The bustle of Filbert between Powell and Stockton, 1862<\/b><\/h2>\n
Photo: <\/span><\/i>OpenSFHistory \/ wnp13.010.jpg<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n The photograph above is only a decade and some change after the 1849 Gold Rush. Originally, North Beach really was a beach, but the area was filled in around the end of the 19th century.<\/span><\/p>\n Photo: <\/span><\/i>OpenSFHistory \/ wnp24.196a.jpg<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n Following the\u00a0landfill, fishing wharves, warehouses and docks sprung up along\u00a0the shoreline. Due to the\u00a0influx of wealth and migrants\u00a0brought on by the\u00a0Gold Rush, San Francisco became known\u00a0as the \u201cParis of the West.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Photo: <\/span><\/i>OpenSFHistory \/ wnp15.029.jpg<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n While the city\u2019s economy was growing, political corruption reigned supreme,\u00a0<\/span>specifically in the form of a political machine. This type of organization lobbies,\u00a0sometimes with coercion, and uses\u00a0a hierarchy and rewards system to manipulate political power.<\/p>\n Photo: <\/span><\/i>OpenSFHistory \/ wnp30.0102.jpg<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n Located on \u201cTerrific Street,\u201d the Thalia Dance Hall was the largest dance hall in all of San Francisco\u2019s red light district, then known as Barbary Coast. Though the city\u2019s curfew was strictly set for 1am, the police allowed Thalia\u2019s to extend to 3am.<\/span><\/p>\n Photo: <\/span><\/i>OpenSFHistory \/ wnp24.193a.jpg<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n Reconstruction after the earthquake saw an\u00a0influx of Italian Americans who shaped the character of the neighborhood that you still see today. Among these residents was\u00a0baseball legend Joe DiMaggio, whose family moved to San Francisco when he was a year old.<\/span><\/p>\n Photo: <\/span><\/i>OpenSFHistory \/ wnp32.0036.jpg<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n The 1920s saw continued reconstruction efforts following\u00a0the destruction of the 1906 earthquake. Entertainment businesses were among the first to remerge, including the Golden Gate Theatre, Castro Theatre and Playland at the Beach.<\/span><\/p>\n Photo: <\/span><\/i>OpenSFHistory \/ wnp32.0033.jpg<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n In an issue of the <\/span>San Francisco Call<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>dating back to 1913, lightweight boxing champion \u201cSpider\u201d Kelly is described as \u201cone of the most unique characters of the ring\u201d and \u201cclever as the best of them.\u201d His enduring legacy continued when he opened Spider Kelly\u2019s Tavern. It was known as a black and tan club, which meant all races were welcome.<\/span><\/p>\n Photo: <\/span><\/i>OpenSFHistory \/ wnp27.0715.jpg<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n Existing for only\u00a021 years between 1939 and 1960, International Settlement was an entertainment district. It was named \u201cInternational Settlement\u201d to lure in servicemen of WWII.<\/p>\n Photo: <\/span><\/i>OpenSFHistory \/ wnp25.2385.jpg<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n \u201cWhile most of San Francisco\u2019s reputable citizens publicly bemoaned the inequities of the Barbary Coast and performed lip-service to the many campaigns designed to eliminate its more objectionable features, secretly they were, for the most part, enormously proud of their city\u2019s reputation as the Paris of America and the wickedest town on the continent.\u201d \u2014\u00a0<\/span>Herbert Asbury, 1933<\/span><\/p>\n Photo: <\/span><\/i>OpenSFHistory \/ wnp14.2201.jpg<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n Finocchio\u2019s Club was a nightclub and bar that featured traditional drag shows with men in ball gowns lip syncing to Top 40 ballads.<\/p>\n Photo: <\/span><\/i>OpenSFHistory \/ wnp25.1148.jpg<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n Neighborhood children in a moment of self-awareness. Hopefully the little girl on the left is carrying a very large doll and not another tiny human.<\/p>\n Photo: <\/span><\/i>OpenSFHistory \/ wnp14.2769.jpg<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n Here’s some brief footage<\/a><\/span>\u00a0of President Johnson visiting San Francisco in 1964.<\/span><\/p>\n![\"SF1-min\"](\"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/SF1-min.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nPanorama from Russian Hill, circa 1880<\/b><\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nA ramshackle view down Jackson Street toward Battery Street, circa 1898<\/b><\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nThalia Dance Hall, circa 1918<\/b><\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nOverlooking Kearny Street after the earthquake, 1906<\/b><\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nA glimpse down Columbus Avenue, circa 1920s<\/b><\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nSpider Kelly\u2019s Tavern, 1933<\/b><\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nInternational Settlement, circa 1943<\/b><\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n\u201cOne\u201d Barbary Coast, 1953<\/b><\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nThe speakeasy Finocchio\u2019s, 1958<\/b><\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nKids in North Beach, 1962<\/b><\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nThe crowd for President Johnson\u2019s visit, 1964<\/b><\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nA bird\u2019s eye view from the Transamerica Pyramid, 1974<\/b><\/h2>\n