Читать книгу San Francisco's Lost Landmarks - James R. Smith - Страница 7

Introduction

San Francisco’s Lost Landmarks: A City in Perpetual Transition offers an opportunity to look back at earlier times, lives, and lifestyles. Little comparison is made to what the city is now and as you’ll find, the tone remains as neutral as possible except in a couple of instances. No attempt was made to judge those times or these—San Francisco is unique in that it is for the most part amoral but not immoral. It has always been a “live and let live” place populated by people who dare to take risks.

San Francisco’s city emblem, the phoenix, is as applicable today as always. The city continually renews and reinvents itself. I meet people who tell me they won’t go to the city any more because it’s become so dark and sinful; yes, it has changed and not necessarily for the better. Yet it’s no more dark or sinful than it ever was. Part of that is media sensationalism and part the sanitation of old memories, and I’m as guilty of the latter as anyone else. Yes, the city had changed, but the factor of change is ongoing, because it, more than any other city in the world, embraces change.

So please take this book as a fun look backward, with stories and illustrations of the days, events, and places that we have built on. History doesn’t have to be serious, so enjoy and take from this what you will.