The 1980s was easily one of the most tumultuous decades San Francisco has seen. With the 6.9-magnitude Loma Prieta earthquake and the AIDS epidemic sweeping the city, it was a time for community activism and strength.
Explore the 12 photos below from a decade that was both whimsical and tragic.
Market Street and 5th Street, 1985
Photo: OpenSFHistory/wnp25.1599.jpg
According to the SFGate, Diamond Palace, pictured above, “was a San Francisco institution that traced its origins back to 1850 when it catered to miners and other pioneers who had struck it rich in the Gold Rush.” The family-owned business closed in 1990, and now the San Francisco Shopping Center has taken its place.
Golden Gate Theater, 1980
Photo: OpenSFHistory/wnp25.1719.jpg
The Golden Gate Theater opened in 1922 as a vaudeville house, but had fallen into disrepair by the early 1970s. When the above photo was taken, it had recently been restored. The theater has hosted many Broadway shows, such as “Rent,” “Sweeney Todd” and “Hairspray.”
Hibernia Bank, 1980
Photo: OpenSFHistory/wnp25.1604.jpg
Built in 1892, Hibernia Bank is one of the longest-standing buildings in San Francisco, and is recognized as a historic landmark. It was very recently renovated and reopened, with Hillary Clinton leading the first public event after the reopening. It had been empty since 2001.
Balboa Park MUNI yard, 1980
Photo: OpenSFHistory/wnp25.0316.jpg
Balboa Park Station has serviced many Daly City and South Bay residents since it opened in 1973.
Doggie Diner at Mission Street, ca. 1980s
Photo: Doggie Diner
Doggie Diner was a fast food chain whose outlets each came with a seven-foot-tall statue of a dog’s head with a chef’s cap on top of a pole. Though the chain is now closed, just this year the dog’s head at Sloat Boulevard and 45th Avenue became San Francisco’s 254th designated landmark.
Destruction from the Loma Prieta earthquake in Oakland, 1989
Photo: HG Wilshire for the US Geological Survey
The collapse of the Cypress Street Viaduct in nearby Oakland during the Loma Prieta earthquake caused the disaster’s highest number of fatalities, amounting to 42 deaths.
Howard Street near 6th Street, 1980
Photo: Janet Delaney
The following photos are from Janet Delaney’s celebrated “South of Market” series, which was displayed at the De Young Museum in 2015. Her photos are especially relevant considering how drastically SOMA, or South of Market, has changed since the tech boom. Above a policeman is shown writing a ticket.
Greyhound Bus Station, 1982
Photo: Janet Delaney
This Greyhound Bus Station was previously located on 7th Street between Mission Street and Market Street. Now you can find it on Folsom Street between Beale Street and Main Street.
Langton Street and Folsom Street, 1981
Photo: Janet Delaney
Pictured are longtime neighbors at a SOMA intersection. This spot is still a parking lot, but the surrounding shops are now upscale restaurants and bars.
2nd Street and Market Street, 1986
Photo: Janet Delaney
During the 1980s, San Francisco’s Financial District saw a major boom in skyscrapers as Mayor Dianne Feinstein lifted height restrictions. Locals becoming aggravated and led what was labeled the “skyscraper revolt.”
View of the Financial District from SOMA, 1980
Photo: Janet Delaney
Thirty-six years ago, 521 Mission Street was the Patrick & Co. Office Furniture warehouse. It’s now home to mega media company iHeartMedia.
Aronson Building, 1980
Photo: Janet Delaney
The lovely brick facade of the Aronson Building still stands. However, the empty lot to the left of the building is now the Yerba Buena Center, while the building itself has become the main entrance to the Yerba Buena galleries and forum event space.
