San Francisco History by Subject - Museum of the City of San Francisco

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History by Subject

San Francisco — Education

Early History of California Schools

by Will C. Wood

San Francisco — Fairs-Expositions
Celebrating the Centennial – 1876
An Invitation to Prison – 1912
Panama-Pacific International Exposition – 1915
Overfair Railway at the PPIE, by Walter Rice and Karl Hovanitz – 1915
History of the Palace of Fine Arts – 1915
Lighting the Panama-Pacific International Exposition – 1915
Map of the Exposition Grounds – 1915
Mabel and Fatty at the World’s Fair – 1915
24 Views of the Treasure Island Fair (PowerPoint) – 1939
“Trails End for ’39ers” – Preparations for the 1939 World’s Fair – 1939
New Style of Architecture at Treasure Island – 1939
Lighting the Treasure Island World’s Fair – 1939
Sally Rand Nude Ranch at Treasure Island – 1939
Treasure Island World’s Fair Cartoon, by Lichty – 1939
Mayor Rossi’s Labor Day Speech at Treasure Island – 1939
Al Smith Day at Treasure Island – 1939
Dolls from Golden Gate International Exposition – 1939
New Hupp Skylark Automobile Arrives at the World’s Fair – 1939
Pan American Airways’ Clipper Ship at Treasure Island – 1939
Treasure Island Sculptures – 1939
“Flesh” Shows at The Gayway on Treasure Island – 1939
General Motors’ Vacationland Exhibition – 1939
Treasure Island Fair Closes, by Tom Moriarity – 1939
Mike Coen’s Treasure Island Website
World’s Fair to Reopen in 1940 – 1939
New Attractions at the Fair in '40 – 1940
ASCAP Cavalcade of American Music at Treasure Island – 1940 by David A. Banks

San Francisco — Fashion NEW ADDITION
Marguerite Rubel's history
New World Order Map Jacket by Marguerite Rubel

San Francisco —Films NEW ADDITION
America's Sweetheart — 1918

San Francisco - Fire Department
Old Engine 21 SFFD
Fire Extinguisher
Patron Saint of Firefighters
Notice: Important Meeting to Form a Fire Department — 1849
San Francisco Fire Department History — 1856
Map of the May 1851 Great Fire
Eyewitness to the Sixth Great Fire of June 1851
Biography of Lillie Hitchcock-Coit
San Francisco’s Pioneer Steam Engine — 1856
Evolution of the Department 1866-1918
History of Fireman’s Helmets
No Fire Danger in San Francisco — 1872
How the Fire Department Telegraph is Worked — 1877
Daniel Hayes and the Hayes Ladder Truck — 1900
General Order re: Tappers Necessary at Meal Locations – 1905
1906 Earthquake and Fire Reports
General Order re: Procuring Tappers following the Earthquake – 1906
General Order re: Operation of Engines – 1906
General Order re: Responsibility for Lost Tools – 1906
General Order re: Catching Rats in Fire Stations – 1908
General Order re: Use of Whips When Responding to Alarms of Fire – 1909
Answers to Hydrantman’s Examination – 1911
New Central Fire Alarm Station for San Francisco – 1912
Foghorn's – 1918
Response to the 1923 Berkeley Conflagration
House of Alarm Bells – Central Fire Alarm Station – 1937
History of the Fire Alarm System – 1951
1989 Earthquake and Fire Report
Order re: Preparations for Predicted Earthquake – 1991
San Francisco’s Response to the Oakland Firestorm – 1991
Pt. Reyes National Seashore Fire — 1995
“Fire Dept. Water Supply,” by Steve Van Dyke — 1997
San Francisco - Genealogy
San Francisco “Daily Morning Call” Database – 1869-1877
California Genealogy Resources
Online Surname Databases
Story of the Ted Samuel Family
San Francisco Genealogy

