Stephen Canright, S.F. Curator explores Offbeat Tales "On the Waterfront"

Written by rubin Monday, 29 June 2009 21:00

San Francisco, CA - Offbeat and little known stories about the San Francisco Southern waterfront will come to life on Tuesday, July 14, 2009. The tales will detail how bums repeatedly caused a wharf to burn, why writer Jack London was ripped off when he ordered a yacht, and where severe anti-Chinese feelings made many of them jobless. Those and many other stories, plus a slide show, will highlight a lecture by Stephen Canright, curator of Maritime History. "On the Waterfront" will be held at the San Francisco Jewish Community Center, 3200 California at Presidio, at 7:30 p.m. A reception at 7 p.m. will precede the event, which is sponsored by the San Francisco Historical Society (SFMHS). It is free to members, $5 for nonmembers.
 
According to Canright, who is based at the S.F. Maritime National Historical Park, “There was a special wharf on Channel Street where schooners brought hay in from the Delta and the South Bay. Local bums would sleep on it, but when they were up, they’d put nail holes into wine barrels that were stored on the adjacent wharf and suck the liquid through a straw. . . “But the winos would get so drunk they’d forget to properly dispose of their pipe matches, so the place kept burning down.”
 
The waterfront was also a study in contrasts.
 
Wealthy patrons such as Jack London would have yachts built there. In 1906, Canright notes, the world-class novelist commissioned a ketch, the Snark, with “lots of oddball specs.”
 
The boat actually “was under construction when the earthquake hit, and was slightly damaged. But it became one of the most expensive ever built since the whole boat community knew about London’s wealth and everybody wanted a piece of the action.
 
“It went on for months and months, and London ended up paying 10 times the normal price since all the suppliers on the waterfront took advantage of him. . . “Incidentally, it turned out to be a bad boat.”
 
When it came to the immigrants, Canright explains that the old Tubbs Cordage Co. was a factory that “made rope for whaling, mining and general maritime use, as well as nets that hung under the Golden Gate Bridge during construction, saving the lives of workers who fell off.
 
“But the company consistently had trouble regarding the Chinese workers, who were good at trade skills and worked cheaply, because there were such widespread anti-Chinese feelings in the 1870s and ‘80s.”
 
Rather than face the issue, “Tubbs wouldn’t hire any new Chinese workers, and when the ones it already employed quit, they were replaced with women and young Anglo boys.” Canright’s talk also will focus on the commercial, industrial and transport development of the Southern waterfront, from Rincon Point to Hunters Point.
 
One example, Steamboat Point, which ultimately became the site of the Giants’ ballpark, was a shipyard in the 1850s and 1860s that launched palatial side-wheel riverboats that carried passengers to Sacramento.
 
The San Francisco Museum and Historical Society binds San Francisco’s past, present and future. Now in its 21st year, SFMHS has more than 3,000 members and fulfills its mission of preserving Bay Area history through a broad spectrum of programs and special events such as history walks, the Barbary Coast Trail and Standing Ovations, its annual celebration of San Francisco culture. 
 
For additional information call 775-1111 x 5 or visit www.sfhistory.org. San Francisco Museum and Historical Society
P. O. Box 420470 - San Francisco, CA 94142-0470

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