The streets of San Francisco ’66

/ April 25, 2024

A Time Patrol movie

Previously on San Francisco: San Francisco > San Diego > Yosemite > Disneyland. We finally drove back to San Francisco on the last leg of our California roadtrip in 1966.

The streets of San Francisco in 1966. Shades of Michael Douglas and Karl Malden. The cars weren’t that different six years later in ’72, were they?

The streets of Berkeley. With a DS automobile for Gilles.

Yet another hill. Berkeley maybe? Funny how I had not realised, until very recently in a few films, how much our parents made us climb. And climb. And climb. Hill after hill. Until…

We went on strike, little sister and I.

Alcatraz and the Golden Gate. This was probably taken from Berkeley.

Watching the cable car. It was quite a discovery for us. The cable car is still there. Just the same. (Love the clothes.)

A very elegant cable-car pusher. Notice the white socks. It seems to me – though I may be wrong – that at the time, the passengers were the ones turning the car around…

Our friend, Marie-Andrée (no hard feelings despite the crazy trip to San Diego), my father, little sister, and the author of these lines. Wonder what street that was? Powell maybe? Not Market, I don’t think so.

My mother, centre, in the black coat.

Come on! The cable car is here. All aboard!

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85 thoughts on “The streets of San Francisco ’66”

  2. We are not climbing anymore! Venez, chers enfants, encore un peu! Your father needed oversight. (I can relate to that. Do they have a tower? I want to climb that tower. 🙂 ) Interesting how less saturated the colours are compared to the Africa and Pakistan footage. And yes, the way they turned the cable car! Wonderful look at SF in the sixtees.

    Reply

    • Haha! C’est tout à fait ça… (Ton Français est excellent… 👍🏻)
      You do have an eye for colours. I wonder why. Either those movies were not as well preserved as the others or simply the original light was stronger… I would incline to think that…
      You have been to SF, if I remember correctly.

      Reply

      • I did. I really liked the city. And I been put in my place by a warden of Fort Point. He asked where I was from and I stupidly answered: ‘I’m from Holland.’ Without hesitation he inquired: ‘Holland Michigan?’ ‘Ehm… no sir…. from….”From the Netherlands you are! The Netherlands. Remember that!’ Well, I thanked him for this insight and I did not forget. 🙂 But SF is a wonderful place with a great art museum and one of the best China towns, apart of course from China itself. I walked across the Golden gate bridge to Sausalito and went back by ferry, wich was quite beautful with the sun setting behind the bridge and the faint ghostly cries of the inmates on Alcatraz. 🙂

      • Haha. I stills say Holland. Probably always will. You had a nice stroll. My wife and i -much later- walked across the bridge in full fog. All the way to the other side and walked by. Which museum did you go to? The de Young in the park?

      • I went to the SFMoMa, in 3e street off Market street. Only now I become aware of the De Young and it’s sibling Palace of the legion of honor in Lincoln park. I wish I had taken notice back then. On the other hand, I was to embark on the trip further south, ending in San Diego. 🙂 Well, another good reason to head back to SF for some art and a well cooked hamburger.

  6. I love this! I traveled across country on Route 66 in 1969 to San Diego where my uncle lived. I was 5 years old so I only remember bits and pieces but I do remember the style of the era. The cars the clothes the feel, thanks for the memories!

    Reply

    • So your uncle lived in San Diego? I don’t remember much of San Diego. We only stayed a few hours. Never went back unlike San Francisco where I did go back several times with great pleasure.

      Reply

  8. I as stationed at the Presidio in 1969 just as the SF hippy scene was dying out, along with the powerful Oakland chapter of the Hell’s Angels, both due in a large part to drug usage. It was a great city and a great time to be there.

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    • Is that right? You must be about my elder brothers age then… 69 in California? Better than ‘Nam… Or did you go there too?
      SF is a great city. I’ve been back several times on business or pleasure, always great.
      Take care David…

      Reply

      • I was twenty when I was at the Presidio, so I’m an old man. I volunteered twice requesting orders to go Viet Nam. After several weeks with no word I was talking about the request some buddies and the said the 1st Sgt. probably sat on the request in case I had receive a “Dear John” letter or some bad news from home and the request was just a knee jerk reaction.

        I talked to the 1st Sgt. and he confirmed what my buddies had said and he told me he would give it to the CO that day to start the process.

