Hidden San Francisco: A Guide to Lost Landscapes, Unsung Heroes and Radical Histories

by Chris Carlsson

Overview

'The history of San Francisco I've been waiting for. It not only reorients our conceptions of the past, it gives us walking tour itineraries so we can viscerally experience how we are participants in the region's remaking' - Sean Burns, writer and filmaker

San Francisco is an iconic city. But beyond the picture postcards of the Golden Gate Bridge, the city's most interesting and radical history is waiting to be uncovered.

Hidden San Francisco is a guidebook like no other. Structured around the four major themes of ecology, labour, transit and dissent, Chris Carlsson peels back the layers of the city's history to reveal a storied past: behind old walls and gleaming glass facades lurk former industries, secret music and poetry venues, forgotten terrorist bombings, and much more. Carlsson also delves into the Bay Area's long prehistory, examining the region's geography and the lives of its indigenous inhabitants before the 1849 Gold Rush changed everything.

This second edition includes new tours on the wild and natural parts of San Francisco that most tourists never visit, from Glen Canyon to Sutro Forest, as well as a new themed walk on the Summer of Love. There is also a new introduction examining the devastating impact of the pandemic, as well as a mini-history of tech in the city, from the Gold Rush to AI.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780745350912
Publisher:	Pluto Press
Publication date:	04/20/2025
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook

About the Author

Chris Carlsson is a San Francisco historian and award-winning tour guide. He directs 'Shaping San Francisco' - an impressive archive of local history, and co-founded the urban cycling movement Critical Mass in 1992. He is the author of four books, including novels and histories about the city. He has lived in San Francisco since 1978.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Preface
Introduction to the Second Edition
1. Openers
2. Turning Shorelines, Wetlands, Creeks, Sand, and Hills into a City
3. Whatever Happened to the Eight-Hour Day?
4. Trails, Sails, Rails, and Wheels
5. Dissenters and Demonstrations, Radicals and Repression
Appendix
Shaping San Francisco Tour Itineraries [including new tour itineraries]
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

An original, vivid people's history of the nation's 'Left Coast City'. Photos, maps, and self-guided tours of over one hundred of the most important and iconic historic places and spaces bring to life the authors' beautifully crafted and well-informed San Francisco stories' - - Bill Issel, Professor Emeritus of History, San Francisco State University


Brings erudition, curiosity and passionate progressivism to a remarkably wide range of subjects - from the city's profaned natural glories, to little-known episodes in its labor history' - - Gary Kamiya, writer, historian and tour guide to San Francisco


San Francisco is long overdue for a history like this! Smart and accessible, this is a book that everyone who has left a piece of their heart in the city needs to read' - Barbara Berglund Sokolov, historian at Presidio Trust - Barbara Berglund Sokolov, historian at Presidio Trust


With the city awash these days with more and more newcomers, Hidden San Francisco is more vital than ever for keeping us all connected to the wild, weird, and radical histories that make this place so special' - Susan Stryker, trans activist and gender academic


The history of San Francisco I've been waiting for. It not only reorients our conceptions of the past, it gives us walking tour itineraries so we can viscerally experience how we are participants in the region's remaking' - Sean Burns, writer and filmaker

From the Publisher