by Court | Jan 6, 2021
On this day in 1914, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors declared San Francisco’s cemeteries a public nuisance, and voted to have all remains moved. At the time, there were an estimated 100,000 people buried here, and cemetery owners, politicians, and local...
by Court | Jan 4, 2021
Did you know that Alma Spreckles and her husband, Adolph, had a special crypt designed and built directly under Rodin’s The Thinker, at the Legion of Honor? Apparently they couldn’t use it because San Francisco law prohibited further burials, but let’s think about it...
by Court | Dec 17, 2020
Did you know that James Lick’s body is actually buried underneath the telescope in the observatory named after him? WEIRD, RIGHT? James Lick was a piano maker who came to San Francisco in 1948 and made his fortune in real estate. After a successful career there, he...
by Court | Dec 16, 2020
Dear Friends:The holidays approacheth and many of us are on lockdown again. It’s going to be the weirdest fucking season yet. I was really sad about Thanksgiving – not that colonizer pumpkin pie bullshit, but about being away from my family. Because of COVID, we...
by Court | Dec 10, 2020
On this day in 1852, San Francisco held its first (legal) execution. A man named Jose Forner (or Forni) was hung from a gallows erected at the top of Russian Hill. According to letter-sheets sold after the hanging, Forner killed Jose Atari after a fight over money....
