Our 'Finals' - Group Tours

Part of my group tour yesterday on Historic Market Street, which is now Bill’s assigned tour, was a stop at Lotta’s Fountain. This is an architectural tour with stories that surround the history of the buildings / monuments / transportation on 'The Path of Gold'.

Lotta Crabtree

I told the story of Lotta Crabtree, the darling of San Francisco entertainment in the 1850s, who repaid the City with a gift of a fountain that became the central meeting place at the time of the 1906 earthquake, and today still a gathering place. 








Luisa Tetrazzini, the greatest opera singer of her day, was also beloved by San Franciscans, and in the aftermath of the earthquake gave the City a gift of a concert on Christmas Eve 1910 at Lotta's Fountain. Expecting 10K to attend, 150K thonged the streets, and the crowd best loved the an aria from Gounod’s Romeo & Juliet which, with its many high notes, could be heard two blocks away! I then played an Itunes recording of her singing this piece, but here’s a YouTube of her singing The Last Rose of Summer she also sang at the concert.

Tetrazzini Concert at Lotta's Fountain

Turkey Tetrazzini was named after Luisa, widely believed to have been created by the chef at the Palace Hotel in honor of this popular woman of 'girth'!