The Babylon of the Pacific

In 1848 San Francisco was known as Yerba Buena, and few people even knew it existed.  Fewer than 1000 people lived there when gold was shouted on the streets by Sam Brannan.  His short term goal was to depopulate the town and then to transform it long term into a boomtown like no other.  San Francisco became the port of entry for the Gold Rush.

Where only barren hills lay, sloping down to muddy flats, shack and brick buildings rose to house doctor and lawyer offices, gambling halls, dry good stores, restaurants, theaters, even an opera house.  By the end of 1850, San Francisco had a population of 30,000 and in five years 55,000 called the city home, living in shanty towns, rooming houses, and mansions built from new found gold.

It wasn't without problems.  The supply of labor and raw materials was lacking.  Even unskilled labor was in short supply so that wages rose sky high.  Lumber zoomed from 4 cents a foot to $1 a foot, and it was scarce.  "Rag houses",  squares of canvas stretched across wooden supports replaced wooden houses and became a major part of the city. At least $345 million in gold passed through the city between 1848-1850 with most going into the pockets of merchants, gamblers and prostitutes.  Properties were sold at 10 times the price just a few months ago.

San Francisco was the place to dine on duck and oysters, to bet hundreds on the turn of a card, to squander a fortune on a fancy woman.  By the early 1850s, the city was swarming with prostitutes who came from all over the world.   In 1853, the height of the gold rush, San Francisco had 48 brothels, 537 drinking establishments , 144 restaurants and 46 gambling dens.  One visitor commented, "California can and does furnish the best bad things that are available in America."

Next time...Enough of that!
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Today in Pioneer History: "On July 17, 1955, Disneyland, Walt Disney's metropolis of nostalgia, fantasy, and futurism, opens. The $17 million theme park was built on 160 acres of former orange groves in Anaheim, California, and soon brought in staggering profits.