Have you or a relative saved a meaningful San Francisco Chronicle front page? We’re collecting stories about favorite Chronicle covers for a Total SF project, with the goal of using them to help tell the story of San Francisco.
Take a photo and share it on Twitter or Instagram with the hashtag #ChronicleCovers, or send your photo and story to Peter Hartlaub atphartlaub@sfchronicle.comwith “Chronicle Covers” in the subject line.
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Dig around the San Francisco Chronicle archives for a few years, and you’ll experience a symphony of societal highs and lows on its front pages.
Wars begin and end. Tragedies occur and a nation recovers. Technological advances lead to triumphs, and sometimes end in disaster.
But the best finds — and some of the most enduring covers — are the ones that represent a sweeping change in the city. Look at the covers years later, and the landmark moments have new meaning. Linked together, they tell the story of San Francisco.
Below are my six all-time favorite San Francisco Chronicle front pages,from No. 6 to No. 1. We’ll curate more from readers, and place them all on ourSan Francisco Chronicle-sponsored cable carin mid-December — a Total SF project I’m co-hosting with Chronicle columnistHeather Knight.
6. “The Grateful Dead: ROCK BAND BUSTED”
Oct. 3, 1967
Conservative San Francisco politicians in 1967 treated theSummer of Lovecounterculture movement as an invasion. The Chronicle often covered the goings-on near Golden Gate Park as a crime story. Reporters were tipped off to the arrest of several Grateful Dead members and friends aftermarijuana was found in their house.
But the over-the-top headline just looks ridiculous now. The marijuana-related charges were later reduced. The surviving Grateful Dead members have become beloved as charitable and patriotic Bay Area citizens. (How many national anthems have they contributed to local sporting events?) The band’s ethos has become a part of the city. The ethos of the men who busted them is all but gone.
And that small amount of marijuana found in their Haight-Ashbury home? It’s legal in 2018 — just as the band and its managers predicted it would be when the bust went down.
5. “WE DO”
June 27, 2015
For much of the decade before the momentous gay rights ruling, locals heard the words “San Francisco values” used as a pejorative, a rallying cry by conservatives against what were once seen as far-left beliefs.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruling declaring the constitutional right of same-sex couples to marry was a victorious moment for the city, and a reason to believe that those values have been worth the long, slow fight.
The Chronicle’s “WE DO” cover captured the moment in the perfect visual statement, with Tim Hussin’s photo of Jewelle Gomez and Diane Sabin in silhouette, the City Hall’s front doors and a rainbow flag in front of that.Bob Egelkoand Carolyn Lochhead’s lead articles provided legal and historic perspective for Chronicle readers.
4. “THE 49ERS WIN IT ALL”
Jan. 25, 1982
San Francisco needed some good news in 1982.
封面编年史had been filled with tragedy for much of the previous five years, including the assassinations of Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk, theJonestown massacreand more violence.
The Chronicle dedicated the entire front page to the 49ers win. The city anticipated that 25,000 would show up forthe parade the next day. More than 500,000 clogged the streets, forcing a detour. San Franciscans needed an excuse to celebrate, and the good vibes arguably brought the city out of its funk and carried it forward through the 1980s.
3. “EARTHQUAKE AND FIRE: SAN FRANCISCO IN RUINS”
April 19, 1906
This newspaper is filled with horrific headlines. “NO HOPE LEFT FOR SAFETY OF ANY BUILDINGS,” “WHOLE CITY IS ABLAZE,” CHURCH OF SAINT IGNATIUS IS DESTROYED.”
But thecombined edition of The San Francisco Call-Chronicle-Examiner, printed on Oakland Tribune presses, was itself a triumph of resilience and recovery. If there were newspapers on the streets, there would be banks and city government.
San Francisco wouldn’t just return to normalcy. It would rebuild better than before, into a world-class city.
2. “WE MURDER THE BUMS”
April 16, 1958
The veryfirst front-page headlinefrom the very first San Francisco Giants game — an 8-0 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers at Seals Stadium — was more than a sports story.
After years of San Francisco being considered second to New York, pundits wondered if the city was big enough to support a baseball team. The Giants flew into town just two days before the game (both the Giants and Dodgers had recently moved to California from New York at the time), were greeted by a massive parade, and played for a sellout 23,448 crowd in beautiful weather.
And then camethe audacious headline: “WE MURDER THE BUMS” across the top of Page One. Forget about that coffee headline of 1963 that read,“A Great City’s People Forced to Drink Swill.”This is The Chronicle’s greatest headline in history.
“All in all a memorable day to remember not to forget,” columnist Herb Caen said. “And I think it’s great that the Giants finally have a big league city to call home.”
1. “The Golden Gate Bridge”
May 28, 1937
编年史设计师经常做他们最好的作品n the biggest days in San Francisco history. And there were few days bigger than the debut of the Golden Gate Bridge
Perhaps acknowledging that words would not be the best way to accurately capture the moment, The Chronicle went with a simple photo with a knockout angle, taken from the top of the North Tower.
“The Golden Gate Bridge **** A Thirty-Five Million Dollar Steel Harp” was written in a strip across the bottom of the page.
Naysayers (mostly ferry operators) said the bridge would be a mistake; in one ad that ran in The Chronicle, they claimed it would ruin the views and keep visitors from coming to the city. The Art Deco masterpiece turned out to be a triumph of engineering — and maybe the best tourism magnet ever built.
It was certainly one of the best Chronicle covers — and my pick for the best in newspaper history.
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See more than 350 classic Chronicle front pages with ourChronicle Covers project.
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