Rare Color Slides of the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition in San Francisco

These rare color slides offer a vibrant and fascinating glimpse into the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition, one of San Francisco’s most spectacular world’s fairs.

Held on Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay, the exposition celebrated the completion of the Golden Gate Bridge and the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge with dazzling Art Deco architecture, towering towers, lush gardens, and futuristic pavilions.

Captured in stunning early color photography, these images bring to life the fair’s festive atmosphere, elegant visitors in 1930s fashion, and the optimistic spirit of pre-war America. A true visual treasure, they preserve a colorful moment in history that few people today have ever seen.

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San Francisco in 1965 Through 30 Stunning Kodachrome Slides

In 1965, San Francisco stood on the brink of a cultural revolution. Still elegant and slightly old-fashioned in many ways, the city was beginning to pulse with a new, youthful energy that would soon define the Summer of Love.

These stunning Kodachrome slides capture the city in vivid, saturated color: from the cable cars climbing steep hills and the foggy streets of North Beach to the bohemian vibes of Haight-Ashbury and the bustling waterfront.

With their rich tones and remarkable clarity, the photos offer a nostalgic yet vibrant window into a pivotal year when beatnik culture was giving way to the emerging hippie movement, forever changing the character of one of America’s most iconic cities.

Columbus Tower, San Francisco, October 1965

A prototype BART car goes on display in Union Square, San Francisco, 1965

Bank of Canton, Chinatown, San Francisco, October 1965

Belli Building, San Francisco, October 1965

Cable car, San Francisco, October 1965

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In 1968, the Pilot of a Japan Airlines Flight Accidentally Landed the Plane in the Ocean Just Over 2 Miles Short of the Runway

On November 22, 1968, Japan Air Lines (JAL) Flight 2, a Douglas DC-8-62 named Shiga, made an accidental water landing in the shallow waters of San Francisco Bay. The aircraft was on a scheduled flight from Tokyo to San Francisco. Often called the “Asoh Defense” incident or the “SFO Water Landing,” it remains a legendary story not just for the survival of everyone on board, but for what happened to the aircraft afterward.

In thick fog and low visibility, Captain Kohei Asoh mistakenly believed he was over the runway. Instead, the plane touched down roughly 2.5 miles (4 km) short of San Francisco International Airport (SFO).

Miraculously, all 107 occupants (96 passengers and 11 crew) survived without a single injury. The landing was assisted by an unusually high tide, which provided enough cushioning for the impact while keeping the exit doors above the waterline. Passengers and crew evacuated via lifeboats and were towed to the nearby Coyote Point Yacht Harbor by the Coast Guard and police. Captain Asoh was the last to leave the aircraft. 

The incident is most famous for Captain Asoh’s blunt accountability during the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation. When asked what went wrong, he reportedly stated: “As you Americans say, I f---ed up.”

This rare act of “radical honesty” became known in leadership and business management as the “Asoh Defense.” Because he took full responsibility without shifting blame to technical issues or weather, he was not fired, but merely demoted and sent for retraining; he eventually returned to flying for JAL until his retirement. 

Unlike most ditched jetliners, the Shiga was not a total loss. The aircraft was salvaged from the bay 55 hours after the incident. United Airlines repaired the plane at a cost of approximately $4 million. It was returned to JAL in March 1969 and continued to fly for several years under a new name, Hidaka. It was later sold to Airborne Express and was finally scrapped in 2001.

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35 Kodachrome Slides Capture San Francisco Street Scenes in the Early 1960s

The early 1960s were a time of quiet transformation in San Francisco — a city poised between postwar tradition and the cultural awakening that would soon make it world-famous. Before the Summer of Love and the countercultural wave, the streets still carried an air of mid-century grace: cable cars clattering through Nob Hill, pastel Cadillacs gliding past corner diners, and well-dressed pedestrians moving with unhurried confidence through the morning fog.

Market Street buzzed with commerce, neon signs flickering over department stores and movie theaters. In North Beach, artists, poets, and jazz musicians spilled into cafés, blending bohemian spirit with urban sophistication. Meanwhile, streetcars and classic American cars filled the hills, their chrome reflecting the California light. The city’s architecture — Victorian row houses beside modernist towers — mirrored the era’s contrasts: old San Francisco meeting the promise of the new decade.

These found Kodachrome slides of San Francisco’s early 1960s streets capture a city on the edge of change — elegant, energetic, and alive with the quiet charm of another time.

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Views of the Safety Net Used to Protect Workers During Construction of the Golden Gate Bridge in the 1930s

The Golden Gate Bridge was constructed over a little over four years, from January 5, 1933, to May 27, 1937. This iconic suspension bridge, which spans the Golden Gate Strait, was built during the Great Depression and became a symbol of hope and progress during that challenging time.

