San Francisco. Sentimental expatriates say, “You can leave it—but it never leaves you.” It has three approaches by land, only one of which is free.…
Posts published by “Herb Caen”
Historic parks being sold down the drain for a mess of parkage, bearded beatniks seeking peace of mind by chewing Zen-Zen, grown men fighting like…
World War II hit Baghdad by the Bay like a ton of block busters. Overnight the self-contained, self-satisfied city whose population had stood absolutely still…
Being a fun-loving San Franciscan (redundant) I play a lot of games in this hallowed space—self cancelling phrases (working press). Namepheraks (Fran and Bill Flesher…
Mr. and Mrs. San Francisco are drawn irresistibly to the sea on a sunny Sunday. They drive in droves through Golden Gate Park, straining for…
The biggest Chinatown outside of Asia. Where 30,000 people are crowded into a few blocks, so they can attract tourists and disease. Chinatown. Beloved indulgently…
The warden of one of the world’s largest and most overcrowded penitentiaries might reasonably be expected to be a burly, hard-spoken disciplinarian, packing a gun…
I'm not sure that William Saroyan, author, playwright, and genius, can be legitimately described as a San Franciscan, but we like to claim him, although…
For a world-famous city, San Francisco has a surprisingly small coterie of so-called “celebrities” (a celebrity being, I would say, someone who is widely known…