        A few days later I received orders to attend combat training across the GG Bridge where there where quite a few Army installations including radar stations on the cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The training was conducted in a “valley” surrounded on three sides by the hills on the northwest side of the bridge. The area was about 100 yards wide and 200 yard long with knee high grass/weeds.

        We had been instructed to show up in fatigues with a full canteen, and a gas mask. When I got to the site I was issued a M-14, along with the other guys. We also received two clips of blank amo. There were 12 or 14 of us, most PFCs and some Spec4s like me. There was one officer a first lieutenant in the medical corps. Our mission was to go on patrol to make sure the area was secure. The medical officer obvious became the squad leader being the highest rank in the group.

        I thought we should walk along the side of the hills, no mare than a quarter of the way up. That way we would have a better view of the valley by, to some extent, seeing over the tall grass. A couple of guys agreed with me but the lt. said no, we would be too exposed. We spread out, about 10 feet between each man, and began walking through the grass.

        After 30 or 40 seconds, the grass in front of us started popping up with “Viet Cong” spraying us with gunfire. Time as erased what the take away was from that “training” other than my personal realization we failed miserably and to make sure in the future I would always seek out to be with some one experience.

        I thought for sure now that I was going to ‘Nam since Uncle Sam had spent money on training me for a new Army role. However, I did not get to go. Instead, a few weeks later I, along with a platoons worth of other 95Bravos like (combat MPs), were transferred down to Ft. Ord, Monterey, CA to help with a shortage of (95Cs) confinement MPs for the stockade there.

        So, to finally answer your questions, no I did not go to “Nam, but not because I didn’t try.

      • Thanks for your comment. Very typical of the Army anywhere. Those who didn’t want to go did go. And vice-versa. I had a few Nam vet freinds in Graduate school later on. Terrible experiences. And I agree from my time in the French Army, (No war, lots of maneuvers) that “survival” depended on the officers (and non-commissioned, very important) you were assigned to.
        You tried. That’s what matters.
        Again, thanks for sharing.
        And about age, if my math is ok, you’re my older brother’s age. Me, I’m from ’53… Bones are starting to creak…
        Be good David.

  9. All’s well that ends well ;-) :-)  … I even bought Scott Mackenzie’s record, one of the few I bought at that time. The B-side wasn’t bad either (What’s the difference). Unfortunately it “disappeared”.

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  13. I don’t think passengers were ever asked to help turn a cable car around! But things were different back then. That shot of GG and Alcatraz may have been taken from Marin County – they seem a lot farther away from the Berkeley Hills.

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  15. I have lots of memories of San Francisco, beginning when I lived for a short time in Daly City in 1975. So these images must have been similar to what I saw, but it’s long ago and I had forgotten. Thank you for the journey back in time. The videos are priceless. ❤

    Reply

    • I had to look up Daly city. Didn’t know where it was. Not far from “downtown” if I may call it that way.
      yeah, 1975 was a long time ago. I graduated from College in 1975. Just imagine, it will be 50 years next year… 😳
      The videos are time capsules as one blogger put it… Some people passed in front of the lens and most are gone now. But they were there. (I remember)😉
      🤗

      Reply

  18. Marie-Andrée est chanceuse qu’on ne lui en voulait pas 😉

    I love that the cable car turn is done by the passengers (well, it does seem like it!)

    Toujours un plaisir voir les films de ta maman 🙂

    Reply

  19. Lovely post, Brian, thank you!

    I have been there several times.

    The hills are a part of life. Perhaps people there are more healthy?

    San Francisco was once in the minds and dreams of many young people.

    Is there now a city in so many dreams?

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    • Thank you Resa. It is a lovely city. Close to L.A. where you have been countless times…
      This is a major question. Wow…
      Is there now a city in so many dreams?
      I don’t think so…
      Food for thought… Thank you.
      🙏🏻💕

      Reply

      • I think not, as well.

        There’s many intriguing cities, but in the kind of dreams we think of ….. that is different.

        You make me think.
        When SF was in dreams, there were many protests of the Vietnam war. Youth wanted peace, no war and made a place called a Love-in where that could exist, at least temporarily. This seemed to begin in San Francisco. So, it became the city in dreams.