When building the Golden Gate Bridge, the lead structural engineer Joseph Strauss insisted on the installation of a safety net even though its $130,000 (equivalent to over $2.7 million today) cost was deemed exorbitant. The safety net was suspended beneath the bridge’s floor during the construction of the roadway. It was made of manila rope and extended 10 feet out from the trusses on each side, providing a wide buffer to catch any workers who fell.

This net saved the lives of 19 men, who later formed the “Halfway to Hell Club.” The net also boosted worker morale and increased productivity because the crew felt more secure while working at great heights.

The Golden Gate Bridge’s safety record was remarkably good for its time. The industry standard for a project of its size ($35 million) was one fatality for every million dollars spent, which would have predicted 35 deaths. However, only 11 workers died during the entire construction. Tragically, 10 of those deaths occurred in a single accident when a five-ton scaffolding platform collapsed and tore through the net.

The use of this safety net, along with other safety innovations like hard hats and mandatory safety lines, established a new precedent for worker protection in large-scale construction, forever changing the industry’s approach to safety.

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San Francisco in the Early 1980s Through Fascinating Photos

In the early 1980s, San Francisco was a city at the crossroads of change. The skyline was evolving with new developments, while its streets buzzed with the energy of a diverse population. The tech boom was starting to take off, but neighborhoods like the Mission and Tenderloin still held onto their gritty, eclectic charm.

Punk rock, new wave, and the remnants of the 60s counterculture shaped the music scene, while the city’s LGBTQ+ community was becoming more visible, despite the looming crisis of AIDS. With its mix of progressive activism, economic shifts, and cultural vibrancy, early 80s San Francisco was a place of both innovation and struggle, where bold ideas and tough realities coexisted on every corner.

These fascinating photos were found by Thomas Hawk that show street scenes of San Francisco in 1981 and 1982.

Alioto's, San Francisco, 1981

Cable cars, San Francisco, 1981

Cable cars, San Francisco, 1981

Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco, 1981

Ghirardelli Square, San Francisco, 1981

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Famous Photo of the Fire at the Cliff House on September 7, 1907

The Cliff House is a historic restaurant in San Francisco, perched on the cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean. First built in 1863 by Adolph Sutro. The restaurant survived the 1906 earthquake, but, in what was becoming a pattern, the Cliff House burned to the ground a year later on September 7, 1907.

The fire at the Cliff House on September 7, 1907

The source of this fire was unknown, but was so ferocious that the giant burning structure was doomed before the first fire truck got to the blaze. A famous photo of the fire taken from Ocean Beach captured the dramatic scene.

The current structure, built in 1909, is a Beaux-Arts style building. Over the years, it has served as a popular dining spot and tourist attraction, offering stunning ocean views. Today, it remains a key landmark in the city, offering a unique mix of history, architecture, and coastal beauty.

Led Zeppelin Frontman Robert Plant Holding a Dove That Flew Into His Hand While on Stage in San Francisco, 1973

To capture a truly great rock ‘n’ roll photograph, you need a few things: access to the band, a good vantage point, a careful sense of timing and, perhaps most importantly, a little bit of luck. Photographer Neal Preston had all of these things when he snapped the now-famous photo of Robert Plant tenderly holding a white-winged dove at a Led Zeppelin concert that took place at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco on June 2, 1973.

The band had a dozen birds released from cages during the end of “Stairway to Heaven,” but instead of flying away like the others, this dove landed on Plant’s hand. Once in an interview Robert commented that a picture taken at the theme was his favorite photo of himself and that he personally owns a copy of it.

“This was taken during a gig at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco,” Preston told The Guardian in 2018. “There were two cages behind the amps on stage, each containing six white doves. To be honest, I think they were probably just white pigeons but we called them doves so let’s stick with that. Anyway, Robert Plant’s a real hippy at heart, so the idea was that at the end of ‘Stairway to Heaven,’ we’d release the doves and they’d fly off into the air as a homage to peace and love.

“But when the cages opened, the birds flew out and one did a low pass over the audience, then must have taken too deep a breath of the San Francisco air – remember, this was 1973 and there was a high chance of being dosed by some deadhead. Anyway, it turned back to the stage and Robert stuck out his hand. The dove landed on it, purely by chance – this was not a trained bird. It was there for about five seconds. I’m just glad it didn’t land on Jimmy Page’s hand or something bad might have happened to it.

“I knew it was a nice picture. With the dove and the Newcastle Brown Ale he’s drinking, it’s so British and so Robert. Nobody else could have pulled that off without looking pretentious.”

