Dan White's Incredibly Cosmopolitan Neighborhood
Unfinished History
Dan White's Neighborhood: Moscow and France Streets in the Excelsior
Photo: David Green
Russia Avenue north at Paris Street, 1927, car wreck at left.
Photo: San Francisco History Center, SF Public Library, courtesy Charles Ruiz collection
Dan White, the Supervisor who killed fellow Supervisor Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone at City Hall on November 27th, 1978, has become the City of Tolerance's symbol of intolerance--of narrow-minded, parochial bigotry that can explode into violence. Oddly, he grew up in the City's most cosmopolitan neighborhood--at least in terms of its street signs. In just a few blocks you can experience Paris, London, Moscow, Naples, Madrid, Lisbon, Vienna, Edinburgh, Prague, Dublin, and Munich, not to mention France, Persia, Russia, and Brazil.
After he was released from prison on January 6, 1984, White wound up asphyxiating himself here by running a car in his tightly-closed garage. Though he was mourned by most San Francisco police, who had wildly cheered the assassination of their own mayor, the City as a whole was not exactly grief-stricken at White's demise.
--Dr. Weirde
Dan White's Hood: London and Brazil Streets
Photo: David Green