Nostalgia & History > A real part of SF history gone forever

Gone forever is this great SP Depot that once graced San Francisco. These views are from my Dads M negatives that were in a blue envelope. The tower he shot these photos from is seen here in Photobob's 3rd & Townsend link:
http://www.snowcrest.net/photobob/3rdst1.html
Is the tower in the 4Os's photos the same structure as in the later photos by Bob?
Dave

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Heres a view of the tower in 1960 with the Lark about to leave for Los Angeles.

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When did they tear it down? I will miss this beautiful edifice!

cforssi Wrote:
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> When did they tear it down? I will miss this
> beautiful edifice!


1975, It's been gone forever, almost forever. Well not quite.

Photobob has photographs of it's destruction on his website (Unbelievable that such an architectural masterpiece was allowed to be destroyed.):

http://www.snowcrest.net/photobob/3rdst1.html

Mark

I don't know who said it but I am fond of quoting it.

"Our society will not be remembered for the monuments we built but instead for the ones we destroyed."

And a good thing they tore that thing down. The RV park that they put up there is a unique cultural masterpiece that really showcases the cultural heritage of city. This really helped cement 'Frisco' as a world class city in my opinion.

Gertrude Stein was off by a couple of miles. There is no there there, at least any more.

The RV part is as gone as the SP depot---high rise condos and street level commercial.

drew1946 Wrote:
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> The RV part is as gone as the SP depot---high rise
> condos and street level commercial.

Ah, it has been a while. Condos are even more appropriate.

DON'T LOOK NOW, BUT CALTRAIN IS MAKING SERIOUS NOISE ABOUT BUILDING A BIGGER DEPOT. True. The current one is seriously overcrowded several times a day plus when any event happens at SBC Park, so they are exploring something bigger.

No, it won't be like the long-gone original BUT with a little luck it will have some class. And this is independent of whatever pie-in-the-sky plans are afoot for the new Transbay Terminal.

Shame shame, it's San Francisco, not Frisco....two cents from a native ;)

Waybiller Wrote:
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> And a good thing they tore that thing down. The
> RV park that they put up there is a unique
> cultural masterpiece that really showcases the
> cultural heritage of city. This really helped
> cement 'Frisco' as a world class city in my
> opinion.
>
> Gertrude Stein was off by a couple of miles.
> There is no there there, at least any more.

Brings to mind my advice to first time visitors to the Bay Area:
1. Don't call The City "Frisco"!
2. Don't refer to cable cars as "trolleys"!
3. Don't tell a BART employee that his train reminds you of
the Disneyland Monorail!

A two bit second class city that tears down a historic station like that deserves a nickname like 'Frisco'. The best part of it is how much it irritates the natives.

Now, if only there was an equally perjorative nickname for Atlanta who tore down not just one, but two gems.

Well you have a point there, though don't call it Frisco :)

Though I think we can call Berkeley a two bit second class city these days, they want to kick the Marines recruitment office out of town, there's a big fight coming up over that!

Waybiller Wrote:
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> A two bit second class city that tears down a
> historic station like that deserves a nickname
> like 'Frisco'. The best part of it is how much it
> irritates the natives.
>
> Now, if only there was an equally perjorative
> nickname for Atlanta who tore down not just one,
> but two gems.

fjc Wrote:
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> Well you have a point there, though don't call it
> Frisco :)
>
> Though I think we can call Berkeley a two bit
> second class city these days, they want to kick
> the Marines recruitment office out of town,
> there's a big fight coming up over that!
>

I wouldn't ever call it Frisco in actual conversation (although mainly because I wouldn't have time to listen to the "Natives Don't Call it Frisco" lecture), but it is fun to get people wound up about it sometimes.

Also, truthfully, while it was an act of civic vandalism to tear down the 4th and Townsend mission style station, it wasn't quite on the same level of a cultural crime like the destruction of Pennsylvania Station.

I'm shocked Berkeley still has a Marine recruitment office!