A Victorian Home Being Moved by a Boat in Tiburon, California in 1957

On December 4, 1957, one of the oldest homes in Marin County, a distinctive Victorian that stood for 80 years on the east side of Strawberry Point, was lifted from its foundation and barged across Richardson Bay. Known as the Lyford House, now part of the Richardson Bay Audubon Center, it arrived at its present location just off Tiburon Boulevard through a combination of good luck, timing and a massive community effort that saved the Bay from development and created a wildlife refuge along the shore.

Its builders were Dr. Benjamin Lyford and his wife, Hilarita, whose father was John Reed, the first white settler in Marin County and recipient of a Mexican land grant that spanned 9,000 acres from Tiburon to San Rafael.

Lyford House also figures grandly in the effort to save Richardson Bay from development in the 1950s, when the bay was scheduled to be filled and divided for homes.

Dr. David Steinhardt, a retired surgeon who lived on Strawberry Point, discovered the old house surrounded by bulldozers one day in 1957 when he went for a walk near his home. Steinhardt, who had helped form a coalition a year earlier to save Richardson Bay, learned the house would be destroyed within days.

Steinhardt was offered the house on the spot.

The transaction clinched a deal to secure 9 of the 11 acres that are home to the Audubon center, which were donated to the group by Rosie Verrall on the condition that Lyford House be relocated there.

A reclusive woman known locally as “the goat lady” for her small herd, Verrall had received the land from the nephew of Hilarita Lyford, John Paul Reed, with whom she had an early romance.

“Her diary would make you cry,” said Steinhardt, who helped arrange a volunteer brigade to move the house and pledge lifelong care to Verrall in exchange for the land. “She looked out every day for years to see him, but it just wasn't to be.”

These days it’s listed as a National Historic Landmark and plays hosts to events throughout the year, including weddings. Assuming you get a nice day, not only will you have access to the charming Victorian, but you get incredibly scenic bay views, too.

(via SFGATE)

San Francisco in the Late 1970s Through Fascinating Color Photos

San Francisco in the 1970s was a global hub of culture. It was known worldwide for hippies and radicals. The city was heavily affected by drugs, prostitution and crime. Outcasts and the socially marginalized were attracted by a greater tolerance and acceptance of diverse cultures in the city. It grew as one of world’s biggest centers for the LGBT community and LGBT rights.

The rock music known as the San Francisco Sound was performed live and recorded by San Francisco-based rock groups of the mid-1960s to early 1970s. It was associated with the counterculture community in the city at the time.

San Francisco was the cradle of the pornography industry in the United States in the 1970s, and led to a dramatic growth of strip clubs, adult movie theaters, “peep show” booths, and sex shops downtown, as well as to the creation of the first feminist advocacy groups for sex workers.

Many skyscrapers were built in the city during this period. The city is also associated with West Coast jazz and was one of the major centers of jazz fusion which took off in the 1970s. Many American detective/crime television series were shot in San Francisco in the 1970s and the city became well known as a backdrop to police films such as Dirty Harry (1971).

These fascinating color photos were found by Thomas Hawk that captured street scenes of San Francisco in January 1979.

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Fascinating Photos of San Francisco Snapped Through a Navy Submarine Periscope in 1951

In 1951, a diesel-powered US Navy submarine called the U.S.S. Catfish passed under the Golden Gate Bridge and did a short tour of San Francisco Bay. While there, the crew decided to snap some photographs of San Francisco through its periscope.

The photographs were rediscovered by Bill Van Niekerken, the library director at the San Francisco Chronicle, in the newspaper’s photo morgue. Writer Peter Hartlaub then gathered the photographs together and posted them to an online gallery.

The U.S.S. Catfish had been stationed in San Diego, but came up to Northern California on this occasion to pick up a couple of reservists for a training exercise. It spent roughly an hour traveling from a point five miles out from the Golden Gate Bridge to a berth at Treasure Island, snapping photos of sights along the way.

The photographs, which all have crosshairs, show the Golden Gate Bridge, the San Francisco skyline, and various well-known landmarks:

Jan. 21, 1951: The U.S.S. Catfish submarine enters the San Francisco Bay, on a maneuver away from its post-World War II home in San Diego. This is a periscope view of Alcatraz, while it was still a federal prison, and just four years after Al Capone died.

Note the Mt. Davidson cross in the distance, at a time when Dirty Harry was just a teen screwing around near Potrero Hill.

A 1951 submarine view of the Palace of Fine Arts, more than 20 years before the birth of the Exploratorium. The U.S.S. Catfish was pre-nuclear, but it had 10 tubes with 21-inch torpedoes. Enough firepower to take out almost every bar in the Marina District

Ghirardelli Square as seen by the U.S.S. Catfish. This view hasn’t actually changed that much.

A clear submarine view of St. Ignatius Church on the USF campus.

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