“On the Road” has many vivid depictions of San Francisco circa 1950. Most remarkably they spend almost all their time in the Mission, because this is where all

“On the Road” has many vivid depictions of San Francisco circa 1950. Most remarkably they spend almost all their time in the Mission, because this is where all the work is at docks and warehouses, and when they go out at night the jazz clubs and bars are always nearby. And as it is described there are so many of these nightclubs that they can hop to a new one every hour, and do this every night for weeks and never run out of places to go. It’s a city as a party, and seems to contrast with the current reputation as a bit suited up and stale. What remained the same was the characters all living in precarious situations of housing, usually finding a flop house or sleeping on someone’s couch and so on. The transient nature of the city hasn’t changed much. But Dean Moriarty is able to rent a home for a family of 4 on Pacific Hill for two years while barely holding down odd jobs for more than a few weeks at a time. That’s different! Kevin Starr’s magisterial history of California really revolves around San Francisco. It’s a beautiful story in five parts. The first is the Spanish Mission, then the Gold Rush boomtown, then wartime depot (this is what “On the Road” describes), then the hippie utopia, and now the tech center (I like to call it the “unicorn stable”). I wonder how we will reminisce about the San Francisco of today in 50 years.