But are Asbury’s and Lewis’ accounts, which were published respectively in 19, the actual history of Morton Street? Or are they another addition to the corpus of San Francisco urban legend? In particular, Asbury’s stories about this street have been repeated so often in books,(4) in articles,(5) on web sites,(6) and by tour guides(7) that his version of Morton Street’s past has achieved a life of its own, even among historians, and the dissemination of its story has been widespread. Several pages in Herbert Asbury’s and Oscar Lewis’ wonderful books The Barbary Coast(2) and Bay Window Bohemia(3) trace what they presented as the history of Morton Street, one of 19th century San Francisco’s notorious brothel alleys, now a chic shopping street called Maiden Lane that runs east two blocks from Union Square.
But everything west of this was still sand dunes and dirt paths. Mark’s Place, and that the alley was an actual street along the length of its two blocks, while Geary and Post Streets were cut and graded almost to what was then called the Public Square. This map of the 1857 Coast Survey of San Francisco shows clearly that the two blocks east of the future Union Square had been graded and developed, including St. Note the 80-foot sand dune blocking Market just west of Kearny/3rd. The only way to get these blocks was to hike, ride, or drive south on Kearny, and even this route was available only because it was the main path to Mission Dolores.īy this 1857 US Coastal Survey map, the area had urbanized substantially. In particular, Market Street wouldn’t even exist until 1860. The map showed actual streets, but these were actually dirt paths going up, down, and around the sand dunes. Just one structure can be seen on the lower block along where the alley would be. Mark’s Place was cut through the middle of the blocks. This map of the 1852 Coast Survey of San Francisco shows the two blocks east of the future Union Square before they were graded and St. Morton Alley in red on 1853 US Coastal Survey map.
This article is part of a research project by the author tracing the history of San Francisco’s Tenderloin District from its origins in the 1840s to the present.
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