and asked me about some San Francisco history. Thus it seems appropriate to publish some of the lesser known historical tidbits about SF that I've been meaning to resend out for awhile. Hope you enjoy & learn about SF, or use this in a drinking game/trivia night, etc. Credits to Stacey Irvine - an amazing and curious person - from
, of the Dive Bar Club fame.
| The
Questions |
Answers |
| Why
was Lawrence Ferlinghetti arrested in 1956 on obscenity charges? |
He published Alan Ginsburg's Howl |
| Why
was Abe Warner famous for his Cobweb Palace at Meig's Wharf? |
He refused to do anything to hurt a spider,
including sweeping away cobwebs |
| Why
is San Francisco Sourdough unique, and can't be made elsewhere? |
The yeast that gives it that unique San Francisco
flavor won't grow anywhere else |
| Why
is it said that Colma has more dead people than live ones? |
That's where all the cemeteries are |
| Why
did the ship, Asia, carry 321 embalmed bodies of dead Chinese from San
Francisco to Hong Kong in 1858? |
They wanted to be buried in China, not the US |
| Why
did Morton Street become Maiden Lane after everything burned down in the 1906
fire? |
Changing the name was supposed to change the
primary line of business practiced on Maiden Lane (prostitution) |
| Who
wrote this? "I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness,
starving hysterical naked, dragging themselves through the negro streets at
dawn looking for an angry fixÖ" |
Allen Ginsberg, "Howl" |
| Who
wrote Tales of the City? |
Armistead Maupin |
| Who
wrote "The Devil's Dictionary" & lived in the old Russ Hotel in
San Francisco? |
Ambrose Bierce |
| Who
were/are The Diggers? |
1960s street theatre/anarchist guerilla theatre
group |
| Who
were the Big 4 Railroad Barons? |
Leland Stanford, Mark Hopkins, Charles Crocker and
Collis P. Huntington |
| Who
was the first settler in North Beach? |
Juana Briones in 1836 |
| Who
was the first president of the Sierra Club (founded in San Francisco)? |
John Muir |
| Who
was the first Postmaster General in San Francisco? |
John White Geary |
| Who
was the Dowager Widow of the Emperor Norton, Empress of San Francisco and
Protectress of Mexico? |
JosÈ Saria, first openly gay candidate for City
office (1961) |
| Who
was Sister Boom Boom and what was her profession (as listed on election
documents) |
Mayor candidate who listed her profession as
"Nun of the Above" |
| Who
was San Francisco's first professional masochist? |
Oofty Goofty who allowed people to punch him for
5cents & slam him in the butt with a baseball bat for a quarter. |
| Who
was Sally Stanford? |
Famous San Francisco Madam |
| Who
was Julia Morgan? |
San Francisco architect who designed Hearst Castle
(among other things) |
| Who
was famous for doing business at Waverly Place? |
Ah Toy & Belle Cora, two of San Francisco's
most famous madams |
| Who
suggested that Lincoln marry Queen Victoria in order to facilitate US/Great
Britain relations? |
Emperor Norton. Lincoln's secretary cabled a
response saying that Lincoln would consider the suggestion. |
| Who
started Del Monte & where did he do it? |
Genoese Marco J. Fontana at the Cannery |
| Who
said "I'd rather be an old man's darling than a young man's slave?" |
Big Alma, who modeled for the risquÈ statue in
Union Square |
| Who
runs the Sts. Peter & Paul Church? |
Salesian Order of St. John Bosco, the patron saint
of youth |
| Who
ran a hot potato stand at Pier 39? |
Dan White |
| Who
paid Emperor Norton's rent? |
The local Masonic lodge |
| Who
owns City Lights Bookstore? |
Lawrence Ferlinghetti |
| Who
made a vow to erect one statue with a water fountain for every 100 saloons in
San Francisco? |
Henry Cogswell, who made his money installing gold
crowns on teeth of miners who wanted to show off their Gold Rush fortunes |
| Who
led a demonstration of 600 people across Golden Gate Bridge to call attention