San Francisco - General
“Flags of San Francisco,” by Gladys Hansen
San Francisco Firsts — 1850-1935
Bill Roddy's American Hurrah San Francisco site
“Vanished Waters of Southeastern San Francisco,” by William C. Sharpsteen
History of Pioneer Street Names, by Henry C. Carlisle
Slavery and California Statehood – 1850
“San Francisco Facilities in the 50’s” – 1856
“San Francisco at Statehood” – 1850 by Katherine H. Chandler
“The Ideal San Francisco,” by Mayor James D. Phelan – 1897
San Francisco’s Official Songs
San Francisco’s First Brick Building – 1849
History of Meiggs’ Wharf
Founding of the Pony Express – 1860
Frogs for the Sandwich Islands – 1880
“Where Our Ancestors Bought Phonographs and 78s,” by Tim Gracyk
Early History of Kohler and Chase Music Co.
Ocean Beach Wireless Station – 1912
Gasoline Rises to 18 Cents Per Gallon – 1916
The Land of Bohemia –1917
Not a Fish Story –1918
Death of Lazarus, the Dog – 1863

San Francisco - Geology
Unvanished Story: 5,500 Years of History near 7th and Mission streets.

San Francisco - Gold Rush
“Ranch and Mission Days in Alta California,” by Guadalupe Vallejo
“Life in California Before the Gold Discovery,” by John Bidwell
Capt. Montgomery Ends Indian Slavery in San Francisco – 1846
William T. Sherman – California Before the Gold Rush – 1847
Purchase the Spectacular Gold Rush 150th Anniversary Poster – 1848
“Discovery of Gold in California,” by Gen. John A. Sutter – 1848
Capt. Sutter Describes the Early Discovery of Gold – 1848
California Gold Rush Chronology 1846 - 1849
Excerpts from John Sutter's Diaries 1838-1848
Eyewitness to the Gold Discovery, by James S. Brown – 1848
“A Rush to the Gold Washings,” from the California Star – 1848
Thomas O. Larkin Writes of the Gold Discovery – 1848
William T. Sherman and the Gold Rush – 1848
Military Governor Mason’s Report on the Discovery of Gold – 1848
Miners arrive on the Steamship California – 1849
San Francisco During the Gold Rush Era
History of San Francisco Gold Rush-era Street Names, by Henry C. Carlisle
From the Diary of Alvin Coffey, African American 49er – 1849
African American Rights During the Gold Rush
The Gold Rush and Anti-Chinese Race Hatred
Dramatic Impact of the Gold Discovery, by Theodore H. Hittell
San Francisco Gold Rush Banking – 1849
“Discovery of California Gold as Viewed in New York and London,” by Dean Albertson
Gold Rush-Era Daguerreotypes from the Oakland Museum
Miner’s Ten Commandments – 1849
Commandments from a Miner’s Wife – 1849
Gold Hunter’s Farewell to his Wife – 1849
Gold Rush Stories from Pioneer Women
Slavery and California Statehood, by Rockwell D. Hunt – 1850
San Francisco at Statehood – 1850 by Katherine H. Chandler
California Gold Rush Chronology 1850 - 1851
14 Lithographic Views of the California Gold Rush 1850-1857 in PowerPoint (900 Kb)
Steamer Day in the 1850s
Gold Mining Along the Klamath and the 1851 Indian Massacre
Ulysses S. Grant and the California Gold Rush – 1852
California Gold Rush Chronology 1852 - 1854
Gold Rush Mail Service – 1854
The Miner’s Song – 1857
Sam Brannan Opens New Bank – 1857
Chinese Miners in the Gold Fields – 1860
First Mining Journal of the Pacific Coast – 1860
San Francisco and the Civil War – 1861 by Charles B. Turrill
A Gold Rush Poem – 1864
Gold Mining Terms and Procedures, by Charles B. Turrill — 1876

San Francisco – Graft and Corruption
New City Hall – 1891
Timeline of San Francisco Graft – 1906
James D. Phelan Explains the Graft Issues – 1907
Mysterious Death of Police Chief Biggy – 1908
Report on Causes of Municipal Corruption – 1909
Fremont Older Wants Abe Ruef Released From Prison – 1911

San Francisco - Haight-Ashbury
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Chronology of San Francisco Rock 1965- 1969
David Gans and the Grateful Dead
Bibliography of the Haight-Ashbury Era
Bibliography of the Grateful Dead
Eric Noble’s Diggers Archive
Early History of Lydia Pense and Cold Blood
Linda McCartney’s “Summer of Love” Exhibit at the Museum – 1997

