The tree/sculpture on display in the lobby of the Huntington Hotel on Nob Hill in San Francisco.

2012

The tree/sculpture on display in the lobby of the Huntington Hotel on Nob Hill in San Francisco.

2012

Detail of the tree/sculpture in the Huntington Hotel

2012

Detail of the tree/sculpture in the lobby of the Huntington Hotel

2012

One of the framed pictures on the tree sculpture.

The population of San Francisco exploded from 1848 to 1850. Miners lived in tents, wood shanties, or deck cabins removed from abandoned ships.To meet the demands of the arrivals, ships bearing goods from around the world came to San Francisco. Ships' captains lost their crews who upon arrival quickly deserted to go to the gold fields. The wharves and docks of San Francisco became a forest of masts, as hundreds of ships were abandoned. Enterprising San Franciscans turned the abandoned ships into warehouses, stores, taverns, hotels, and one into a jail. Many of these ships were burned in fires, or they used for to create more buildable land in the boomtown.

San Francisco during the California Gold Rush 1849-1853

 

Detail of the tree/sculpture in the lobby of the Huntington Hotel

2012

Detail of the tree/sculpture

2012

One of the framed pictures on the tree sculpture.

Throughout 1849, people around the United States (mostly men) borrowed money, mortgaged their property or spent their life savings to make the arduous journey to California. In pursuit of the kind of wealth they had never dreamed of, they left their families and hometowns; in turn, women left behind took on new responsibilities such as running farms or businesses and caring for their children alone.

San Francisco during the California Gold Rush 1849-1853

Detail of the tree/sculpture in the Huntington Hotel

2012

 

One of the framed pictures on the tree sculpture.

A young woman's photo album

The sculpture/tree during construction in the backyard

October-November 2012

The sculpture/tree during construction in the backyard.

This photo shows the base platter that seperates into four parts.

The ornate finished construction, still seperates into these four pieces.

October-November 2012

The sculpture/tree during construction in the backyard

October-November 2012

The sculpture/tree during construction in the backyard

October-November 2012

The sculpture/tree during construction

October-November 2012

The sculpture/tree during construction

October-November 2012

One of the framed pictures on the tree sculpture.

The Great Event, with the driving of the Golden Spike . . . completion of the Transcontinental Railroad on May 10, 1869.

The Transcontinental Railroad's 150-Year Anniversary

The sculpture/tree during construction

October-November 2012

An eclectic history of the Big 4, and the Big 4 Restaurant on Nob Hill, in San Francisco. 

One of the framed pictures on the tree sculpture.

Collis P. Huntington 1821-1900
Of the big four, he had a reputation for being ruthless shark in pursing the railroad's business. The press turned out reams of copy decrying the scoundrel and his business tactics. It was said that he felt neglected when an occasional issue of the papers forgot to include some scathing comment about the nefarious Huntington the crocodile. During the transcontinental railroad’s construction, Huntington went back and forth to Washington DC filling the pockets of legislators pockets. 

  He was later involved in the establishment of the Southern Pacific Railroad, which was purchased by the Big Four  principals of the Central Pacific Railroad in 1868. The SPR became a monopoly that controlled California for the next 35 years. The railroad's first locomotive, C. P. Huntington, was named in his honor. 

Relics from Huntington's mansion on Nob Hill

The sculpture/tree during construction in the backyard

October-November 2012

One of the framed pictures on the tree sculpture.

The sculpture/tree during construction

October-November 2012

The sculpture/tree during construction

October-November 2012

One of the framed pictures on the tree sculpture.

Leland Stanford Jr. on His Pony, Gypsy,
Palo Alto, May 1879
Photo taken by Eadweard Muybridge

Leland Stanford Jr.’s death at age 15 led to the creation of a university and museum.

The sculpture/tree during construction in the backyard

October-November 2012

One of the framed pictures on the tree sculpture.

The Crocker mansion took up the entire block on Nob Hill where Grace Cathedral is now located.

