the bella union and the barbary coast [ 26:32 ] Play Now | Play in Popup

All sorts of San Francisco legends shared her stage and its Barbary Coast history, among them Oofty Goofty, Big Bertha, Lola Montez, Emperor Norton and little Lotta Crabtree. Today’s podcast tells the story of the 60 years in which the “Bella” was the most popular show in town.

For further edification:
» The Barbary Coast – Herbert Asbury, 1933
» San Francisco Theatrical Memories – James Madison, 1925
» Women in Early San Francisco
» Emperor Norton – Sparkletack
» Marriott’s “Avitor”

Musical support:
Thanks to Tom Brown’s player piano for this week’s music, discovered at internetarchive.org, thanks to a Creative Commons license.