Imperial San Francisco, With a New Preface: Urban Power, Earthly RuinFirst published in 1999, this celebrated history of San Francisco traces the exploitation of both local and distant regions by prominent families—the Hearsts, de Youngs, Spreckelses, and others—who gained power through mining, ranching, water and energy, transportation, real estate, weapons, and the mass media. The story uncovered by Gray Brechin is one of greed and ambition on an epic scale. Brechin arrives at a new way of understanding urban history as he traces the connections between environment, economy, and technology and discovers links that led, ultimately, to the creation of the atomic bomb and the nuclear arms race. In a new preface, Brechin considers the vulnerability of cities in the post-9/11 twenty-first century. |
Contents
New Romes for a New World | 1 |
The Pyramid or Mining | 13 |
Water Mains and Bloodlines | 71 |
The Scott Brothers Arms and the Overland Monthly | 121 |
The De Youngs Society Invents Itself | 171 |
The Hearsts Racial Supremacy and the Digestion of All Mexico | 200 |
Toward Limitless Energy | 245 |
The University the Gate and the Gadget | 280 |
Notes | 331 |
A Note on Sources | 359 |
361 | |
389 | |
Common terms and phrases
acquired American aqueducts bank Bay Area Berkeley bomb building capital century city's civilization claimed Coast Comstock Comstock Lode contado Courtesy Bancroft Library Crocker destiny empire energy Figure fortunes George Hearst gold Golden Gate growing Hetch Hetchy Hill hydraulic mines Imperial San Francisco industry Japan Japanese John John Hays Hammond labor land Lawrence leading Market Mexican Mexico Michael de Young military million miners nation needed Newlands newspapers Neylan Overland Monthly Pacific Park Phelan Philippines Phoebe Hearst pioneer political president produced proved race railroad Ralston real estate regents River Roman Roosevelt San Fran San Francisco Bay San Francisco Call San Francisco Chronicle San Francisco Examiner Schussler Scott Senator served Sharon Spreckels Spring Valley Spring Valley Water Street Tevis thousand tion told Union Iron United University of California Water Company wealth weapons West western Wheeler William Hammond Hall William Randolph Hearst William Sharon wrote York