4 marzo 1853 anni - SF at 50k

Descrizione:

But this was a frontier full of people: 50,000 by 1853. The saving grace of most frontiers was the room they allowed for error, for the uncertainties and false steps that mark every infant society. San Franciscans lacked that luxury; crowded on the peninsula, between the bay and the sand hills, they inflicted their errors on one another.

Arriving back at San Francisco in the spring of 1853, Sherman was amazed at

The tone of city life had changed almost as much as the city’s visual appearance. Gold dust no longer served as money, and the small scales that merchants had used to weigh customers’ payments were now mere curiosity pieces. Coins clanked across the counters: American dollars and quarter-dollars, English crowns and shillings, French francs, Mexican dollars and double-reals, Dutch and German florins and guilders, even Indian rupees.

By the standards of the East, San Franciscans were still in a hurry, but, in contrast to the early days, they weren’t uniformly in a hurry to get somewhere else. The population of the city continued to grow rapidly—this was obvious from all the construction. But a solid core of the population had stabilized.

The cobblers, upholsterers, harness-makers, jewelers, painters, bakers, printers, and tailors located around the commercial district provided goods and services one might have found in any city—and at prices that, while still often high by eastern standards, were no longer extortionate.

Aggiunto al nastro di tempo:

Data: