Thursday, June 22, 2017

Historical Prints San Francisco Visitors Take Home Depict Its Colorful Past

By Susan King


The City By the Bay is a favorite tourist destination for people all over the world. Every year millions pass through the city and enjoy its many amenities including temperate weather, beautiful views, fine dining, trolley cars, and unique history. Most want to take something home to remind them of their time spent in this unusual and distinctive city. Prints are a popular choice. Golden Gate Bridge views may be the obvious option, but there are a number of other historical prints San Francisco collectors recommend.

Many have had the good fortune to dine at the Cliff House and take in the breathtaking views of the Pacific. A photo the restaurant as it originally appeared, and before its numerous reconstructions and remodeling project, might be a great souvenir. The restaurant's significance as a city landmark is well established.

The same Adolph Sutro is also famous for his ambitious plans to construct a massive public bathhouse that would be affordable, entertaining, instructive, and healthy. What he came up with were the Sutro Baths, the largest indoor swimming facility in the world. It boasted seven different pools, museum quality artwork, natural history exhibits, and an Egyptian mummy or two. The Baths are gone, but the photos are testament to its grandeur.

Market Street is a favorite of tourists and residents as well. If you enjoyed your time strolling among the stalls located in the amazing Farmer's Market, you might want to take home a print showing the way the street appeared at the beginning of the twentieth century. Most depict a busy intersection bustling with trolleys and horse drawn carriages.

You might have spent a night at the Mark Hopkins Hotel on Nob Hill and enjoyed the view from the Top of the Mark. If you did, you must have noticed the photography highlighting the original mansion that once stood in its place. Many believed it to be the gaudiest and most vulgar building ever built, but others admired the size and grandeur of the designer's endeavor. Although fire brought on by the 1906 earthquake destroyed it, the Mansion still lives on in print.

San Francisco has seen its fair share of colorful characters, but none have been more peculiar or beloved than Emperor Norton. Generally considered mad but harmless, the self-appointed Emperor of the United States routinely issued proclamations and decrees. He was a welcome guest in fine restaurants and opera houses, where he was expected to pay for nothing at all. A photographic portrait of this unique character would make a great conversation piece.

The 1906 earthquake was a defining moment in the city's history, and there are numerous old prints showing the devastation that occurred as a result of the quake and the fires that ignited after it. The scenes of what was left of City Hall and the Call Building are very interesting.

There is no city in the world that remotely resembles the City By the Bay. It has a unique and colorful personality that has thankfully been preserved in print. Landmarks, local characters, and cataclysmic events are all carefully recorded for future generations.




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