A distinction needs to be made between the Zeitgeist of a time and the Genius Loci of a place. Is it part of the Genius Loci of the Bay Area to be Bohemian? I

A distinction needs to be made between the Zeitgeist of a time and the Genius Loci of a place. Is it part of the Genius Loci of the Bay Area to be Bohemian? I get the air for sourdough, and terroir for wine, but culture? It’s a deep question, and requires a comparison with other US cities. Zeitgeist-wise, I’d note that San Francisco is an infant from a world culture standpoint, reaching all the way back to the...1950s? Maybe include Carmel to go all the way back to the early 1900s. All the rest of the world yawns. And the Spanish colonial and indigenous cultures are at best window dressing on the SF vibes...another costume to wear. Most other cultures would probably think that SF doesn’t have enough Zeit to be able to support much of a Geist. But I agree personally that the attempt to intentionally physically and socially recreate an imagined past is a recipe for disaster. That past can be a powerful inspiration for future exploits since, although the physical elements of past visions are gone, the essential visions underlying the imagined past remain today in some real, if not physical sense, to be revisited, refined and perhaps manifest, or perhaps rejected. Now I will take my staff and robe and be on my way...