The weather was perfect for Stairway Walk – Railroad Barons and Stairway King! Sunny with just a slight breeze, kept things warm but not too sweaty! My intrepid walkers showed up at the appointed time and we waited a little while for any stragglers.
As we made our way around Nob Hill, we explored tiny alleys and the streets, rising and falling with the contours of the hill. Plenty of interesting architecture, and around every corner, views that take the breath away.
Only two building survived the 1906 Earthquake and subsequent fire: the Flood Mansion, and the Fairmont Hotel. Flood and Fair were two of the Comstock Lode Silver Kings, although the hotel was built by Fair’s daughters as a legacy to him. The funny thing about the hotel is that they had sold the hotel just a few months before, but the fire insurance wasn’t set to expire until midnight of the day of the earthquake, so the hotel was still covered!
Another interesting tidbit is the Crocker Spite Fence – Charles Crocker was the biggest of the Big Four who built the transcontinental railroad, and he had to have the highest spot on Nob Hill. It just had to be the entire block, so he started buying the lots of the people who owned on that block. All sold to him except for a german undertaker named Nicholas Jung, who didn’t see any reason why he should sell, even at the very attractive price Crocker offered. Crocker kept raising his price until finally his temper snapped, and he threatened to “bury you alive” – which he did by building a forty-foot high fence around the three sides of Jung’s property, completely enclosing the house in shadow.
Jung responded by erecting a coffin on the roof of his house aimed at Crocker’s house, but eventually he moved his entire house to a different lot he owned elsewhere on the hill. Crocker still didn’t remove the fence, because he didn’t want Jung to be able to sell the lot. The 1906 quake solved the problem for both, as it destroyed Crocker’s mansion and the spite fence.
The battle of the egos went on to both men’s graves. It wasn’t until much later that the Jung estate finally sold to the Crocker estate, who donated the land to the episcopal church. The site of Grace Cathedral is the location of Crocker’s mansion, and the cloister on Sacramento street is where Jung’s house stood.
Anyway, once the walk was over, one of the walkers gave me a ride back to Hayes Valley, where I had eggs florentine at Flipper’s. Then home and a sweet, lovely nap. What a great day!
You must log in to post a comment.