Author: <span class="vcard">Mark Hougardy</span>

The Barbary Coast Trail is roughly 4 miles in length and takes visitors through several of San Francisco’s colorful neighborhoods while exploring the city’s past and present.

San Francisco’s original Barbary Coast was a once hive of opium dens, brothels, bars, and gambling houses.

It was along the waterfront that some of the bawdiest establishments catered to an unsavory mix of rough and tumble sailors and miners. This place was so lawless that it was named after the pirate-infested ‘Barbary Coast’ from Africa’s northern coastline of centuries past. From the time of the Gold Rush, the Barbary Coast remained a fixture of the city until it ended in 1917 with societal and police crackdowns. Today, quiet streets and upscale businesses only hint at its tawdry past.

My exploration of this section of the Barbary Coast Trail began at the Redwood Park located near the Transamerica Pyramid Building. Just across the street, Hotaling Alley caught my attention. The alley follows the original shoreline and the pavement have been designed to represent waves lapping a shore. Adorning the sides of the street are antique lampposts and curious looking hitching posts each topped with a horse head. These are actually bumpers to prevent autos from backing into potted trees, but they artfully pay respect to a time when this area was the location of the Hotaling Stables.

At the end of the street is the beautifully decorated Hotaling building. It was built in 1866 and for a good many years “housed the largest liquor repository on the west coast.” The thirsty saloons of the Barbary Coast demanded whiskey and this warehouse gladly provided it. In 1906 San Francisco was devastated by a large earthquake and a firestorm burned much of the city. All looked lost for this part of San Francisco, but just before the wall of fire reached the Hotaling building the wind shifted and the warehouse of whiskey was saved. Some in the country suggested San Francisco was being punished by divine retribution for its sinful nature; in response, the following was penned –

“If, as they say, God spanked the town
For being over frisky,
Why did he burn the churches down
And save Hotaling’s whiskey?”

Today, this doggerel remains as a plaque outside the old whiskey building.

Turning onto Jackson St. I returned to the path of the Barbary Coast Trail. A minute later, at the corner of Montgomery Street, I looked at an unassuming building of granite and brick. Here was the old Bank of Lucas and Turner and Company. It was constructed in 1853-54 and had an unusual first manager named Mr. Sherman. Mr. Sherman already had a history in California but it was the time he served in the Union Army during America’s Civil War that would immortalize him. Mr. Sherman would later be known for the ‘March to the Sea’ and oversee the burning of Atlanta, Georgia. History knows the man who worked here as General William Tecumseh Sherman.

I returned to the Hotaling Whiskey warehouse and just past it was the old Ghirardelli Building. It is here that in 1865 a process for storing chocolate was discovered that allowed it to be easily stored and shipped long distances. This discovery made Ghirardelli Chocolate a household name. Also at this location is a quiet alley called Balance. The alley can be walked in about 25 steps; its length matches a ship’s hull that is buried beneath. The Balance had sailed around the horn of South America and made several lengthy ocean voyages, but in 1849 it was moored here and abandoned as the crew headed to the goldfields. The ship quickly became part of the growing fleet of ‘ghost ships” that was anchored in the bay and later became the foundations for the buildings in modern San Francisco. All that remains of the Balance today is a street sign.

At the end of Balance is the quaint looking Gold Street. Gold Street is quiet now but during the Gold Rush, this place was likely swarmed with miners who had brought saddlebags full of gold to be weighed and tested for purity. Here the first Assaying Office was opened during the Gold Rush. One can only imagine the fortunes and dreams that were realized or lost on this tiny street. Today, a small plaque at the back of an upscale club marks the location of the old Assayer’s Office.

We followed the inlaid sidewalk markers identifying we were on the Barbary Coast Trail to the tree-lined Pacific Street. Here we passed a number of old brick buildings where sailors and miners once found entertainment and drink. Although this place is very different now some of the stories of that time remain; one such story involves sailors and miners being “Shanghaied.”

