Brannan Street

Sam Brannan came out to San Francisco in 1846 with a shipload of Mormons. Two years later, on May 12, 1848 he ran through the streets waving a vial of gold dust and crying "Gold! Gold! Gold on the American River". In those two years he had founded a newspaper, The California Star, several stores, and also ran the Mormon community and extracted tithes from them, a real operator. As his wealth soared, from Utah, Brigham Young requested that Brannan in his turn submit his tithe to the church. Brannan demanded a receipt signed by God and was soon out of the Church.

The rush was really on now with Brannan's store in Sacramento perfectly located and stocked with the necessities of mining. Real estate investments in San Francisco also proved lucrative with Brannan supposedly owning a large percent of the city. As a sideline he imported grape stock and tried to start a resort in Calistoga that was not so successful. As his wealth was lost, including a supposed $500,000 payoff to Lola Montez his health failed and he died later in San Diego.

What's Brannan street doing these days? Still home to the wholesale flower market (at Sixth Street) , a Post Office renowned for it's slow service (between 3rd an 4th) and the location of Jack London's birthplace (at Third), now unfortunately an ugly condo building.

Check out this map from1847 where Brannan's house (marked as number 10) is shown as one of the largest buildings in the city. Walking home I usually cut through an alley that comes out right next to cotweet. One of several local web companies cashing in on (what I consider) tweeting idiots, but others consider as the wave of the future, or for at least a year or two.

Townsend Street

Named after Dr. John Townsend, pioneer physician. There's a couple of plaques in the sidewalk at the east end of the street where it intersects the Embarcadero. One mentions the Doctor as being in the first wagon train to travel over the Sierra Nevada mountains and they arrived with 52 persons after leaving Council Bluffs, Iowa with only 50, two were born along the way. (same route was made famous two years later by the ill fated Donner party).

One of the plaques references a Gold Rush era sign that was discovered at that spot reading something like: "There will be cholera here". In 1848 Townsend was appointed Alcalde (mayor) with the task of civilizing a town described with "bloody street fights were of a daily occurrence". Townsend only served a few months before running off to the gold fields with most of the rest of the city. Upon his return he resumed doctoring until he and his wife both died in 1850 from cholera while treating victims in San Jose. His grave marker in San Jose is pictured above.

The street is lined with historic brick warehouse buildings and reproductions too. For example, 178 Townsend, just about across the street from my office is a notable example of reusing/preserving one of the local historic brick buildings. It seems pretty far to go to build an entire new building inside the brick shell just to keep the facade. But keep in mind this is the city that spent $34 million to rebuild a draw bridge to look exactly as before while strengthening it to carry streetcars. This included a fiberglass fake counterweight produced with help from those masters of fakery, the Disney company. Two blocks south of Townsend on Fourth street.

More recently, Townsend street is filled with sorrow. A couple weeks ago my company's payroll manager, which everyone loved, including me, was crushed to death by a concrete pumping truck turning left and catching her in the crosswalk. One of the trucks that was working on the 178 Townsend project. It's certainly a shock and I avoid that intersection or at least that crosswalk. The dear old lady was a widow living with her daughter just a couple blocks away on Brannon street. At 8:45 am she was crossing Second Street at Townsend on the way to work where she had never missed a day in how many years and the truck turned and she was gone. Not immediately since the fire department headquarters is on that corner so she did get immediate attention. But a 71 year old women versus a concrete pumping truck? No contest. Makes me shudder.

Since I brought up the fire department headquarters, it's at the corner of Second Street, on the right of the photo (which is looking west) and Townsend, on the left. The building was authorized for construction by the city supervisors in 1907 after the earthquake as a pumping plant to supply bay water for fire fighting in the next disaster. There was another plant built on the north side of the city that completed the system. There are steel roller shutters that can slide down over the windows to protect the machinery, or at least they once could. Now it's the offices of the fire department.

The fatal crosswalk runs from right to left in the shot the same way Lourdes would have been walking. Rest in peace, Lourdes.

