{"id":172937,"date":"2017-10-23T14:00:38","date_gmt":"2017-10-23T18:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/?p=172937"},"modified":"2017-10-24T15:12:36","modified_gmt":"2017-10-24T19:12:36","slug":"historic-photos-sf-sunset-district","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/news\/historic-photos-sf-sunset-district","title":{"rendered":"12 century-spanning photos of San Francisco’s foggy Sunset District"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/h4>

While some of the more stodgy San Franciscans turn their noses up at traveling to The Avenues, aka The Sunset, this sleepy neighborhood is rich with history and charm.\u00a0<\/span>The Sunset is where <\/span>Karl the Fog<\/span><\/a> has taken up permanent residency, and it’s also home to\u00a0<\/span>everyone\u2019s favorite brunch spot, Outerlands. With its close proximity to Ocean Beach,\u00a0The Sunset is populated with surfer bros and artists, and the median rent for a one-bedroom apartment is on the low-end at $2,470, according to <\/span>Zumper<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

How did The Sunset become one of the most slept-on neighborhoods while retaining so much of its character? Find out in our historic photo series of the \u201cOutside Lands.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wreck of the whaler Atlantic, 1886<\/b><\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Photo: <\/span><\/i>OpenSFHistory \/ wnp4\/wnp4.0041.jpg<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

In 1886, a wrecked whaler by the name of \u201cAtlantic\u201d washed onto the Ocean Beach shore. Twenty-nine crew members perished \u2014 the vessel had been on its way to the Arctic to hunt sperm whales.<\/p>\n

Seabreeze Resort, 1897<\/b><\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Photo: <\/span><\/i>OpenSFHistory \/ wnp4\/wnp4.0966.jpg<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

Once covered in sand dunes, development of The Sunset began in the 1870s and 1880s, largely thanks to the attention brought on by Golden Gate Park.\u00a0According to the <\/span>Western Neighborhoods Project<\/span><\/a>, the Seabreeze Resort (shown above) had a checkered past. Named the \u201cMost Unusual Place In The West,\u201d the roadhouse attracted entertainers, boxers, racing fans and newspaper men.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Cable car route under construction, 1909<\/b><\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Photo: <\/span><\/i>OpenSFHistory \/ wnp36.00044.jpg<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

Originally, The Sunset\u2019s streets were named after letters of the alphabet, but in 1909 the City changed the letters to full words, such as \u201cTaraval\u201d for \u201cT\u201d and \u201cLawton\u201d for \u201cL.\u201d<\/p>\n

Panorama of Sunset Heights, 1921<\/b><\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Photo: <\/span><\/i>OpenSFHistory \/ wnp26.001.jpg<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

The 1920s and 1930s saw an uptick in development due to newly available FHA loans to build single-family homes. Those interested included Ray Galli, the Stoneson Brothers and the Doelger Brothers.<\/p>\n

Fleishhacker Pool, 1923<\/b><\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Photo: <\/span><\/i>OpenSFHistory \/ wnp15.721.jpg<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

The photo above is actually an advertisement for a car with Fleishhacker Pool in the background. The public saltwater swimming pool was under construction, soon to become one of the largest heated outdoor swimming pools in the world until its closure in 1971.<\/p>\n

Tornado House, 1930<\/b><\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Photo: <\/span><\/i>OpenSFHistory \/ wnp30.0124.jpg<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

Repaired and still standing today, the aptly named Tornado House was hit by turbulent winds on February 24, 1930. The tornado reportedly spun the house sideways off its foundation.<\/p>\n

Sand dune clearing, 1930<\/b><\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Photo: <\/span><\/i>OpenSFHistory \/ wnp36.03973.jpg<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

During the 1930s, The Sunset developed further into what is known as a \u201cstreetcar suburb.\u201d Floorplans mirrored each other block after block, so much so, that if you visit a friend\u2019s house on Noriega, and another on Taraval, they\u2019re likely to look eerily similar.<\/p>\n

Irving Theatre, 1941<\/b><\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Photo: <\/span><\/i>OpenSFHistory \/ wnp27.4925.jpg<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

Open from June 10, 1926 through July 8, 1962, Irving Theatre screened second or third-run motion pictures for the Inner Sunset.<\/p>\n

Portola Market, 1951<\/b><\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Photo: <\/span><\/i>OpenSFHistory \/ wnp58.922.jpg<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

By the end of WWII, The Sunset\u2019s sand dunes had been leveled off and residential construction was complete.<\/p>\n

Irving between 4th and 5th Avenue, 1970s<\/b><\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Photo: <\/span><\/i>OpenSFHistory \/ wnp25.2188.jpg<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

San Francisco in the 1970s was still a hotbed of counterculture subversity and arguably better looking automobiles.<\/p>\n

Boat car on 9th and Irving Avenue, 1983<\/b><\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Photo: <\/span><\/i>OpenSFHistory \/ wnp25.2903.jpg<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

A boat with a view! On warmer days, two boat cars would run through The Sunset, giving tourists a chance to\u00a0snap photos and people-watch.<\/p>\n

