Mother’s Day is a rare holiday that is celebrated worldwide but was begun here in the United States. Almost uniquely, it is a major American holiday creation that does not involve overeating or exploding things. How did that happen? Its roots are intertwined with the women&... Read More
Breathing is difficult for me right now, but it’s not because of fear or excitement. I have just returned from a week in my childhood hometown of Green Bay, Wisconsin, where the temperatures were in the single digits (Farhenheit, alas) and the air so dry that my head decide... Read More
Hearts, cupids, boxed chocolates, and mailboxes stuffed with greeting cards are all signs that we’re approaching Feb. 14 or, more formally, St. Valentine’s Day. Americans will purchase 145 million valentine’s cards this year, the Greeting Card Association estima... Read More
Lest readers think this series on the bordellos of San Francisco is never-ending, let me assure them that I am running out of madams and this will be the end of it. Unless, by popular demand, I am bidden to engage in further research by my esteemed editors. “Diamond Jessie... Read More
Our history of the bordellos of San Francisco continues with a few profiles of some of the most fascinating, outrageous, vexing — and do I dare use the word “endearing” — madams our raw-boned city has known. Madame Irene McCready Irene McCready is generally cr... Read More
Today what we call the North Beach Festival began in 1954 as the Upper Grant Avenue Street Fair. It was the progenitor of all the street fairs, festivals and streetscape events that exist in this country today. It was one of the earliest counter-culture iconoclastic artistic even... Read More
In case you missed it by going into a total media withdrawal, this month is the 75th anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge, and my esteemed editor is excited about the birthday. Since I am probably the only staffer who was around in those days, she asked me to weigh in with some ... Read More
This rambunctious and disorderly essay concerns the history of San Francisco bordellos, bagnios, brothels, and perhaps the most appealing of the genre — parlor houses. But our account of this fascinating aspect of life in the history of our city requires more space and brav... Read More