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The earthquake and consequent fire devastated much of the city, and 250,000 people were left homeless.

Founder in 1904 of the Bank of Italy, later the Bank of America, Giannini financed the Golden Gate Bridge.

The AIDS epidemic reached overwhelming proportions in the city in the 1980s.

African-American feminist and dedicated San Franciscan, Walker’s novel The Color Purple (1985) set the tone for a new vision of black heritage, as seen from the woman’s point of view.

Ginsberg (1926–97) cleared the way for the eventual Gay Liberation Movement by openly declaring his homosexuality in his literary milestone Howl , first unveiled to the public in 1955 (see Howl). His epic poem soon attracted charges of obscenity in the buttoned-down, witch-hunting 1950s. Ginsberg’s spiritual mysticism also set the tone for the Hippie Movement.

Impending war with Mexico in the 1840s inspired US leaders to arouse the interest of Bay Area settlers in joining the Union. In 1846, a party of Yankees in Sonoma declared California’s independence from Mexico, christening it the Bear Flag Republic. Shortly after, Commodore John Sloat claimed California as US territory.

When Tan’s The Joy Luck Club (1989) hit the scene, San Francisco’s Chinese community at last found its voice. It illustrated Chinese culture and its clash with uprooted Americana.

Maupin’s Tales of the City were serialized in the San Francisco Chronicle before being published in book form. They are lighthearted paeans to the idiosyncrasies of gay San Francisco in the 1970s, before the specter of AIDS changed everything.

This 1992 thriller sees Sharon Stone and Michael Douglas cross Golden Gate Bridge to a love-pad at Seadrift.

The Bay Bridge’s inauguration in 1936 heralded the end of the age of ferryboats by linking the city to the East Bay. The inauguration of the Golden Gate Bridge took place a year later (see Golden Gate Bridge).