to the need for suicide barriers on the bridge? |
Jim Jones, who later led the largest mass suicide
of modern times |
| Who
launched the Gold Rush by running through Portsmouth Square and announcing
"Thar's Gold in them thar hills!" |
Samuel Brannan |
| Who
killed Artie Mitchell (of the Mitchell Brother's O'Farrell Theater)? |
His brother, Jim Mitchell |
| Who
is the family photographer to San Francisco's fetish community? |
Charles Gatewood |
| Who
is San Francisco named after? |
St. Francis of Assissi |
| Who
is Lawrence Ferlinghetti? |
Owner of City Lights bookstore |
| Who
is Jack Fertig more commonly known as? |
Sister Boom Boom |
| Who
invented the cable car system? |
Andrew Hallidie |
| Who
haunts the Moss Beach Distillery? |
Virginia Rappe, actress supposedly raped with a
bottle by Fatty Arbuckle. She bled to death. |
| Who
got Samuel Brannan's money? |
His wife, after the divorce. Sam died penniless. |
| Who
got himself stuck in the rigging of the Balclutha? |
Jonathan Winters |
| Who
founded the Bank of America? |
Amadeo Peter Giannini |
| Who
founded COYOTE (Call Off Your Old Tired Ethics) a prostitute's rights
organization |
Margo St. James |
| Who
employed Sara Jane Moore (who fired two shots at President Ford? In 1975?) |
FBI |
| Who
died when the piano at the Condor Club smashed an amorous couple against the
ceiling? |
The bouncer (the girl survived) |
| Who
did Lotta Crabtree (of Lotta's Fountain fame) marry? |
No one |
| Who
cursed Fox Plaza? |
Anton Le Vey |
| Who
created Zippy the Pinhead? |
San Franciscan, Bill Griffith |
| Which
pier does the ferry thing to Alcatraz? |
Pier 41 |
| Which
church was featured in Cecil DeMille's movie, The Ten Commandments? |
Sts. Peter & Paul Church across from Washington
Square |
| Which
Church has the inscription "Son, Observe the time and fly from
Evil" |
St. Mary's Cathedral, Grant & California |
| Which
bank did General William Tecumseh Sherman build? |
Bank of Lucas, Turner & Company, 800-804
Montgomery |
| Where
were three cases of Gold Rush era champagne found in 1976? |
In the ship's hold of the Niantic, a ship abandoned
for the Gold Rush |
| Where
was the People's Temple (Jim Jones, minister)? |
1859 Geary between Fillmore & Steiner |
| Where
was the first structure of Yerba Buena village? |
Clay & Grant, a tent (later an adobe) built by
English sailor William Richardson |
| Where
was the first San Francisco City Hall? |
Jenny Lind theatre, off Portsmouth Square |
| Where
was Patty Hearst held during most of her abduction? |
1827 Golden Gate #6, between Baker & Broderick |
| Where
was Gibbath Olum Cemetery a Jewish cemetery? |
Church & Dolores, between 19th & 20th |
| Where
was gangster Babyface Nelson apprehended? |
The ladies' room of the San Francisco Brewing
Company |
| Where
was Emperor Norton's Imperial Palace? |
Empire Park, between 650 & 632 Commercial St. |
| Where
was Butcher town? |
3rd & EvansÖthe name came from the many
slaughterhouses in the area |
| Where
was Ann Rice's vampire interviewed? |
503 Divisidero @ Fell |
| Where
was "Murderer's Corner" named for the large number of murders at
that location? |
Jackson & Kearney |
| Where
is/was the first Roman Catholic cathedral on the Pacific Coast? |
St. Mary's Cathedral, 600 California @ Grant Ave |
| Where
is William Leidesdorf buried? |
Under the floor of the sanctuary in Mission Dolores |
| Where
is Washerwoman's Lagoon? |
Cow Hollow little lake located in the area roughly
bounded by Franklin, Octavia, Filbert and Lombard Streets |
| Where
is the San Francisco City Tree (a 100 foot tall Monterey Cypress)? |
In front of McLaren Lodge in Golden Gate Park |
| Where
is the oldest continuously operating farmer's market in the state of
California? |
Almaney, in it's 55th year at it's present
location, 59th year since it started |
| Where
is the Museum of Money? |
Basement of the Bank of California, 400 California
St. |
| Where
