Tribute - John Gorman's vintage San Francisco

[MartinCrabtree]

Oh it's not a bad thing, just life from another angle.

 

[Nancy123]

This is not how I normally share my dad's photographs because I took a picture of it, framed and behind glass. But I didn't want to unframe it and searching for the negative would take a lot of time. But it's one of my favorites because it shows Sutro Baths (at the bottom) before it burned down in 1966. Built in 1894, it lasted 72 years although it burned while being demolished anyway. And the Cliff House, of course, is the white building just to the right of the Baths. Dad was a pilot and took many aerial photographs of San Francisco over decades.

 

[Ben 4]

This is not how I normally share my dad's photographs because I took a picture of it, framed and behind glass. But I didn't want to unframe it and searching for the negative would take a lot of time. But it's one of my favorites because it shows Sutro Baths (at the bottom) before it burned down in 1966. Built in 1894, it lasted 72 years although it burned while being demolished anyway. And the Cliff House, of course, is the white building just to the right of the Baths. Dad was a pilot and took many aerial photographs of San Francisco over decades.

That's a great view! What's the complex of white buildings just left of center, up on the hill?

 

[Nancy123]

That's a great view! What's the complex of white buildings just left of center, up on the hill?

That would be the VA Medical Center.

 

[Nancy123]

This might not be of interest to many outside of San Francisco but what's neat about it is the way the panorama was created, sometime in the '60s. My dad took eight or so pictures and the art director at the Examiner (Dan De La Torre) spliced them together with an X-acto knife at the precision points. It ran in the paper and somewhere I have the clipping with more details (can't find it, though). But for the life of me, I don't know where he took the photos from. I think it's from a building rooftop around Bryant Street, between 2nd and 3rd streets, looking northwest at Interstate 80. Sutro Tower at Twin Peaks is a clue in the distance on the left. If any San Franciscan has a better guess, I'd love to hear it. (This photo is behind glass, too).

 

[mshchem]

This might not be of interest to many outside of San Francisco but what's neat about it is the way the panorama was created, sometime in the '60s. My dad took eight or so pictures and the art director at the Examiner (Dan De La Torre) spliced them together with an X-acto knife at the precision points. It ran in the paper and somewhere I have the clipping with more details (can't find it, though). But for the life of me, I don't know where he took the photos from. I think it's from a building rooftop around Bryant Street, between 2nd and 3rd streets, looking northwest at Interstate 80. Sutro Tower at Twin Peaks is a clue in the distance on the left. If any San Franciscan has a better guess, I'd love to hear it. (This photo is behind glass, too).

That's some serious analog tech! Priceless bit of history. Very much like NASA back in the day! Wouldn't be amazing to have a high resolution scan made of that original (contact print of large format negatives) made! Probably be able to see people having coffee on their verandas

 

[Ben 4]

That's some serious analog tech! Priceless bit of history. Very much like NASA back in the day! Wouldn't be amazing to have a high resolution scan made of that original (contact print of large format negatives) made! Probably be able to see people having coffee on their verandas

Though the subject matter is very different, the technical physical care required put me in mind of what I have read about Jerry Uelsmann's work.

 

[Nancy123]

Though the subject matter is very different, the technical physical care required put me in mind of what I have read about Jerry Uelsmann's work.

Uelsmann was pretty creative. The Floating Tree is one I remember best and Flamingos in Yosemite is quite funny.

 

[Nancy123]

That's some serious analog tech! Priceless bit of history. Very much like NASA back in the day! Wouldn't be amazing to have a high resolution scan made of that original (contact print of large format negatives) made! Probably be able to see people having coffee on their verandas

What I find notable in the picture is how few cars are on the freeway!

 

[AnselMortensen]

What I find notable in the picture is how few cars are on the freeway!

This! ^^^^

 

[grahamp]

Early morning on a Sunday?

That tripod was very carefully levelled and the camera aligned vertically to keep the verticals good enough for the match. The sheets must have been exposed in fairly quick succession too, as the shadows would be moving. Add to that the swivelling of the camera, probably by a precise amount, and the choreography must have been challenging.

 

[Nancy123]

Early morning on a Sunday?

That tripod was very carefully levelled and the camera aligned vertically to keep the verticals good enough for the match. The sheets must have been exposed in fairly quick succession too, as the shadows would be moving. Add to that the swivelling of the camera, probably by a precise amount, and the choreography must have been challenging.

Spoken by a true photographer. And my dad was skilled and up to the task!

 

[Ben 4]

Early morning on a Sunday?

That tripod was very carefully levelled and the camera aligned vertically to keep the verticals good enough for the match. The sheets must have been exposed in fairly quick succession too, as the shadows would be moving. Add to that the swivelling of the camera, probably by a precise amount, and the choreography must have been challenging.

That was my thought too, about the timing I mean—a quiet Sunday morning.

 

[Tom Taylor]

This might not be of interest to many outside of San Francisco but what's neat about it is the way the panorama was created, sometime in the '60s. My dad took eight or so pictures and the art director at the Examiner (Dan De La Torre) spliced them together with an X-acto knife at the precision points. It ran in the paper and somewhere I have the clipping with more details (can't find it, though). But for the life of me, I don't know where he took the photos from. I think it's from a building rooftop around Bryant Street, between 2nd and 3rd streets, looking northwest at Interstate 80. Sutro Tower at Twin Peaks is a clue in the distance on the left. If any San Franciscan has a better guess, I'd love to hear it. (This photo is behind glass, too).

