Misfits, Merchants & Mayhem

San Francisco’s Barbary Coast was legendary for gold rushers, gamblers and adventurers galore, but that’s only one strand in the history of the city’s waterfront. The new book Misfits, Merchants & Mayhem: Tales from San Francisco’s Historic Waterfront, 1849-1934 looks at nearly a century of life along the piers – from the Gold Rush to the Jazz Age – and documents how the boisterous bayfront birthed the San Francisco that we know today. Come hear the tales of the characters, both famous and infamous, who populated this neighborhood of possibilities.