is the Grateful Dead house? |
710 Ashbury @ Waller |
| Where
is the first commercial dynamite factory in the United States |
Glen Canyon Park, State Historical Landmark 1002 |
| Where
is Powell Street? |
Downtown by the cable car turnaround & also in
the Presidio (yes, there are two of them) |
| Where
is Geek Street? |
Any map published by Carto Graphics |
| Where
is a steel & granite sculpture of Sun Yat-sen? |
St. Mary's Park, bounded by Pine, California &
Quincy |
| Where
is a cemetery in San Francisco? |
Mission Dolores, San Francisco Columbarium, San
Francisco National Cemetery (Presidio), Presidio Pet Cemetery |
| Where
does Zegnatronic Frank Chu live? |
Oakland |
| Where
does Beach Blanket Babylon play? |
Club Fugazi on Green Street |
| Where
do San Francisco's homeless get private rooms with room service, TVs &
aquariums? |
Maddie's Pet Adoption Center @ the SFPCA |
| Where
do bike messengers hang out in the Financial District? |
The Wall at Sansome & Sutter |
| Where
did the term 'Hatchet Men' come from? |
Name given to enforcers for Chinatown tongs |
| Where
did the Mud People wander (covered in nothing but mud & talking only in
grunts)? |
Financial District |
| Where
did the first legal execution in San Francisco take place? |
Russian Hill, Jose Forni in 1852 |
| Where
did Ronald Reagan work during WWII? |
Building 201, Fort Mason |
| Where
did real estate appreciate such that one lot sold for $16.50 in 1847, then
$6k in early 1848 & later again that same year for $45k? |
Adjacent to Portsmouth Square |
| Where
did Philo T. Farnsworth (inventor of television) go to college? |
One semester at Brigham Young University |
| Where
did most of the Chinese immigrants come from? |
Guangdong province |
| Where
did Miles Archer die? (first murder of the Maltese Falcon) |
Burritt St, SW of Stockton & Bush |
| Where
did Karen Finley (performance artist) get her start? |
Dancing at the Condor Club |
| Where
did Joe DiMaggio grow up? |
North Beach |
| Where
did Jim Jones & Rosalyn Carter have tea together? |
Stanford Court Hotel, 905 California |
| Where
did Janis Joplin live in San Francisco? |
112 Lyon Street, between Page & Oak |
| Where
did Jack Dempsey once work at a bouncer? |
San Francisco Brewing Company |
| Where
did Emperor Norton die? |
California & DuPont/Grant, across from St.
Mary's Church |
| Where
can you visit a WWII submarine in San Francisco? |
The USS Pampanito is at Pier 45 |
| Where
can you order an x-rated cake? |
The Cake Gallery, 9th & Folsom |
| Where
can you hear live opera for the price of a cup of coffee? |
Saturdays at CafÈ Trieste |
| Where
can you find wild parrots in San Francisco? |
Telegraph Hill |
| Where
can you find a whale penis bone in San Francisco? |
Above the fireplace at the Merchant's Exchange club
(465 Commercial St.) |
| Where
can you bowl and go ice skating in San Francisco today? |
Yerba Buena, by Moscone |
| Where
can a herd of real, live, buffalo be found in San Francisco? |
Golden Gate Park |
| Where
are two giant crosses in San Francisco - one on City property? |
Mt. Davidson & the Prayer book Cross in Golden
Gate Park |
| Where
are the tunnels underneath Chinatown? |
They didn't exist. |
| Where
are Charles (notorious gambler) and Belle (high priced Madam) Cora buried? |
Mission Dolores Cemetery |
| When
was the Chinatown Gate (Grant Ave @ Bush) built? |
1970 |
| When
was the American flag first raised over San Francisco & by whom? |
Captain John B. Montgomery in 1846, arriving from
the USS Portsmouth |
| When
was the 1906 earthquake? |
5:12AM, April 18 |
| When
was Mission Dolores founded? |
1776 |
| When
the ship Euphemia was abandoned, what did it become? (ship was abandoned when
the sailors abandoned it for the gold fields) |
A prison & a "receptacle for the
insane" |
| When
did topless dancing start in San Francisco? |
June 19, 1964 @ the Condor Club |
| When
did the Old Mint quit minting money? |
