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| Sin, Fire & Gold! The Days of San Francisco's Barbary Coast: Press Release |
LUST, AMBITION, INTRIGUE AND NATURAL DISASTER—
A LOOK BACK AT...THE GOOD OLE DAYS?
New KQED Program SIN, FIRE & GOLD! Highlights San Francisco’s Golden Age
First-ever Simulcast of KQED HDTV Production to Air Saturday, March 3
San Francisco, CA, -- Modern San Francisco can boast not only of its physical beauty, but also of its history, replete with swashbucklers, wealthy investors, prostitutes, thugs and hordes of fortune-seekers with Gold Rush fever. In 1906, the worst disaster to ever befall an American city hit San Francisco. A powerful earthquake unleashed a devastating fire that swept away most of the original buildings. Although much of that history seems to have been buried with the rubble of that catastrophe, it is still possible to walk San Francisco's streets and glimpse the places where legends were born.
Airing on Saturday, March 3 at 7 p.m. and again on Monday March 5 at 8 p.m., KQED is pleased to present Sin, Fire & Gold! The Days of San Francisco's Barbary Coast -- broadcast digitally in HDTV on Digital Television 30, as well as in analog on Public Television 9 -- which celebrates the people, places and events which have shaped the city over the years. Host Greg Sherwood, whom viewers will recognize from KQED's television drives, joins tour guide and historian Daniel Bacon in sifting through the present to uncover some of San Francisco's fascinating past.
Viewers will join Sherwood and Bacon for a leisurely walking tour of old San Francisco. The tour points out where Gold Rush ships still lie buried beneath the towering skyscrapers of the Financial District, and viewers will see where famed performer Lotta Crabtree entertained audiences before she moved on to a glittering career on Broadway. The tour also peeks inside some of the buildings along the way to enjoy unique interior designs and significant architectural elements, including the Old Mint, a spectacular national landmark seldom seen by the general public, which was the scene of a gallant effort by the unsung heroes who saved it from the raging fires of 1906.
Host Greg Sherwood is a fifth-generation San Franciscan. His career in local television stretches back to the age of three when he made his first appearance on his father, legendary San Francisco broadcaster Don Sherwood's, nightly television show. Sin, Fire & Gold! brings together two of Greg's great passions: public broadcasting and San Francisco history.
"My dad gave me two gifts -- an intense curiosity and a deep love for San Francisco," stated Sherwood. "Anyone who shares an appreciation for this city and its amazing history is sure to enjoy this program."
Also a Bay Area native, tour guide Daniel Bacon, creator of the Barbary Coast Trail and director of the San Francisco Historical Society, has written extensively on San Francisco history for various national and local publications, as well as being featured on local television productions. He has also received several awards for his work in creating and developing the Barbary Coast Trail.
"San Francisco is a city of stories. This program, through its lavish use of historic photos and period music, connects us with the people, landmarks and events of early San Francisco in a way no history book can," stated Daniel Bacon.
The show's accompanying Web site kqed.org/sinfireandgold, will feature many exciting elements, such as streaming video of a trolley car ride down old Market Street and period music from some of the more popular performers of the day. There will also be links to other Web sites highlighting different areas of the city.
Sin, Fire & Gold! The Days of San Francisco's Barbary Coast is a local production of KQED San Francisco. Bud Gundy is producer; Hanna Lin is associate producer; Emmy Award–winner Rick Butler is director; Norm Levy is editor; and Kurt Mendelsohn is executive producer. Funding is provided by the members of KQED.
KQED operates KQED Public Television 9, the nation's most-watched public television station (in prime-time), and Digital Television 30, Northern California's only public television digital signal; KQED Public Radio 88.5 FM, the most listened-to public radio station in the nation; the KQED Education Network, which brings the impact of KQED to thousands of teachers, students, parents and media professionals through workshops, seminars and resources; and kqed.org, which harnesses the power of the Internet to bring KQED to communities across the Web.
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