Our Neighborhood Rocks!

Did you know that in the early 1900's the city of San Francisco had a quarry?  Well, it actually had three!  There was one at 30th and Castro, one on Telegraph Hill, and one at Corona Heights - right where our neighborhood sits.


All three quarries were owned by George and Harry Gray.  The Corona Heights quarry included a brick kiln that made all the bricks that lined the cable car tracks.  Apparently, the bricks coming out of the quarry were not the highest of quality and they eventually had to be replaced.  


The brick kiln was located on States Street on the opposite side of the park form where our house sits.  Remnants of the brickyard buildings can still be seen there today.  The kiln burned down during the 1906 earthquake, causing some people to apparently think a volcano had erupted on Corona Heights.  After repairs, quarrying continued.  


The Gray brothers were seen as “constant law breakers,” and were accused of injuring neighbors and damaging property with debris from illegal rock-blasting at the Corona Heights quarry as well as their other quarries in San Francisco.  In 1914, George Gray was eventually murdered at the 30th and Castro quarry by a former employee who was owed back wages (apparently $17.50 back then).  An unsympathetic jury ended up acquitting the defendant.  The quarries were closed down shortly thereafter.


Below are a few pictures of the neighborhood back in the early 1900's.  The first picture shows a view of Corona Heights park form twin peaks.  The large building at the top is the brick factory.  The second picture shows the blasting being performed in the quarry.  You can see the terracing that had to be formed during the quarrying that slowly formed the streets that define the neighborhood.