History Articles & Columns

Browse articles, profiles, and memories on the history of western San Francisco, including Frank Dunnigan's popular monthly "Streetwise" column.

Articles: Most Recent 20 (default) - All Articles
Popular Authors: Woody LaBounty - Frank Dunnigan - John Freeman - John A. Martini - Angus Macfarlane - Lorri Ungaretti

Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building
One of five main halls at the California Midwinter International Exposition in Golden Gate Park. ( Mar 15, 2019)
Merced Heights
The OMI ridgeline neighborhood that started as San Miguel City, Columbia Heights, and Poppy Hill. ( Mar 8, 2019)
Mechanical Arts Building at the 1894 Midwinter Fair
One of five main halls at the California Midwinter International Exposition in Golden Gate Park. ( Feb 23, 2019)
Fine Arts Building at the 1894 Midwinter Fair
One of five main halls at the California Midwinter International Exposition in Golden Gate Park. ( Feb 11, 2019)
San Francisco's Lake Merced: Spring Valley Water
The history of San Francisco's Lake Merced from 1870s to 1930 ( Jan 28, 2019)
Opening the Midwinter Fair
With the press of a button on January 27, 1894, the California Midwinter International Exposition officially opened. ( Jan 26, 2019)
How Many Cliff Houses?
Have there been six, five, or three incarnations of the landmark restaurant/bar overlooking the Pacific Ocean? ( Jan 14, 2019)
Streetwise: Taking a Break
After ten years of monthly columns, Frank takes a well-earned rest. ( Jan 12, 2019)
Streetwise: Jingle All the Way
Christmas rituals and routines from San Francisco past ( Nov 20, 2018)
Streetwise: Giving Thanks Through the Years
Late November rituals and routines for Thanksgiving. ( Oct 30, 2018)
Streetwise: Looking Back at 1968
Leaving St. Ignatius' Stanyan Street for the New Campus. ( Sep 28, 2018)
Streetwise: Celebrating San Francisco State
The university beside Lake Merced turns 65. ( Aug 23, 2018)
Streetwise: Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days
How to occupy a fog-bound San Francisco kid in the 1950s. ( Aug 1, 2018)
Streetwise: San Francisco Catholic Schools
The super list of parochial schools in San Francisco now and then. ( Jul 2, 2018)
Streetwise: Modern School Days
San Francisco's ever-changing academic landscape. ( May 27, 2018)
Streetwise - Alive and Well
Splendid survivors from another age, all of them 50+ years old in San Francisco. ( Apr 30, 2018)
Twin Peaks Falls: The Battle of Vista Francisco
How the Standard Building Company covered 21 acres of the east side of San Francisco's Twin Peaks with apartment buildings. ( Apr 9, 2018)
Streetwise: Faded from the Scene
Once-popular places and things that have disappeared from San Francisco. ( Apr 4, 2018)
Streetwise: Buttered Popcorn Days
Memories of San Francisco Movie Theatres ( Feb 28, 2018)
Westward the Course of Empire Takes its Way
100 Years of the Twin Peaks Tunnel ( Feb 3, 2018)