Grab Bag #014

To the People of Daly City

I made a joke in the last Grab Bag which rankled some of my friends just across the border. I didn’t intend in any way to poke fun at Daly City, but rather at the geographical cluelessness of some powerful and insular San Franciscans.

I thought my meaning was clear, but if one has to explain something humorous, well, as that old adage by E. B. White or Mark Twain or Oscar Wilde goes, it’s like dissecting a frog: everyone understands it better, but the frog is dead. Of course, it’s even worse if you offend people, so I blew it.

In addition to my apology, I’d like to mention how much affection I have for Daly City. Growing up on the west side of San Francisco, my family zipped over the city limits for eating at Westlake, shopping at “Top of the Hill,” and both at Serramonte Center far more than we went downtown. As a young man, I played in numerous softball leagues at Westlake and Gellert parks.

As a historian interested in mid-century housing developments and architectural design, roadhouses, golf courses, and interurban transit, I have been extremely grateful and appreciative of the work of the wonderful Daly City History Guild Museum & Archive.

I hope Daly City will accept my apology. So as not to dilute the sincerity of this mea culpa, I am not tagging on the joke I just thought of about Brisbane.

(Love you, Brisbane! And you too, Oakland! There’s a lot of there there!)

Shacks in Vista Grande

Speaking of earthquake shacks and Daly City, the above image I believe shows “Vista Grande,” land in today’s Daly City which got a big boost in population thanks to the 1906 earthquake and fire. Dozens of earthquake refugee cottages constructed in San Francisco city parks were relocated to the Vista Grande and neighboring Hillcrest tracts for use as rental properties in 1908. As you can see, the vista then was indeed very grande, even on a foggy day.

The “cottage plan” was devised by the San Francisco Relief and Red Cross Funds corporation (created with donations for earthquake recovery), which specifically did not want the tiny houses repurposed by landlords: the intent was to help refugees attain self-sufficiency through home ownership. But with the pressure to clear San Francisco’s parks of refugee camps, a few real estate dealers snatched up multiple shacks to create short-lived rental communities just across the border.

I believe a few of the Vista Grande and Hillcrest cottages survive. There are a number of suspiciously shack-shaped residences on the hillside above the Daly City BART station.

(More in this video on earthquake refugee cottages.)

Chinese Nationalists in San Francisco

Reader Judy C. emailed me this interesting 1919 panoramic photograph she had of Chinese Nationalists posing on the northwest corner of Washington and Stockton Streets in San Francisco’s Chinatown. She was curious about the occasion and also looking for a good home for the fragile print. I contacted Doug Chan from the Chinese Historical Society of America (CHSA) who helped translate the faint Chinese characters along the bottom and provided some great context.

“The first set of characters in the correct order would read: 美洲國民黨總支部歡迎 = lit. ‘Welcome to the General Branch of the American Nationalist Party.’ At the far left of the photo, the date appears of 中華民國八年四月二日[pinyin: "Zhōnghuá mínguó bā nián sì yuè èr rì"] or April 2, 1919 (as the year is counted from the founding in 1911).”

Looking closer at the photo, Doug realized the name Wang Jingwei (汪精衛) appeared, making this a bit more exciting.

“Wang Jingwei was part of the Chinese delegation to the Paris Peace Conference, which was held from January to June 1919. The conference was convened to negotiate the terms of peace after World War I. After the conference, Wang Jingwei traveled to the United States as part of a diplomatic mission to build support for China’s position on the peace negotiations. He arrived in San Francisco on April 2, 1919.”

More from Doug: “During his stay in San Francisco, Wang Jingwei gave speeches to Chinese communities in the area, calling for unity and support for China’s cause at the Paris Peace Conference. Wang Jingwei also met with several American politicians, including California Governor William Stephens and San Francisco Mayor James Rolph, Jr. He sought their support for China’s territorial claims in the peace negotiations.

“Wang Jingwei’s visit to the United States was cut short due to the outbreak of the May Fourth Movement in China, which was a series of protests against the terms of the peace treaty that was being negotiated in Paris. Wang Jingwei returned to China in May 1919 to help quell the protests and negotiate with the other Allied powers.”

I did a bit more poking in the newspapers and it seems Wang Jingwei and his party stayed at the Fairmont Hotel on Nob Hill just a few blocks away. The F-line Muni streetcar on Stockton Street and the presence of the police officers makes me suspect the streetcar was chartered for the group.

Judy and CHSA are now in touch and hopefully the photo has found a safe home in the neighborhood in which it was taken almost 104 years ago.

Brief Interlude: Make your Friend a Friend of Woody

Thanks for being a Friend of Woody! Think you have a relative or buddy who might like reading things like this? Gift them the pleasure:

Now back to our regularly scheduled Grab Bag programming.

West Portal Rah-Rah

I also received a surprise package in the mail from Lois M. (a Friend of Woody). Inside were two small felt pennants from West Portal Elementary School, which sits above the western portal of the Twin Peaks Tunnel along Taraval Street and Lenox Way. I have actually seen a similar one of these flags at the school’s office back when my daughter was a student. (See a small image of it on this page, along with lots of class photos.)

Where would be a good home for these treasures? Maybe I'll ask at Western Neighborhoods Project. Meanwhile, I assume other public schools in San Francisco made similar pennants. Do you have one to show off? I’m just curious.

Woody Beer and Coffee Fund

Yesterday I had a terrific rainy-day conversation and coffee with David F. and his charming wife Susan, but forgot to take a photo. (Sorry guys.) Their second round of Americanos was courtesy of the Woody Beer and Coffee Fund. Thanks to Danny S. and Joshua S. for the recent donations! Way to pay it forward.

Contribute what you can and then reap the reward: have a beverage with me!

See you next Wednesday. :)