Shanghaied means to be kidnapped and sent to sea. The most notorious person involved in this unscrupulous business was Shanghai Kelly. His henchmen, known as ‘runners,’ would befriend unsuspecting sailors who had newly arrived from a voyage and likely had a pocket full of money. The runners would bring the sailors to Kelly’s bar for drinks, laughter, and the promise of female companionship. At some point, the sailor would be given drug-laced whiskey, once the drugs took effect the wobbly sailor would be whacked on the head and knocked out cold. The story goes that Shanghai Kelly would pull a lever opening a trap door in the floor – the unconscious sailor would instantly disappear. Underneath the bar, among the pillars of the wharf, the unconscious sailor would be relieved of his money, taken to a sailing vessel, and sold to an unsavory captain. The next day the sailor would wake to find that he had been kidnapped, penniless, was far out to sea, and likely working for an ogre of a captain…possibly sailing to Shanghai, one of the most distant ports in terms of travel time. If the sailor was fortunate and survived the harsh round-trip voyage, poor food, cramped conditions, and hard labor then he might just return to the Barbary Coast several years later.

Another story involves Shanghai Kelly having a ‘Birthday Party’ in which he invited 100 of the Barbary Coast’s most desperate to join him for a bay cruise to ‘celebrate’ his birthday. At some point during the cruise, all of the guests were given opium-laced whiskey. After the ‘guests’ were unconscious Kelly’s ship delivered new crews to three vessels that were waiting to set sail. Kelly ended his party returning home with a full purse and 100 men departed the party bound for an unwelcome ocean voyage.

Make sure to make a stop at the art store at 555 on Pacific Ave. You can recognize it by the ornate decorations and lighting on the outside. This is the old Hippodrome, the bawdy center of the Barbary Coast. Today, it is a fantastic art store with newspaper articles on the inside wall about its past. There is also an old Prohibition tunnel.

The vibrant North Beach lay just ahead, it was home to the beatniks, Italian food, great coffee, a famous bookstore and colorful theater.

>> Continue with Part 5: North Beach

Reference: “Walking San Francisco on the Barbary Coast Trail” by Daniel Bacon.

The Barbary Coast Trail is roughly 4 miles in length and takes visitors through several of San Francisco’s colorful neighborhoods while exploring the city’s past and present.

At the corner of Grant Ave. and Bush St. stands a portal known as the Dragon’s Gate. It marks the entrance to the Chinatown neighborhood. Sitting on either side are two mythical lions, each about three feet tall, which guard against unwanted spirits. English speakers often refer to these guardians as ‘Foo Dogs.’

Continuing up Grant Avenue a visitor will notice an abundance of the color red on storefronts and signage, the color symbolizes good fortune and joy.

It is easy to spend much of a day in Chinatown investigating the stores and businesses that offer teak, jade statues, colorful fabrics, porcelain, teas, spices, and a variety of foods.

At California Avenue stands two pagoda-topped iconic buildings known as Sing Fat and Sing Chong. These buildings were constructed after the earthquake and firestorm of 1906. They were built to reaffirm the Chinese presence in the area after the tragedy.

Across the street is the Old St. Mary’s Cathedral. The cathedral was constructed between 1852 and 1854 just a few years after gold was discovered and San Francisco.  The foundation was shipped over from China. Inside are some informative displays about the building’s history.

Just outside the cathedral, a street musician played “Oh Suzanna” on an Er Hu. This is a curious looking instrument with just a neck and two strings that are played with the bow.

A short distance north on Grant Avenue I made a left turn at Sacramento Avenue making sure to follow the Barbary Coast Trail markers embedded in the sidewalk. At the first right was a colorful street known as Waverly Place.