        So, I am watching the many pro-Palestine demonstrations, many have an antisemitic overtone.
        Is there a city in their dreams they would go to find a slice of the peace?
        Would any go to Gaza City?
        Tehran?
        Bagdad?
        Maybe they don’t have those kind of dreams?

      • Excellent point(s) Resa.
        Then it was peace. Now it’s destruction. And hatred. Covertly or overtly, many are calling for the destruction of Israel. What a blogger friend called “antithesis”:
        I can only be right if you are wrong
        I can only be good if you’re bad
        I can only live if you die…
        I now remember her words by memory. What it means is that there can be no co-existence… And that is scary.
        The movement in the US and in France (Sciences Po Paris is a “good” example) is probably led – underneath – by Hamas supporters. Now, in France, for instance all those youngsters waving a Palestian flag, supported by a good part of the far-left? None of them could live in Palestine, or Syria, Or Iran. Or in most of the third world for that matter. I know, I’ve lived there most of my life. Most westerners don’t have what it takes to live “in the South”, the violence, the crimes the corruption…
        It really is a delusion…
        (Well, I ranted, it’s something I wanted to say for a while… Thank you for allowing me to let it out)
        Peace my friend.

      • Yes, you’re right. Then it was peace. Now it’s hate.
        I’m glad you had a rant. Hamas are killers. They even kill the people who support them.

        Hate is always a lingering option in the hearts and minds of humans. Love and peace are there too. As most people are sheeple, quality leaders are of the utmost importance; leaders who know how to bring out the better angels.

        BUT NO! Almost 8 years ago an orange devil was elected leader in America. He has given license for people to hate.

        So it follows that if America is a free world leader, the free world has license to hate.

        The genie is out of the bottle.
        Until …. if …. a quality leader surfaces ….. I see a continuing downward spiral.

        The most I’m hoping for at this point is that Uncle Joe can get in another term, hold the flood behind the dike and a half decent leader presents & sweeps the sheeple away before the next election.

        Broad strokes? Perhaps, but strokes nonetheless.

        Peace to you!

      • Totally agree. We are now caught between and Orange Crook, a snake-like baldie who thinks he’s the Tsar, A bunch of Asssassins who post their achievement on social media, and an old man, Uncle Joe as you so aptly put it as the ultimate dike against hatred…
        Broad clear strokes…
        🤞🏻
        Peace
        🤗💕

      • Peace! 🤞🏻
        Sorry for the tardy reply, but I was over on Art Gowns dealing with the new gown dedicated to Dale.
        I’m just listening to podcast that says 41% polled see a civil war in the US within 5 years.
        🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻

      • No worry, no hurry.
        About the polls, I was in market research for many, many years. A “sisterly” discipline. I wouldn’t put too much faith in the results. It is a very “biased” question, to which respondents don’t really have facts to help them make a “conjecture”. It’s a bit like “do you think millions of people might die if there is a pandemic?”. Even the term “Civil war” will be abstract fo a lot of people. Me? I wouldn’t have done the poll. Too much uncertainty.
        Having said that: 🤞🏻yes.

  20. Another wonderful glimpse into your past. Your comments about the climbing gave me a giggle. My husband is tall with a fast determined stride. I end up jogging to keep up with him when we tour 😉. I left a comment on YT.

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  21. Wow, what a fabulous walk through ’66 and the way they turned the car around…imagine doing that today?

    Great music to your video! How do you get away with using music in your videos? I’ve done that before and posted on my YouTube channel but Google penalises me so the vid isn’t aired – frustrating!

    I’ll be retuning home in Jan/Feb and unpacking my LPs from storage…need to buy a second-hand turntable as my muso friend assures me the new ones with Bluetooth, bells and whistles aren’t good.

    Reply

    • Today, there special handlers for the cable car. Paid by the city I imagine.
      Music. Probably depends on the particular song. Trad music tends to go through. When it’s a “popular” song, YT recognises it, tells me it’s “barred” in… Russia. I don’t care. And I can’t monetise the video. Which is fine by me. But it’s amazing. They’ve recognised very old Indian film (Bollywood) pieces. Normally it says I’m not violating copyright. The day I’m told I can’t use the music, Ill just look for another one. Tip: Use Internet Archives. They have music available that doesn’t violate copyright…
      A second hand turntable should be good, though possibly expensive. I just bought a new “digital” one cheap. Less than a 100 bucks US…

      Reply

  22. Was barely born that year. Never left the country, most likely never will. But I loosely know SF from movies. Must’ve been great times back then, apart from the ‘Nam war of course.

