Free SF City Guides Walking Tour: Gold Rush City
Dates and Times for this Past Event
- Wednesday, Oct 30, 2024 1:30pm
- Sunday, Oct 27, 2024 2pm
- Friday, Oct 25, 2024 1:30pm
- Wednesday, Oct 23, 2024 1:30pm
- Sunday, Oct 20, 2024 2pm
- Friday, Oct 18, 2024 1:30pm
- Wednesday, Oct 16, 2024 1:30pm
- Sunday, Oct 13, 2024 2pm
- Friday, Oct 11, 2024 1:30pm
- Wednesday, Oct 9, 2024 1:30pm
Location
Meet at the sidewalk on the Transamerica Pyramid (north) side of Clay Street opposite the Starbucks on Clay.
Sign up here: https://sfcityguides.org/tour/gold-rush-city/
Details
“Gold! Gold from the American River!”, shouted San Francisco businessman Sam Brannan, as he ran down Montgomery Street in May,1848, waving a jar filled with gold over his head, sparking the Gold Rush. As word spread rapidly around the world, the tiny village of San Francisco, tucked amidst massive sand dunes by the Bay, and frequented by grizzly bears and mountain lions, was transformed virtually overnight into a booming instant city.
Learn about the incredible fires, gangs, vigilantes, shanghaiing, the Pony Express and the larger-than-life characters, like Mark Twain, Emperor Norton, and Levi Strauss, who walked the famously muddy streets. Walk above the fleet of abandoned ships, still full of cargo, buried beneath today’s skyscrapers. Hear how the Gold Rush sparked the largest peacetime migration in world history, catapulting California into statehood. Discover how treasure seekers converged from over a dozen nations around the world with diverse languages and customs to create the dynamic and tolerant character of the multi ethnic city we see today.