Bay Curious: Exploring the Hidden True Stories of the San Francisco Bay Area

✍ Scribed by Olivia Allen-Price

• Publisher: Chronicle Books
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 258
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

Curious about the San Francisco Bay Area? With explorations into unique local legends, interesting landmarks, and uncovered histories, Bay Curious is a fun, quirky guide to the secret stories of the Bay Area for visitors, newcomers, and California natives alike.

Who was America's first and only Emperor? Why are there ships buried under the streets of San Francisco? Was the word "hella" really created in the East Bay? Bay Curious brings you the answers to these questions and much more through fun and fascinating illustrated deep-dives into hidden gems of Bay Area trivia, history, and culture.

Based on the award-winning KQED podcast of the same name, Bay Curious brings a fresh eye to some of its most popular pieces and expands to cover stories unique to this book. With subjects ranging from Marin's redwood forests to the Winchester Mystery House, from the Black Panther Party's school program to the invention of the Mai Tai, Bay Curious gives you the entertaining and informative, weird and wonderful true stories of the San Francisco Bay Area.
 

NOT YOUR AVERAGE GUIDEBOOK: Bay Curious takes a unique approach to exploring the Bay Area through its lesser known but just as fascinating stories, taking readers on a reportorial rather than literal tour.

BEYOND THE PODCAST: With 49 entries—inspired by the famous 49-Mile Drive—Bay Curious includes a combination of updated popular episodes from the podcast and brand-new, never-before-heard stories researched for the book, plus fun illustrations and irresistible trivia sidebars.

GIFT OR SELF-PURCHASE FOR SF ENTHUSIASTS: For anyone living in San Francisco or visiting with a goal of getting beyond the beaten tourist path, this volume holds a treasure trove of inspiration for an armchair adventure or self-guided tour.
 

Perfect for:

• Bay Area locals and new arrivals
• A fun and unique San Francisco reference book for tourists and visitors
• Fans of the KQED podcast
• History buffs
• Anyone who enjoys unexpected, quirky true stories

✦ Table of Contents

Cover
Title Page
Dedication
Copyright
Contents
Introduction
People
ON OHLONE LAND: The First Bay Area Locals
THE STORY OF MARY ELLEN PLEASANT: The Civil Rights Heroine of Victorian San Francisco
EMPEROR NORTON: America’s Emperor, San Francisco’s Treasure
THE BAY AREA’S HOLLYWOOD: How Charlie Chaplin and Silent Films Flourished in the East Bay
Movies Set in the Bay Area
THE PORT CHICAGO 50: How a Deadly Bay Area Explosion Led to the Integration of the Navy
FRIDA KAHLO’S SAN FRANCISCO: How “The City of the World” Helped Shape an Icon
MEET CHARLEY PARKHURST: The Gold Rush’s Fearless, Gender Nonconforming Stagecoach Driver
Culture
THE HARLEM OF THE WEST: The History of Jazz in the Fillmore District
HELLA OAKLAND: The Origins of the Bay Area’s Most Notorious Slang Word
A Guide to Bay Area Slang
420 STARTED IN THE BAY AREA: How Five High Schoolers in San Rafael Started a Phenomenon
THE OAKLAND COMMUNITY SCHOOL: The Legacy of the Black Panther Party’s Women-Led Elementary School
THE WHITE HORSE INN: Is This Unassuming Spot in Oakland the Nation’s First Gay Bar?
Compton’s Cafeteria Riot
SPINNING RIMS, SPINNING CARS: The History of the Oakland Sideshow
NAKED BY THE BAY: Nudity in San Francisco, Uncovered
JEANS AND SNEAKERS: How the Bay Area Came to Be a Hub for Casual Style
WHEN BREEZERS GOT ROLLING: How Mountain Bike Racing Got Its Start in Marin
Places
THE WINCHESTER MYSTERY HOUSE: The True Story behind San Jose’s Infamous Haunted Mansion
The Iconic Bay Area Spots That Locals Don’t Visit
THE COLMA CEMETERIES: How a Town Became San Francisco’s Modern-Day Necropolis
THE RISE AND FALL OF DRAWBRIDGE: The Island Ghost Town in the Middle of San Francisco Bay
Interesting Bay Area Place-Names
WHAT’S THAT THING OFF 280? The Origin of the Flintstone House
TREASURE IN THE BAY: How FDR and the World’s Fair Gave Us Treasure Island
THE FOUNTAIN AT THE CIRCLE: The State Capital Almost Moved to Berkeley, and All It Got Was This Sweet Bear Fountain
Notable Public Art
THE ROBIN WILLIAMS RAINBOWS: Why Are There Rainbows on the Tunnel between San Francisco and Marin
EYESORE TO ICON: How Sutro Tower Became a Defining Feature of the San Francisco Skyline
SUTRO BATHS: The Lost Glass Swimming Palace for the Public
The Golden Gate Bridge: Your Questions, Answered
Food
GREEN GODDESS: The San Francisco Origins of a Beloved Salad Dressing
ROCKY ROAD ICE CREAM: How Two Oakland Ice Creameries Claim to Have Invented the Depression-Era Treat
SAN FRANCISCO SOURDOUGH: The Microbes That Make the City’s Favorite Bread
BRINGING BACK OLYS: The Story of the Bay Area’s Native Oyster
MAKING THE MAI TAI: Yes, Your Favorite Tropical Drink Was Invented Here in Oakland
Cocktails of the Bay Area
THE FILLMORE APPLES: How Bill Graham’s Nazi Escape May Have Inspired an Enduring Symbol of Rock and Roll in San Francisco
TEA GARDEN FORTUNES: Unwrapping the Bay Area Origins of the Fortune Cookie
Nature
THE GOLDEN GATE HERD: What’s with the Bison in Golden Gate Park?
WILD TURKEYS: Why Are They Strutting around the Suburbs?
A PROLIFERATION OF PALMS: Why Are There So Many Palm Trees in the Bay Area?
Name That Team
SUMMERTIME CHILL: Wind, Fog, and Microclimates . . . Understanding Bay Area Weather
THE VIEW FROM MOUNT DIABLO: The Biggest View in the World?
Myth Busting
ANCIENT HISTORY: The Bay Area during the Last Ice Age
CORVID CRUSH: Why Crows Are Crowding Your Bay Area Skies
REDWOODS: Why Do These Ancient Giants Only Thrive in Northern California?
The City
YOU CAN CALL IT FRISCO: The History of the City’s Contentious Nickname
GHOST FLEET: The Buried Ships of San Francisco
VAULT LIGHTS: What Are Those Grids of Glass in the Sidewalk, and Why Are They Purple?
BRICK CIRCLES IN CITY STREETS: The Underground Firefighting Tanks below San Francisco Intersections
THE BUTTERFLY BRIDGE: The Beautiful Bay Bridge Frank Lloyd Wright Never Got to Build
BART’S TRANSBAY TUBE
TUNNELS UNDER SAN FRANCISCO? Inside the Dark, Dangerous World of the Sewers
SAN FRANCISCO PAGODAS: The Unexpected History behind San Francisco Chinatown’s Striking Architecture
Did San Francisco Put the Bay in Bay Windows?
STAIRWAY TO PARADISE: The Garden Oasis of the Filbert Steps
THE 49 MILE DRIVE: Seeing San Francisco through Its Lucky Number
Contributors
Acknowledgments
About the Author