4 minute read

701 Castro

Until 1923 was one lot down. had 6, one in back, took out three because they were so narrow. bootleggers? 1916 probate records - unsaleable, had a garden fountain fed by spring up the hill, paid by foota place in the street that bleelds when it rains from the srpin Discovered George Nelson, beef with Judith?

1916 had no electricity baumsteigers - had it a long time, rented it out for at least 10 years, lots of copper left over taken over for salvage, had a scale, 3000lbs bootlegging here, not much known, back model a trucks up to the garage, their family went into refrigeration business then restaurant business

bought in sept 1971 for 33k, two lots, carriage house had a stall for the horse, full of antique victorian stuff, heirs were slow to come get it. back fence was open, someone came up with a truck and loaded it up. bootleg electricity. someone had been staying there after ww2, lots of old uniforms and junk, had been occupied by a commune of medical people with in-home composting, animal cages inside, foundation rotted. when they moved the house, chopped it off and put it on the first floor, toenailed the thing in, no rimplates, no shear. just built a wall around the outside. ray (?) put in some shear

house shakes when a truck goes by, but 1989, two cracks and one glass fall - didn’t get home until 10pm because of traffic from candlestick, took the tailgate party back to the parking lot, could see the ripples of the aftershocks going across the parking lot, they were on cut, half was on fill.

contractors renting the back carriage house, they couldn’t get back, he worked on the house.

Should talk to Tessie Sullivan - about 80 now, lived nearby all her life

corner entrance to the bakery in the carriage house

“all painters were drunks”, occupational hazards, get drunk on the fumes,

Found George from a full page ad, of houses, “no saloons, no telephones, no… “Fernado Nelson, and sons” GW was living in what had been the sales office for west portal

Told story of FN in the PPIE, driving out to the richmond, a japanese family were going to be manning the Japanese pavillion, renting from the owners in a restricted tract, “those people did not get the truck unloaded” “the jews sold the house, he was a good judge of character but somehow he missed out on those jews” - 1973

1906 Fire chief mortally wounded by chimney fall, assistant comandeered one of the cars, george 16 his job was to drive him around funston, fernando was driving around the assistant, their lumber stocks were requisitioned by the recovery department.

Nelson, first tract.

20th and hartford used to be 2 units, has been turned into 3.

“I remember mama” lived on 21st? noe? Irene Dunn. Book talks about going to pay the mortgage,

(21st and sanchez, mayor’s mistress house)

Grocery store on the corner fo 18th and castro, and grocery store midblock on w side castro.

“The family store” sold levis, keds, hanes, “fair traded”. had “integraion thing” caused white flight in the 50s and 60s, lots of kids going to parochial. bobby mcferrin as on 29th st, danny glover on buena vista terrace,

Moved here from College, Davis -> 1967, 460 Noe (was three flats, now back to single family) neighbor “Frenchy” was college prof, threw wild gay parties on the back deck, people upstairs were socialists told her not to sleep in front room because of firebomb threats, lower unit was a very lonely woman who committed suicide after her dog died.

Mom was a policewoman, her police partner would come down with cases of dog food for the hippies - “summer of love was an illusion, it turned into something very very dark”. in 66, went home, 3br apt shared with three women, came back and whole house covered in drugged out bodies, they were making lsd in her room because biggest, had to get out. interesting time to be at berkeley, just after free speech movement strike, during “filty speech movement” had a job making toast on campus. design students couldn’t be in the strike because they couldn’t cram work on handmade projects.

“Differentiated classes” AP classes - Ken Burns Revolutionary War - “binge watch this”