Unearthing hidden history underneath the Transamerica Pyramid
You’ve likely passed this spot a thousand times and probably never realized that, in its heyday, it was a one hell of a bohemian hot spot. In today’s San Francisco Diaries podcast episode, writer Hiya Swanhuyser shares how she found this piece of history and why she’s been obsessed with it ever since.
Hiya is working on a book about a lost piece of San Francisco history, the Montgomery Block building, which stood where the Transamerica Pyramid stands today. It was there for 107 years, and was a crucial gathering place for artists and writers, including Mark Twain, Ambrose Bierce, Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, and thinkers and political types such as Emma Goldman and Sun Yat-Sen, among many many others.
Listen to the episode:
Here’s what the Montgomery Block building looked like in its glory days:
Photo by G. R. Fardon (British, 1807 – 1886) Details of artist on Google Art Project
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Featured photo by wallyg