Entering Waverly Place today you would not guess it once had a very lurid past with madams, sing-song girls, opium dens, and even open warfare between various criminal groups. Today, the street is adorned with colorful balconies, residences, and businesses. A number of people passed me carrying bags of grocery bags filled with vegetables. A short way down the street were the unmistakable sounds of rhythmic drumming coming from the rooftop of a building. This was the Tin How Temple, the oldest Taoist Chinese temple on the west coast. The drumming was empowering; the large drums beat in unison, changing rhythms as one single unit, the low deep vibrations could be felt in your chest.

Crossing Washington Street and just a few paces away are Ross Alley.  The small and dark alley was slightly claustrophobic. More locals passed by with small bags filled with food items. At the end of the alley, a crowd of tourists had gathered outside a fortune cookie factory. I had to take a look.

The fortune cookie room was long and skinny, and several people worked near an industrial-looking machine. A man greeted people by placing a flat, golden-colored wafer about three inches in diameter in everyone’s palm. These were flat fortune cookie rounds. The commotion of people and boxes made viewing the machine a little difficult, but it appeared to have a number of pancake-like impressions that were turning on a large flat wheel. Apparently, from one side a dough mixture would be dolloped onto the tiny hot mini-skillets which would rotate and disappear into the machine to be quickly baked, on the return trip the baked rounds emerged to be grabbed by a woman and in a quick hand-fold-motion she inserted a small paper fortune to give the cookie its shape.  At this point, another tour group had gathered in the alley and began to pour into the store. I squeezed my way back into the alley. At that moment, a neighboring barber came out of his shop. He greeted the tourists then quickly ducked inside. A few seconds later he emerged with an Er Hu and played several quick tunes. The crowd applauded and he received a number of tips. In a flash, the tour group disappeared in the sea of people on neighboring Jackson Street and the alley was again quiet.

Jackson Street pulsed with activity. It was packed with locals shopping, people talking on cell phones, trucks honking to get by on the street and storeowners coming out of their shops to talk with customers who pawed through boxes that lined the storefronts. Restaurants in the area had large and colorful pictures of food in their doorways and one store had cooked ducks hung in the window. A woman at the street corner shoved a lunch coupon in my hand and pointed to a nearby restaurant. The images on the coupon looked tasty but I had to continue onwards.

Arriving at Portsmouth Square a large crowd filled the tiny park and there was little room to pass. A speaker was passionately advocating, at times in English and Chinese, for democracy and the freedom of religious practices in mainland China. The gathering was held under the gaze of the Goddess of Democracy located in the Portsmouth Square, a smaller replica of the 33ft (10m) tall statue that was created during the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.

As the loud event ended and the crowd disappeared back onto the streets Portsmouth Square silently revealed some its old secrets; now stone and metal markers previously unseen became visible. This small patch of space is central to the story of California for many reasons but one is the most significant.  It is here, in May of 1848, that Sam Brannan first showed his gold to a curious crowd. His story of easy money unleashed the American Gold Rush.

>> Continue to Part 3: Gold Rush City

Quoted Reference: “Walking San Francisco on the Barbary Coast Trail” by Daniel Bacon.

Walking San Francisco’s Barbary Coast Trail is a fun and active way to explore this historic and beautiful city. The trail is roughly four miles in length and meanders through several colorful neighborhoods and districts.

You can follow the sidewalk markers along the entire length, but to really unlock some of the stories use a guidebook. I found, “Walking San Francisco on the Barbary Coast Trail” by Daniel Bacon, an invaluable tool.

I started the trail at the majestic Old United States Mint located at the corner of 5th and Market Street. This “Granite Lady” is reminiscent of an ancient Greek temple, it is a grand and massive stone building with 6 Doric columns gracing the front entrance. The Old Mint was built in 1874 and at one time “held a third of all the gold reserves in the United States, making it the Fort Knox of the West.” Today, the great doors of the Old Mint are closed, but the Mint is undergoing a renaissance of sorts and may soon reopen as a premier cultural and historic center for the city.