San Francisco - Hotels
Palace Hotel to be Built - 1873
A City Within A City – 1876
The President at the Palace – 1880
A Marriage of Giants – 1880
Reserved Seats at St. Francis – 1917
Old Letters Tell – 1921
Mark Hopkins - Advertisement – 1929
Mark Hopkins - See: Anson Weeks
Tunnel to the St. Francis Hotel
Online Hotel Reservation Service

San Francisco – Japanese
Relief of the Japanese and Chinese – 1906
“Asiatic Coolie Invasion” – 1906
James Phelan: “Rejoices at the Fall of Schmitz,” – 1906
Internment of the Japanese During World War II — 1942
Instructions to All Persons of Japanese Ancestry — 1942
Excerpts from Gen. DeWitt's Final Report on the Evacuation of the Japanese — 1942
San Francisco - Journalism
Complete Sunset Magazine Emergency Earthquake Edition – 1906
“Alta California” - Mark Twain’s “Holy Land Excursion,” – 1867
San Francisco “Call” Marriage, Birth and Death Records 1869-1877
Newspapers - Miscellaneous 1906 Earthquake Press Clippings
SFSU Golden Gater– Previous Editions Online
Bebe Daniels Advertises the Chronicle – 1925
The Bay Area Reporter
Hearst Buys the Chronicle Newspaper - 1999

San Francisco – Labor
Brief History of the Early Labor Movement – 1860-1906, by Dolores Waldorf
Kearneyism in California, by Viscount James Bryce – 1877
Remarks on Kearneyism by Denis Kearney – 1877
Kearneyism, the Chinese, and Labor Unrest in California – 1877
The Sand Lot and Kearneyism," by Jerome Hart – 1877
“The Kearney-Kalloch Epoch,” by Jerome A. Hart – 1879
“Progress and Poverty” —a Paradox," by Kenneth Johnson
“Kearney Agitation in California,” by Henry George – 1880
San Francisco vs. The Sand-Lot – 1880
“Alameda Building Trades Relief Work” – 1906
“Asiatic Coolie Invasion” – 1906
Preparedness Day Bombing – 1916
Women on the Musicians’ Union Board of Directors – 1933
“Bloody Thursday” and the General Strike – 1934
Musicians’ Union Report on the General Strike – 1934
“Century of Commerce,“ Labor Strife Along The Embarcadero – 1935
Labor Unions Condemn Nazi Bund Meeting – 1938
Communist Menace in the Musicians’ Union – 1938
John Shelley Runs for State Senate – 1938
“Harry Bridges, Communism and Deportation,” – 1938
Mayor Angelo Rossi’s Labor Day Speech at Treasure Island – 1939
Harry Bridges Accused of Communism – 1941

San Francisco – Landmarks
California State Historical Markers in San Francisco
History of Sigmund Stern Grove
The Goddess of Progress
City Should Buy Sutro Heights – 1902
Views of the Cliff House – 1901
Seal Rocks in Trust for the People of the United States – 1887
History of Playland-at-the-Beach
Reconstruction of the Ferry Building Tower After the Earthquake –1906
Portals of the Past – 1906
New Lighting for Sutro Baths – 1912
Potentialities of the Cliff – 1912
New San Francisco Mint to Open – 1936
An Aquatic Park Needed – 1916
The Sutro Offer – 1921
Coit Tower Murals
Dedication of the Dewey Monument - 1903
Marston Building Historical Markers

San Francisco – Maritime

S.S. Jeremiah O’Brien
Visit of German Fleet (Admiral and Mrs. Valois) – 1891
Visit of German Fleet (Breach of Courtesy) – 1891
Launch of the Japanese Cruiser Chitose – 1898
San Francisco Shipbuilding – 1906
The Visit of the British Fleet – 1924
National Maritime Museum Association Homepage – U.S.S. Pampanito
The Maritime Heritage Project
San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park
Brief History of the Lurline, Malolo, and Other Matson Ships

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