1932 |
| When
did the Loma Prieta quake hit? |
5:04 P.M., Tuesday, October 17, 1989 |
| When
did the Golden Gate Bridge open? |
13662 |
| When
did the first person jump from Golden Gate Bridge? (first suicide) |
August 7, 1937, Harold Wobber |
| When
did the first Europeans sail through the Golden Gate? |
August, 1775 |
| When
did the cows get kicked out of Cow Hollow? |
Board of Health made a decree in 1891 |
| When
did the Bay Bridge open? |
13466 |
| When
did Emperor Norton proclaim himself Emperor of the United States? |
1859 |
| When
and where does the Fire Dept. give out free Blood Mary's & Screwdrivers? |
5am-ish at Lotta's Fountain on April 18 |
| What's
'wrong' with the San Francisco Art Institute bell tower? |
It's haunted |
| What
were Carol Doda's measurements? |
44-22-36 |
| What
was the population of Yerba Buena in 1846? |
400 |
| What
was the population of San Francisco in 1848? At the end of 1849? |
900; 20k |
| What
was the population of San Francisco in 1846, before the Mormons arrived?
After? |
approx 200 with the Mormons adding 220 |
| What
was the original Bank of America called? |
Bank of Italy |
| What
was the original name of Columbus Ave? |
Montgomery Ave |
| What
was the Lively Flea? |
An elegant French bordello on Commercial St. |
| What
was the Ghirardelli Chocolate Factory before it was a chocolate factory? |
Pioneer Woolen Mill |
| What
was the first club to go topless in North Beach? |
Condor |
| What
was Sudsofloppen? |
A feminist consciousness raising group |
| What
was San Francisco's first gay bar? |
The Dash, (Pacific & Kearney)opened in 1908 |
| What
was San Francisco called before it was called San Francisco? |
Yerba Buena |
| What
was North Beach known as before 1910? |
The Latin Quarter |
| What
was Lillie Coit's favorite fire company? |
Knickerbockers Company #5 |
| What
was found under the Palace of the Legion of Honor Museum in 1993? |
~300 coffins dating from the Gold Rush |
| What
was Emperor Norton's title? |
Emperor of the United States and Protector of
Mexico |
| What
was Anton LeVey (founder of the Church of Satan)'s birth name? |
Howard Stanton Levey |
| What
was "International Settlement" & why was it off limits to armed
forces personnel? |
Pacific Ave, off limits because of the 'nightclubs' |
| What
used t o be underneath Civic Center? |
A cemetery |
| What
surgeon & "good ventriloquist" had a street named after him? |
William J. Powell |
| What
stands in the middle of Union Square? |
Dewey Monument, commemorating President McKinley
& Admiral Dewey |
| What
San Francisco socialite shaved her head so her wigs would fit better? |
Lillie Hitchcock Coit |
| What
San Francisco native invented television? |
Philo Taylor Farnsworth (1906-1971) |
| What
San Francisco business has the motto "If you want something done right,
sometimes you have to do it yourself" |
Good Vibrations |
| What
North Beach nightspot was the model for the bar in the original Star Wars
movie? |
Specs |
| What
North Beach native married Marilyn Monroe? |
Joe DiMaggio |
| What
movie did the Balclutha ship appear in? |
Mutiny on the Bounty |
| What
material is used for stopping (braking) the cable cars? |
Wood |
| What
is the total land area of San Francisco? |
47.6 square miles |
| What
is the tallest building in San Francisco? How tall is it? |
Transamerica Pyramid, 853 feet |
| What
is the steepest street in San Francisco with a 31.5% grade? |
Filbert Street between Hyde and Leavenworth and
22nd Street between Church and Vicksburg |
| What
is the oldest street in San Francisco? |
Grant Ave |
| What
is the oldest stone federal building on the West Coast? |
Old Mint |
| What
is the oldest continuously operating bar in San Francisco? |
The Saloon at 1232 Grant Ave which started as
Wagner's Beer Hall in 1861 |
| What
is the oldest building in San Francisco? |
Mission Dolores, built 1791 |
| What
