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Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates/San Francisco Harbor, 1851

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Original - San Francisco harbor in 1850 or 1851, with Alcatraz Island in the background.
Reason
A rare daguerrotype showing San Francisco's economic activity during the California gold rush. Merchant ships crowd the harbor and freshly constructed clapboard buildings fill the foreground. Hardly any of this scene could be replaced with a later photograph: the gold rush ended shortly afterward, construction projects began on Alcatraz Island in 1853, steam ships replaced sailing ships, and the great San Francisco earthquake/fire of 1906 destroyed most of the city's early architecture. Restored version of Image:SanFranciscoharbor1851.jpg. This is San Francisco 55 years before the earthquake and more than 80 years before Alcatraz became a federal prison.
Articles this image appears in
History of San Francisco, California, Alcatraz Island, California gold rush
Creator
unknown

Promoted Image:SanFranciscoharbor1851c sharp.jpg MER-C 08:24, 11 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]