The blue light of a silent night, in Grace Cathedral

Cats and quotes

The sculpture/tree during construction in the backyard

October-November 2012

One of the framed pictures on the tree sculpture.

The Hopkins mansion stood on Nob Hill at California and Mason where the Intercontinental Mark Hopkins Hotel is located today. The mansion cost 3 and a half million dollars in 1878, about 95 million in today's money.

The Mark Hopkins Intercontinental Hotel with it's Top Of The Mark, and Room of the Dons

 

One of the framed pictures on the tree sculpture.

San Francisco in 1906  

The sculpture/tree during construction

2012

 

One of the framed pictures on the tree sculpture.

Below is a link to a Shorpy image of San Francisco's Sutro Baths. Spectator's view to Small Pools." 1970s copy negative of an image formerly of the Martin Behrman, Wyland Stanley and Marilyn Blaisdell collections.

View full size.

Sutro Sam and silhouettes at the Baths

The sculpture/tree during construction

2012

 

One of the framed pictures on the tree sculpture.

Three things that San Francisco is widely known for.

The Golden Gate Bridge, Cable Cars, the Homeless

The sculpture/tree during construction in the backyard

October-November 2012

One of the framed pictures on the tree sculpture.

 

 

The sculpture/tree protected from rain, during its construction in the backyard.

October-November 2012

The tree/construction in the front room at home.

2018

The tree/construction in the front room at home.

2021

The tree/construction in the front room at home.

2021

Pieces of the tree construction being transported to the museum at 608 Commercial.

December 2021

left to right

Kristin Scheel, Richard Everett, Nancy Everett, Lauren Arteaga, Ethan Marx

Putting the tree-construction back together at the museum, 608 Commercial.

December 2021

Lauren Arteaga, Kristin Scheel, Ethan Marx

One of the framed pictures on the tree sculpture.

This Was San Francisco, by Albert Tolf

Lana Costantini, Director of Education and Publications for the San Francisco Historical Society

San Francisco Historical Society's museum and home office.

The San Francisco Historical Society exists to uncover, preserve, and present, in engaging ways, the colorful and diverse history of our city from its earliest days to the present.

sfhistory.org

 

 

One of the framed pictures on the tree sculpture.

The tree being decorated in its new home at 608 Commercial.

 

The San Francisco Historical Society

sfhistory.org

 

 

The San Francisco Historical Society

608 Commercial

Open and free to the public

sfhistory.org

One of the framed pictures on the tree sculpture.

A view looking along Montgomery Street, the original shoreline of Yerba Buena Cove in San Francisco Bay.

This photo is taken in 1921 from atop Telegraph Hill.

Yerba Buena Cove - a brief history in pictures

An eclectic history of the Big 4, and the Big 4 Restaurant on Nob Hill, in San Francisco. 

 

One of the framed pictures on the tree sculpture.The origins of the name NOB HILL.
 
 Nob Hill was originally called the Clay St Hill or the California St Hill.
The word Nob, is derived from and is a contraction of the Hindu word nabob or nawwab: "a person, especially a European, who has made a large fortune in India or another country of the East; a very wealthy or powerful person." In the late 1800’s, when the millionaires began building their palaces on it, and the hill became internationally known as the home of California’s super-wealthy Bonanza Kings and Big Four Railroad barons. An English cockney satirically called it Nob Hill, a “nob” in cockney meaning an ostentatious snob. The name stuck.

 

One of the framed pictures on the tree sculpture.

Tin Lizzies, hard-working jalopies, and stylish motorcars in San Francisco 

One of the framed pictures on the tree sculpture.

Tin Lizzies, hard-working jalopies, and stylish motorcars in San Francisco 

At the SFHS museum

December 13, 2021

The San Francisco Historical Society exists to uncover, preserve, and present, in engaging ways, the colorful and diverse history of our city from its earliest days to the present.

sfhistory.org

Come visit the SFHS museum.

sfhistory.org