San Francisco at the height of the California Gold Rush. Looks to be a very settled place, but the archivists tell us this was taken 1851 or 1852, very near the start of the growth boom. Four great fires in 1850 and 1851 had devastated the city, but in at least two cases, the fire was stopped when it reached one of the few large brick buildings then standing. This lead to the extensive use of brick for re-building after the September 1851 fire.

We see the port nearly choked with ships — many of them had no crew with which to depart, the incoming crews having jumped ship to try their luck in the gold mines, or at the gaming tables. Gambling was one of the main businesses of the city, and many a fortune won in the mines was lost in the gambling rooms. The big winners were the owners of these gambling establishments, who could well afford to re-build each time fire swept away their businesses.

The photographer who took this image has not been identified. There were several daguerrians working in San Francisco by 1850-52, among them Henry W Bradley, William D Chappel, Peter G Clark, Stephen Goodfellow, James W Johnston, Julia Shannon, Isaiah W Taber, and several others. Many more probably passed through on their travels around California, and could well have paused long enough to take an image or two.