Public spaces change fast here in San Francisco, and for better or worse, it can be pretty crazy when you see what the City used to look like. Every week, we'll bring you Then & Now, a comparison of historic photos of the Bay Area with current views from the same perspective. Have a suggestion for a photo comparison that looks totally different (or shockingly the same)? Drop us a tip in the Curbed Inbox or leave a comment after the jump.
Quick note: See that vertical green bar in the middle of the then and now photos? You can move it horizontally to see the photos side by side
[Then photo: SAN FRANCISCO HISTORY CENTER, SAN FRANCISCO PUBLIC LIBRARY/ Now photo: Alex Bevk] Back in the day, San Francisco was full of breweries (76 to be exact). The Wieland Brewery was located on a block of 2nd Street, between Howard and Folsom, from 1856-1920, and housed all the brew tanks, bottling facilities, and offices. John Wieland, gold miner, baker and beer baron, bought the already thriving Philadelphia Brewery, eventually becoming its sole owner and renaming it Wieland, and building it into one of the most successful and largest breweries on the west coast. Wieland died in a fire in 1885, and the brewery was sold to San Francisco Breweries LTD (but continued to operate under the name Wieland Brewery), who also owned three other breweries in town.
The building was badly damaged in the 1906 Earthquake, but rebuilt on the same site. They tried to restart after prohibition in 1920, but never got into production. By the 1930s, the brewery moved to San Jose, where it remained in production until 1956. Today the original site on 2nd Street is occupied by the Marine Fireman’s Union, which was constructed in 1957.
. SF Brewing History [website]