On our Notorious SF: Ghost & Crime tour we visit the sites of old Hollywood scandals, red light districts, opium dens, Gold Rush era lynchings and kidnappings, haunted locations (with some of the scariest ghost stories you've ever heard) and stop to enjoy a drink in a historic bar from the Barbary Coast era.
We start with the Fatty Arbuckle affair at the St Francis, the first Hollywood sex scandal, a moment that changed the public's perception of celebrity forever (and lead to the 'morality clause'). Then we stroll down Maiden Lane, which is lined with designer boutiques now, but a hundred years ago was the city's main red light district. After that we visit Chinatown, a area that was full of opium dens and gambling hellholes more than a hundred years ago, but is now a fun and fascinating place to visit.
Next you'll learn about Gold Rush era SF, when it was the Wild West here and public lynchings were held on Portsmouth Square. Finally, we head to the infamous Barbary Coast, which was once full of brothels and dance halls, often used to Shanghai unwary sailors (which is where the term originated).
During the evening we'll regale you with some very scary San Francisco ghost stories from that period. We end the tour at the oldest continuously operating bar in the city, the Old Ship Saloon, which dates all the way back to the 1850's.
Join our Notorious SF: Ghost & Crime tour and be haunted by these tales from San Francisco's lawless past for weeks!
