#1950s San Francisco

[skepwith]

Queer mid-century San Francisco is the setting for this noir mystery series featuring detective Evander "Andy" Mills. Author Rosen nails it on multiple levels: the noir-style narrative voice, the satisfying mystery plots, and the historical details of being queer in SF in 1952. But it's the evolution of the main character that gives these books an emotional depth beyond standard whodunnits.

Lavender House opens with Andy having just been kicked out of the police force after being caught in a raid on a gay bar. Closeted for years, he thinks his life is over. Then he's hired by a woman to look into the murder of her wife—discreetly.

Along with all the pleasures of a good mystery, we get the pleasure of watching Andy become able to reimagine his life, this time as part of a community he'd previously kept at arm's length. In The Bell in the Fog this includes atonement for having been a cop; the police in these books are absolute bastards to queers (as they were in reality). Rosen has clearly done his historical research, and sometimes it's pretty damn grim, but the books are never hopeless. They show all kinds of queer people grabbing their joy with both hands and making the most of it, creating their own spaces and families in a hostile world. Andy's growth demonstrates that finding happiness is possible, with a little self-acceptance and a lot of solidarity.

Recommended for fans of noir mystery and queer history.

#book recommendation #lavender house #the bell in the fog #lev ac rosen #queer history #noir #1950s San Francisco

[kafkasapartment]

Spiral Stairway, San Francisco, 1953. Paul Caponigro. Gelatin silver print.

#black and white #photography #fotografia #fotografie #photographie #1950s #foto #archtecture #design #stairs #steps #san francisco

[365daysoflesbians]

Butch/Femme couple at one of Mona Sargent's nightclubs, circa 1950s.

Mona Sargent owned and operated several lesbian bars in San Francisco throughout the 1940s and 1950s, including Mona's 440 and Mona's Candle Light. She is a central figure in Wide Open Town, Nan Alamilla Boyd's groundbreaking history of queer San Francisco to 1965.

#lesbian #lesbian history #butch lesbian #butchxfemme #wlw history #sapphic history #gay history #lgbt history #queer history #lgbtq history #1950s #san francisco #mona sargent

[inthedarktrees]

Pirkle Jones, Figures in Rain, San Francisco, 1955

#rain #1950s #1950s fashion #50s #rainy #umbrella #50s fashion #vintage fashion #pirkle jones #california #san francisco #vintage #black and white #photography #sfmoma #artwork/70.40.6

[undr]

Fred Lyon. Swimmers, San Francisco, 1950's

#fred lyon #vintage #photography #black and white #art #history #black and white photography #vintage photography #1950s #san francisco #usa

[federer7]

Boy on Bicycle. Cabrillo and 22nd Ave, San Francisco. c. 1950's

Photo: Fred Lyon

#Fred Lyon #1950s #san francisco #boy #bicycle #Cabrillo

[agelessphotography]

San Francisco from Twin Peaks, Ansel Adams, 1952-53

#ansel adams #photography #vintage photography #vintage #black and white photography #1950s #san francisco #california #cityscape #american

[americaisdead]

san francisco. may 2024

© tag christof

#tag christof #america is dead #on the road #kaiser #kaiser manhattan #1950s #diner #san francisco #nikon zf

[wordfromoursponsor]

KRON-TV (1959)

#vintage #retro #advertising #vintage ad #black and white #old ad #1950s #TV #KRON-TV #San Francisco #illustration #cartoon #graphic art #house ad #1950s ad #television station

[vintage-every-day]

In and around San Francisco 1957-61. 8mm home movies from San Francisco's Park Merced neighborhood 1957-61.

#vintage #san francisco #1950s #1960s

[domusinluna]

San Francisco poster for United Airlines by Joseph Binder, 1957 

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#san francisco #united airlines #joseph binder #1950 #1957 #50s #vintage ads #vintage travel poster #midcentury #mid century #mid-century

[kafkasapartment]

'Stadt Gaswerk San Francisco', 1952. Umbo (Otto Umbehr), 1902 - 1980. Gelatin silver print, ferrotyped. There is no ‘Stadt Gaswerk’ in San Francisco, it’s his artistic interpretation of the scene.

#photography #black and white #fotografia #photographie #fotografie #foto #1950s #engineering #infrastructure #san francisco

[2othcentury]

San Francisco, California, March 20, 1952. Photo by Charles W. Cushman.

#1952 #1950s #50s #San Francisco #California #Charles W. Cushman #people and places #animals #~

[emeraldexplorer2]

Cliff House, San Francisco, 1950's

#vintage #vintage americana #restaurant #cliff house #san francisco #california #1950's

[undr]

Fred Lyon. Street scene, Chinatown, San Francisco. 1950s

#fred lyon #black and white #photography #vintage #street photography #san francisco #usa #art #history #black and white photography #vintage photography #1950s

[retropopcult]

San Francisco’s Union Square, looking north up Powell Street, February 1958.

#vintage #1950s #San Francisco #California #American Airlines #United Airlines #chevron #street scene #cab #taxis