Streets of San Francisco (No, not that one)

When I walk home from my office heading north along 2nd street, I go seven (or eight including South Park) blocks crossing streets with names that are among the most historic in the City. This is the so called SOMA district, as in South Of Market. It's been reinvented several times, from a back water slough to a bustling sailing ship port to major modern port to dilapidated warehouse district to most recently a trendy internet business center with a fancy new old looking baseball field. Since I see them everyday these streets and looking into the names and found some interesting and fun facts. The streets in order, going home, are:

• Townsend
• Brannon
• South Park
• Bryant
• Harrison
• Folsom
• Howard
• Mission
• Market

Seven blocks may not seem like much but these are extra long. In each block are two alleys so the whole distance from Townsend to Market is about one mile according to google maps.

First of all, you need to understand the weird geometry of San Francisco. There is a diagonal slash of Market Street that divides a northern grid of north/south streets with a southern grid that is made of northwest/southeast streets. That's what mathematicians would call a "discontinuity" and drivers just call a mess. The intersections on Market Street provide all kinds of opportunity for different and probably illegal maneuvers. Add in a few one way streets and bike lanes and you better have your wits about you to survive. Notice on the map that further south the orientation goes back to pretty much north/south. It's part of the charm.

As I walk back and forth, I'm collecting some actual facts and some local color to illustrate my pedestrian life. So let's start on Townsend and head north.

Slug a CEO

Today I missed another chance to slug a CEO. Like giving them a major undercut into his/her belly, just to let them know how I felt about their effect on my life.

I met the outgoing CEO of my company in the elevator, going down. I knew who she was but had seen her rarely even though her office was right down the hall. Obviously didn't need to mix with the rabble like us. Raised the health care premiums, didn't live in this state and was an obviously bleached blonde to boot. She didn't acknowledge my presence and who cares, she was being stroked by her "assistant" and laughing about stiffing the restaurant across the street by not showing up for her reservations. Very low class all the way.

The previous opportunity was Jerry Sanders, AMD CEO. After I got fired from there, for basically mouthing off to my lame ass boss, I think I used the term "Has your brain been erased?" When I went back a week later to pick up my final check and make my various savings plan choices, there he was walking in the front lobby at the same time I was. Green leather (green is AMD colors) briefcase in each hand, plodding through. I could have turned and slugged him easily since both arms were weighed down.

Didn't do it. Didn't even say anything. Oh well, some things need to just be left behind as regrets. I have the luxury of this memory for as long as I like. Sweet.

No that's not Colonel Sanders, that's Jerry Sanders, look him up.

Choosy Moms

Choosy Moms chose Jiff. Sounds pretty old fashioned and stupid in this world of tweets and faces doesn't it? But somebody is still paying for that advert and getting their monies worth. That somebody is Pillisbury. Home of the doughboy and everything else. And they are owned by General Mills which I am happy to say are "Nourishing the future". Started in a Minneapolis mill, their empire now includes such favorites as Cheerios and Haagen-Daz.

So why am I bringing this up? I think because the same old pitch still sells. I'm sure all their brands have facebook pages and twitter feeds, but they are still making plenty of money from the good old TV commercial. That choosy mom is pretty hot these days and if that's what it takes, I'll eat some of that oily swill too.

They even have a youtube channel too. Good thing this linux box doesn't have any player for that or who knows what might result.

What a dreary day.

I guess nothing too exciting is going to happen today, the weather is overcast with heavy rain predicted starting in the afternoon. I bought a couple books at a garage sale when I went out to look for the BART train that was reported derailed. I'm not even a lawyer but maybe thought to see some small local disaster.

My thoughts are on the Japanese earthquake/tsunami and the amazing images, particularly of the tongue of debris filled water rolling up the farmland.

I guess the latest bigger disaster always pushes a smaller (or maybe less telegenic) situation off the front page. But I am thinking about the civil war in the Ivory Coast that seems to be starting up. When the one side killed several women by shooting into a demonstration for peace, it's just really disturbing. The cynical side of me writes it off to just another bunch or black poor people dying in a disastrous continent that nobody cares about anyway.

But these are real people and they are really being killed.

My boss at work would never be able to pick out Cote d'Voire on a map or even guess any country on this continent. So many Americans are just so clueless.