is the official San Francisco City Bird? |
California Quail |
| What
is the official motto of San Francisco? |
Oro en Paz, Fierro en Guerra (Gold in Peace, Iron
in War) |
| What
is the highest point in San Francisco? |
Mt. Davidson |
| What
is the City Flower of San Francisco? |
The Dahlia |
| What
is the better known name for Mabel Marcia Busby Goodan Fansier Bayhaam
Spagnoli Rapp Gump Kenna |
Sally Stanford |
| What
is the average yearly rainfall of San Francisco? |
19.33 inches year |
| What
is the address of the St. Peter & Paul Catholic Church next to Washington
Square? |
666 Filbert |
| What
is Nihonmachi ? |
Japantown |
| What
is Mayor Willie Brown's middle name? |
Lewis |
| What
is Grant Ave's original name? |
Originally: Calle de la Fundacion then Dupont
Street |
| What
is Frank Chu's shoe size? |
7.5 or 8 |
| What
is Coit Tower a monument to? |
Fire fighters |
| What
is Balmy Street famous for? |
Murals |
| What
hotel inspired a section of Allen Ginsberg's 'Howl' (with the aid of peyote) |
Sir Francis Drake Hotel |
| What
heads of state died at the Palace (now Sheraton) Hotel? |
Warren G. Harding (1923) & King David Kalakaua,
reigning monarch of Hawaii (1891) |
| What
does it mean to "jayhawk a webfoot'? |
Rob a newly arrived Oregonian |
| What
does 'Yerba Buena' mean? |
"Good Herb' in Spanish, named for the sweet
mint that used to grow here |
| What
do Carol Doda & Harry Callahan have in common? |
44, (44DD for Carol Doda's bra size and 44 Magnum
for Dirty Harry's favorite gun) |
| What
do builders often find when excavating for new construction in the Financial
District? |
Ships abandoned in the 1849 Gold Rush. |
| What
did Samuel Brannan do before running through Portsmouth Square announcing the
Gold Rush? |
Cornered the market on picks, axes and other gold
panning materials |
| What
did Melvin Belli do whenever he won a big case? |
Hoist a Jolly Roger flag & shoot a cannon |
| What
did Melvin Belli do during a long running dispute with his law partners? |
Trained his dogs to urinate & defecate outside
his partner's offices |
| What
did Kimberly Guilfoyle do before becoming an attorney & marrying Gavin
Newsome? |
Model lingerie |
| What
did Emperor Norton decree to be the penalty for calling San Francisco
'Frisco' |
25 |
| What
did Charlie Crocker do to 'encourage' his neighbor, Mr. Yung, to sell 25 feet
of ground next to Crocker's Nob Hill mansion? |
Enclosed Mr. Yung's house with a 40 foot tall
fence. |
| What
defense did Dan White successfully use during his trial for murdering Harvey
Milk & George Moscone? |
The Twinkie Defense (too much sugar made him crazy) |
| What
bar has a jukebox containing nothing but opera? |
Tosca's |
| What
bank robber left poems in exchange for the money he stole? |
Black Bart (Charles E. Bolton) |
| What
are the San Francisco city colors? |
Black & Gold |
| What
are the names of the famous twins who walk through Union Square & around
the Financial District wearing matching 1940s hair, hat & dress? |
Marian and Vivian Brown |
| What
are Beach Blanket Babylon performers famous for? |
Big hats. Size matters. |
| What
African American woman used voodoo & sexual blackmail to become a
powerful, influential figure in late 19th century San Francisco? |
Mammy Pleasant |
| Oofty
Goofty would plaster himself with feathers as a part of what act? |
His 'Wild Man of Borneo" act |
| Name
two North Beach businesses in continuous operation since the earthquake &
fire of 1906 |
Figone Hardware & French Italian Bakery |
| Name
two famous lesbian bars in San Francisco. |
Lexington Club & Wild Side West |
| Name
two owners of those famous lesbian bars in San Francisco. |
Daughter of Mayor Willie Brown & Carolyn
Carpeneti |
| Name
the first African American citizen of San Francisco to have a street named
after him |
William A. Leidesdorff |
| Lillie
Coit's will paid for a statue of three firemen in Washington Square Park.
