The 1970s in San Francisco were flamboyant, alive, full of color and passion, marked by dark periods and electric highs. It was known worldwide for hippies and radicals. The city was heavily affected by drugs, prostitution and crime. Outcasts and the socially marginalized were attracted by a greater tolerance and acceptance of diverse cultures in the city. It grew as one of world’s biggest centres for the LGBT community and LGBT rights.To grow up in San Francisco in this era was extraordinary, and anyone who spent their early years here in the 1970s has vivid memories swirling around in the mind.
These amazing photos were taken by Dave Glass that show street scenes of San Francisco during the 1970s.‘
DuPont Market, Grant and Pacific, Chinatown San Francisco, 1970
DuPont Market, Grant and Pacific, Chinatown San Francisco, 1970
Grant Street grocery, Chinatown-North Beach district, San Francisco, 1970
Man trying on shoes at the Salvation Army store on Howard and 6th Street, San Francisco, 1970
Watch repairman, Polk Street, Tenderloin, San Francisco, 1970
A 1960 Cadillac Coupe Deville on 8th Avenue, Richmond district, San Francisco, 1974
Lakeside Liquors, Mission district, San Francisco, 1974
MUNI J-Church line streetcar, 21st Street, Mission district, San Francisco, 1974
Page Street near Fillmore, Lower Haight, San Francisco, 1974
San Francisco Municipal Railway, 1974
8th Avenue, Richmond district, San Francisco, 1976
8th Avenue, Richmond district, San Francisco, 1976
1300 block McAllister Street, Western Addition, San Francisco, 1976
1951 Chevrolet pickup truck, 8th Avenue, Richmond district, San Francisco, 1976
Bystanders at the Bicentennial parade, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, July 1976
MUNI J-Church line, PCC car no. 1018, Liberty Street, Mission district, San Francisco, 1976
This building has been restored and now sits at 1720-1722 Fillmore near Sutter, Western Addition, San Francisco, 1976
Valencia and 15th, Mission district, San Francisco, 1976
Western Addition, San Francisco, 1976
Woodward and Duboce, Mission district, San Francisco, 1976
Woodward between 14th Street and Duboce, Mission district, San Francisco, 1976
Alabama Street, Mission district, San Francisco, 1977
Annual Hare Krishna gathering, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, 1977
Apartment building being moved to it’s new location, Ellis and Divisadero, Western Addition, San Francisco, 1977
Driver for Coast House Movers, Western Addition, San Francisco, 1977
Ellis Street, between Scott and Divisidero, Western Addition, San Francisco, 1977
Foreground is Mission Street near Fair, Bernal Heights district, San Francisco, 1977
Laundromat attendant, Fulton and Divisadero, Western Addition district, San Francisco, 1977
Market Street, San Francisco, 1977
Mission district rainy afternoon, San Francisco, 1977
Mission district, San Francisco, 1977
Baker’s Market, Fulton and Baker Streets, Western Addition, San Francisco, 1978
Lakeside Liquors, 2188 Mission Street, Mission district, San Francisco, 1978
Looking west at 23rd and Hampshire in the Mission district during a winter rainstorm, San Francisco, 1978
Public housing projects, Turk Street, Western Addition district, San Francisco, 1978
Silverwing Cafe on Kearny Street, old International Hotel can be seen in the window reflection, 855 Kearny Street, Chinatown, San Francisco, 1978
Fell Street between Fillmore and Steiner, Western Addition district, San Francisco, 1979
Fillmore Street, San Francisco, 1979
Houses on 22nd Street between Church and Sanchez, San Francisco, 1979
Intersection of Mission and 18th Street, Mission district, San Francisco, 1979
Larry’s Liquor, 201 Octavia Street, Western Addition district, San Francisco, 1979
Market and Octavia, San Francisco, 1979
Mural painting in progress on the side of the Keystone Korner, North Beach, San Francisco, 1979
People’s Temple, San Francisco, 1979
Wash Dry 10 Cents Laundromat, 806 Divisadero Street, Western Addition district, San Francisco, 1979
World Motors, 18th and Valencia Streets, Mission district, San Francisco, 1979