Crossing Market Street was Hallidie Plaza and the cable car turnaround. The Plaza is named after Andrew Smith Hallidie who is considered the father of San Francisco’s Cable Car system. Here a small section of track turns on a circular disk and allows the trolley to return the way it came. Two empty cable cars were queued along the track, an operator allowed one cable car to move forward onto the turnaround, a release switch was thrown and several operators began to physically push the trolley 180 degrees on the track until it stopped. Then the cable car pulled forward a few feet to a boarding area and a group of about twenty passengers climbed aboard. They were off.

Just ahead is Union Square, an open area consisting of several acres. On this sunny day, the square was alive with an art fair featuring colorful paintings and etchings. Everyone was friendly and the artists were eager to talk with prospective customers. In just a short time I heard half-a-dozen different languages being spoken by tourists, it just reinforced that San Francisco is a world-class destination for people from all over the world. At the plaza’s periphery was an outdoor café serving coffee and sandwiches. The cafe patrons were enjoying the sun, working on laptops, reading, or just having a good conversation with friends. Some young kids were playing and jumping off a small ledge into the arms of their parents. Among the visitors was a young man playing a large wooden flute. After a few minutes, he was approached by several young travelers who appeared to be from Europe, he showed them the flute and later showed them several Tai Chi movements. The square was restful and energetic at the same time.

The pleasant setting seemed distant from the controversy of slavery that was passionately debated at this location in the mid-1800s. At that time southern sympathizers were advocating the new state of California secede from the Union and join the southern cause. Thomas Starr King, a Unitarian Minister, and charismatic speaker with “extraordinary eloquence and spellbinding oratory” drew large rallies to the square. His speeches are greatly credited for rousing the public and keeping California in the Union. Union Square takes its name from these pro-Union rallies.

On the western edge of Union Square a  large American flag waves over the doorway of the Westin St. Francis Hotel. The hotel was built in 1904 and has been graced by celebrities and the powerful ever since. In 1975 there was a failed assassination attempt of President Ford. There is still a small bullet hole above the hotel’s door.

The centerpiece of the plaza is a large white Corinthian column that rises 97 feet over the square. This is the Dewey Monument; atop the column is the statue of a tall woman holding a raised trident and a wreath, symbolizing the people the monument honors. This monument commemorates both Admiral Dewey’s victory in the Battle of Manila Bay in 1898 during the Spanish and American War and to President McKinley who was killed in office by an assassin in 1901. The woman who modeled for the statue, Alma de Bretteville, has a rags-to-riches story of her own; by being born into poverty and later becoming one of the wealthiest women in the state. Some of her later accomplishment include building the Palace Of the Legion of Honor (a fine art museum in San Francisco) and being instrumental in the creation of the National Maritime Museum at Aquatic Park, which is a destination on the Barbary Coast Trail.

Just east of Union Square is the quiet Maiden Lane.

Today, Maiden Lane is a clean well-lit street with cafes and outdoor seating. However, in the late 1800s and early 1900s, the maiden in Maiden Lane referred to the numerous prostitutes who “naked to the waist hung out of the narrow wooden shanties” in an attempt to entice patrons inside.

Walking through the now gentrified alley, the sound of Italian Opera was in the air. At the corner of Grant Street, a man was standing – his arms outstretched in song. This was the Tenor of Maiden Lane and according to his brochure has performed on the street since 1998. He apparently chose this spot on Maiden Lane because of the acoustics. I listened to his performance for some time. Walking north his voice echoed off the building for several blocks. Listening to such wonderful music was an elegant way to end this section of the Barbary Coast Trail.

Ahead was the ornate Chinatown Gate guarded by two statues, the mythical Chinese lions, called “Foo Dogs.”

>> Continue with Part 2: Chinatown

Learn more about the Tenor of Maiden Lane:
http://bayentertainers.com/robertclose.htm
Reference: “Walking San Francisco on the Barbary Coast Trail” by Daniel Bacon.