Ocean sunset in The Sunset, 1992<\/b><\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Photo: <\/span><\/i>OpenSFHistory \/ wnp25.1843.jpg<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

When\u00a0Karl the Fog slinks away and dusk hits, one\u00a0can truly understand how The Sunset earned its romantic namesake.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This sleepy neighborhood is rich with history and charm.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":172941,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2017-10-23T18:00:45Z","apple_news_api_id":"d86ec84e-096c-410c-8e3a-3bdcde4ed952","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2017-10-24T19:12:41Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQ==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/A2G7ITglsQQyOOjvc3k7ZUg","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"middle","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":["https:\/\/u48r14.digitalhub.com\/sections\/09b86915-7d2b-3acd-915b-b215002d01b7"],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11108],"tags":[11105,11131,11155],"coauthors":[8937],"apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\n12 century-spanning photos of San Francisco's foggy Sunset District | Livabl<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/news\/historic-photos-sf-sunset-district\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"12 century-spanning photos of San Francisco's foggy Sunset District | Livabl\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This sleepy neighborhood is rich with history and charm.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/news\/historic-photos-sf-sunset-district\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Livabl\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-10-23T18:00:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-10-24T19:12:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/sf-4-min.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"718\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Valerie Veteto\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Valerie Veteto\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/news\/historic-photos-sf-sunset-district\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/news\/historic-photos-sf-sunset-district\",\"name\":\"12 century-spanning photos of San Francisco's foggy Sunset District | Livabl\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/news\/historic-photos-sf-sunset-district#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/news\/historic-photos-sf-sunset-district#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/sf-4-min.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-10-23T18:00:38+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-10-24T19:12:36+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/#\/schema\/person\/c1b6960d3f661af30c8f42603584fd37\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/news\/historic-photos-sf-sunset-district#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/news\/historic-photos-sf-sunset-district\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/news\/historic-photos-sf-sunset-district#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/sf-4-min.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/sf-4-min.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":718},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/news\/historic-photos-sf-sunset-district#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Articles\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"News\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/news\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"12 century-spanning photos of San Francisco’s foggy Sunset District\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/\",\"name\":\"Livabl\",\"description\":\"Building New Home Dreams\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/#\/schema\/person\/c1b6960d3f661af30c8f42603584fd37\",\"name\":\"Valerie Veteto\",\"description\":\"Valerie graduated from San Francisco State University with a BA in English and a minor in technical and professional writing. With bylines in KQED Arts, MTV Iggy, SF Weekly and Live Nation TV, Valerie joined the BuzzBuzzNews team in 2015 to cover Bay Area real estate market and development news. The first half of her 20\u2019s was spent working at a record label and her favorite pastime is getting friends together for a Labyrinth drinking game heavily focused on David Bowie's spandex.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/http:\/\/twitter.com\/bbhcalifornia\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/author\/valerie-veteto\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"12 century-spanning photos of San Francisco's foggy Sunset District | Livabl","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/news\/historic-photos-sf-sunset-district","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"12 century-spanning photos of San Francisco's foggy Sunset District | Livabl","og_description":"This sleepy neighborhood is rich with history and charm.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/news\/historic-photos-sf-sunset-district","og_site_name":"Livabl","article_published_time":"2017-10-23T18:00:38+00:00","article_modified_time":"2017-10-24T19:12:36+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":718,"url":"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/sf-4-min.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Valerie Veteto","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Valerie Veteto","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/news\/historic-photos-sf-sunset-district","url":"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/news\/historic-photos-sf-sunset-district","name":"12 century-spanning photos of San Francisco's foggy Sunset District | Livabl","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/news\/historic-photos-sf-sunset-district#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/news\/historic-photos-sf-sunset-district#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/sf-4-min.jpg","datePublished":"2017-10-23T18:00:38+00:00","dateModified":"2017-10-24T19:12:36+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/#\/schema\/person\/c1b6960d3f661af30c8f42603584fd37"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/news\/historic-photos-sf-sunset-district#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/news\/historic-photos-sf-sunset-district"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/news\/historic-photos-sf-sunset-district#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/sf-4-min.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/sf-4-min.jpg","width":1000,"height":718},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/news\/historic-photos-sf-sunset-district#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Articles","item":"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/news"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"12 century-spanning photos of San Francisco’s foggy Sunset District"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/","name":"Livabl","description":"Building New Home Dreams","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/#\/schema\/person\/c1b6960d3f661af30c8f42603584fd37","name":"Valerie Veteto","description":"Valerie graduated from San Francisco State University with a BA in English and a minor in technical and professional writing. With bylines in KQED Arts, MTV Iggy, SF Weekly and Live Nation TV, Valerie joined the BuzzBuzzNews team in 2015 to cover Bay Area real estate market and development news. The first half of her 20\u2019s was spent working at a record label and her favorite pastime is getting friends together for a Labyrinth drinking game heavily focused on David Bowie's spandex.","sameAs":["https:\/\/twitter.com\/http:\/\/twitter.com\/bbhcalifornia"],"url":"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/author\/valerie-veteto"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172937"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=172937"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172937\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/172941"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=172937"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=172937"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=172937"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=172937"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}