP OR INDIVIDUAL PHOTO IS DESIRED"

For another photo folder, souvenir picture go to the archives for June 15, 09. Click on Old Heidelberg.