It looks like it was taken from the top of an industrial building in the Rincon Hill area. In the lower part of the image you can see the old Transbay Terminal – the one story white building that's running horizontally left to right. Fremont street on the right cuts through it and First street on the left. At first I thought it was taken from the top of 301 Brannan which was a 6 story brick building originally constructed in 1906 for a plumbing supply house.

 

[Nancy123]

It looks like it was taken from the top of an industrial building in the Rincon Hill area. In the lower part of the image you can see the old Transbay Terminal – the one story white building that's running horizontally left to right. Fremont street on the right cuts through it and First street on the left. At first I thought it was taken from the top of 301 Brannan which was a 6 story brick building originally constructed in 1906 for a plumbing supply house.

That could very well be but I'm having a tough time figuring it out for sure. Google Earth isn't much help because I can't get at the same angle and I'm sure many new high rises are adding to the confusion. I will have to search for the newspaper clipping but that will be a few weeks from now. For some reason these things bug me until I can know the truth!

 

[loccdor]

Tom and Jerry were friends. Just a tumultuous relationship.

 

[Trask]

I really appreciate reading this thread, as it brings me back to what it was like to be in SF in the 1960s. My family had moved to Los Altos/Mountain View (down the Peninsula) in 1961 as Dad had liked the area which he'd seen en route to the Pacific theatre in WWIl. Dad and Mom bought a house for $23,000 (I know, I know...); my aunt and family followed us out a few years later and settled initially in SF, so we'd go up to visit from time to time. They lived out towards Playland at the Beach and near GG Park and Cliff House, where we 12/13 year olds could go explore. I could go on, but mainly what I remember was the vibe of The City -- so different from what it's like there in these modern times.

 

[Tom Taylor]

On possibility is the old Harley Terminal Building at 274 Brannan Street.

In the 19th Century Rincon Hill was the wealthiest residential section of SF with many mansions and famous residents. Photographer Carleton Watkins photographed the interiors.

 

[Nancy123]

The Tom & Jerry above refers to post # 278 on the previous page. All very funny.

 

[Nancy123]

On possibility is the old Harley Terminal Building at 274 Brannan Street.

In the 19th Century Rincon Hill was the wealthiest residential section of SF with many mansions and famous residents. Photographer Carleton Watkins photographed the interiors.

That's a really good possibility. I'll keep it in mind for sure!

 

[Nancy123]

I really appreciate reading this thread, as it brings me back to what it was like to be in SF in the 1960s. My family had moved to Los Altos/Mountain View (down the Peninsula) in 1961 as Dad had liked the area which he'd seen en route to the Pacific theatre in WWIl. Dad and Mom bought a house for $23,000 (I know, I know...); my aunt and family followed us out a few years later and settled initially in SF, so we'd go up to visit from time to time. They lived out towards Playland at the Beach and near GG Park and Cliff House, where we 12/13 year olds could go explore. I could go on, but mainly what I remember was the vibe of The City -- so different from what it's like there in these modern times.

Thank you for the nice comment on this thread. It was a great time to grow up in The City, yes! Ironically, my aunt and uncle lived in Campbell then, so we would go down the Peninsula to visit them from time to time. And speaking of Playland, that was a huge part of us kids growing up in S.F. Here's a photo my dad took from a popular viewpoint on the hill above the Cliff House. It was a sad day when they bulldozed it and built housing.

 

[Fujicaman1957]

You learn something new every day. From Wikipedia:

"The War Assets Administration disposed of surplus consumer, capital, and producer goods; industrial and maritime real property; and airports and aircraft located in the United States and its territories. American factories had produced massive amounts of weaponry during World War II. Hundreds of thousands of tons of surplus military equipment, from mess kits to tanks, airplanes, machine guns, artillery, and even warships, were offered for sale as scrap by the WAA. Other items were sold for immediate use by consumers in their homes, vehicles, and businesses.

"In addition, government-owned industrial plants, airfields, and other real property was sold or turned over. Even patents, industrial processes, manufacturing techniques, and inventions were declared surplus and put up for sale. The WAA was abolished by the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act, June 30, 1949. It was succeeded by the General Services Administration, as liquidator." --- Photo taken 1947; description is E. side of Van Ness fr. Fell and Market. I can't find anything that looks like it today on Google Streets.

Nancy, after the war, LIFE did an article titled " A farmer takes a tank" about a farmer who bought a surplus light tank and turned it into a farm tractor.

 

[Nancy123]

Nancy, after the war, LIFE did an article titled " A farmer takes a tank" about a farmer who bought a surplus light tank and turned it into a farm tractor.

Thanks, Fujicaman. I will look for that article online as I would read about that! What an interesting story that would be.

 

[Fujicaman1957]

One of my favorites but I have no info on what street this is, or if it's even in San Francisco, although it most likely is. As for the date, I can only go by the cars, nothing later than the 1950s.

Nancy, if you go 3 cars to the right of the white station wagon, the smaller white car is a Studebaker Lark. The Lark only had that style of grille from 1959 to 1963. That gives you a hint as to the time frame.

 

[Nancy123]

Nancy, if you go 3 cars to the right of the white station wagon, the smaller white car is a Studebaker Lark. The Lark only had that style of grille from 1959 to 1963. That gives you a hint as to the time frame.

Good eye, Fujicaman. You solved the date on one of these mystery photos. Thanks for your input! (Post #175, on page 7.)