What was one of the firemen holding when the statue was unveiled? |
A half empty bottle of whiskey |
| James
Lick made his money by buying worthless sand dunes which became Montgomery
Street. Even after becoming millionaire, he never changed his suit. He gave a
good chunk of his fortune to establish what? |
The Lick Baths where the poor could bathe free of
charge. |
| In
which building can the tide be seen to rise & fall at the bottom of the
elevator shaft? |
old Belli Building, 722 Montgomery |
| In
the opening scene of Dirty Harry, where did the sniper shoot from? |
Carnelian Room , 52nd Floor of B of A building
(Montgomery & California) |
| In
1884, of 31,700 residents of Chinatown, how many were women? |
1380 |
| If
you're at Washington Square Park at 7am, what are you likely doing? |
Thai Chi |
| How
the† Tenderloin get its name? |
From the long-ago days when cops on patrol the
received premium pay for their efforts, and were thus able to afford prime
cuts of meat. |
| How
much does it cost to ride Muni? |
1.5 |
| How
much does an average parking meter bring in revenue each year (not counting
tickets)? |
580 |
| How
many versions of the Cliff House have there been? |
The current one is #5 |
| How
many ships were floating or beached in Yerba Buena cove in 1849? |
600, most of them left to rot or be scavenged |
| How
many ships arrived in San Francisco Bay between April and December of 1849?
(45 of them on one day, almost all ships were abandoned upon arrival) |
549 |
| How
many registered vehicles are there in San Francisco? How many legal parking
spaces are there? |
453,903 registered vehicles for 603,000 spaces |
| How
many public sex clubs are there in San Francisco? |
Two: Power Exchange (74 Otis St. location temp
closed since Nov 2008) & Club Eros |
| How
many named hills are in San Francisco? |
43 |
| How
many Muddy Waters Coffee shops are there in San Francisco? |
Three |
| How
many curves on Vermont St.? |
6 |
| How
many curves on Lombard St.? |
8 |
| How
many accidents/day for Muni? |
7/day in 1995/6 (latest year for public figures) |
| How
does the pedestrian-death-by-auto rate compare to the murder rate? |
four to one |
| How
did Union Square get its name? |
Many pro-Union (where 'union' refers to Civil War
Union side) demonstrations in the area |
| How
did the Montadon house on Lombard Street become haunted? (mysterious fires,
door locking themselves, two suicides and one unexplained death, etc)? |
When the owner had a party, didn't bring the tarot
card reader a drink & got cursed |
| How
did Mark Twains' character, Tom Sawyer, get his name? |
From a San Francisco firefighter who Mark Twain
(Samuel Langhorne Clemens) met at the Bank Exchange saloon in the Montgomery
block |
| How
did Hearst get the San Francisco Examiner? |
As payment for a gambling debt |
| How
did Emperor Norton lose his fortune? |
By trying to corner the rice market just before 3
ships full of the stuff arrived in San Francisco |
| How
did Alcatraz get its name? |
Mangling of the Spanish word for Albatross |
| How
did Condor Club dancers get around a city ordinance prohibiting the display
of pubic hair? |
Shaving. Down there. |
| Coit
Tower stands on top of which hill? |
Telegraph Hill |
| Before
Union Square was Union Square, what was it called? |
O'Farrell's Mountain because it was a giant sand
bank |