    Film looks like it has been overexposed. Maybe the wrong specs for that particular location? Or poorly developed. Nevermind, it’s all in the past now. Heh, both literally and figurately speaking. 🙂

    People seemed more outgoing, more cooperative back then. The turning of the cable car kinda proves that. Wasn’t only out there – out here too, we were much more… humane, cohesive, positive. We would lend a hand without specifically being asked to. Now we just shrug and say “let’em do their job, they’re paid for it”. In many cases we’re even legally forbidden to. Humanity lost in favor of The Law.

    Funny your climbing strike. Can relate to that as I have always had difficulty even walking on straight terrain due to a flat foot. Parents don’t always realize the limited energy reserves of a child.

    Like the dark-cherry Beetle following the cable car. One of my favorite colors.

    Thank you so much for the stroll. 🙂

    Reply

    • You never know. Maybe you will go outside the country. 😉
      Films are old. Colours have changed. Sometimes I had to increase light in the digitization process. The memories still remain.
      And I agree about co-operation. (Getting old Man) Lending a hand for anything was a natural (education-driven?) response.
      Thanks for strolling away. At a screen, flat feet don’t matter.
      Cheers Dragos.

      Reply

      • Me getting out? Nah… just out of life at some point. 🙂

        Increased brightness might be the cause. Indeed age is showing sometimes, not all films can be stored in perfect conditions, and even the original quality of the film matters. Now and then I got to watch some of our own national movies made in the early 60s-70s, and their quality is lousy. Either the film itself was bad quality or the processing was off the specs. Of course storage conditions probably contributed to quality deterioration. Too bad.

        Yeah I guess education had a prime role in our mentality. There may have been other factors too but wouldn’t want to go into that here and now. Bottomline is we were more open to each-other back then, more cooperative, more… human.

        Indeed screen-strolling doesn’t affect feet at all. 🙂

      • Could your National movies have been a tad propaganda oriented? Or simply other thought patterns. Many old French movies (different situation) have grow old… Culture too different.
        Cheers

      • Ah, when it comes to the action itself, the main topics etc yes, they did have some propaganda inserted here and there, some more than others. I was referring strictly to the quality of the film itself, the celuloid, and the storage conditions. They looked kinda “old”, “smudged” even when they were freshly produced.

        As far as I remember they used mainly (or strictly?) german film, AGFA and/or BASF. Maybe it was bad quality from the start. Who would’ve given (sold) high quality products to a lousy third-world country in Eastern Europe… Well, it would’ve been a waste anyway most of the time. 🙂

      • Ah, now that I think about it I remember it’s sometimes our own film (we did use to produce photo and movie film back then, as well as the development chemicals needed in the processing) so that accounts at least partly for the lousy quality.
        Oh well, water under the bridge. 🙂

  24. Brian, I love this wonderful post! I love the terrific Photos and the wonderful video and the songs by the Mamas & Papas and Scott McKenzie! Thank You!

    It’s been over 35 years since I spent a few days in San Francisco. At the time, I really wanted to ride the cable car, eat a crab roll at Fisherman’s Wharf and visit Alcatraz. I have beautiful memories of this city.

    Greetings from the beautiful Rhine-Highlands / Germany……Rosie

    Reply

  25. A lovely trip down memory lane. Enjoyed the photos. You and your sister really wanted your way back then. But you still had to go up the hills before going back down 😉 The cable car system is such an iconic part of SF. Fascinating how the passengers had to turn the cable car. Here in Melbourne, Australia we have almost the same thing but called trams and over the years they have been modernised. The ones that are really modernised go really fast here. Lovely to see you writing again, peng you 🙂

    Reply

    • Kam sia, Peng Yu. 😉
      SF is one of my favourite cities in the world… (List keeps getting bigger)
      I’ll have to look up Melbourne. (Just did. New South Wales, East…) My geography of Australia is rather poor…
      Just looked at your latest post on belonging. Need to “digest” it, so I copied it on a Word file to read at leisure… Belonging is a difficult task… Don’t give up… 🤗

      Reply

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