With 2023 on the horizon, it’s a fun time to look back at how much SF has transformed over the past century.
has transformed over the past century. Although times feel chaotic now, 100 years ago, San Francisco was the epicenter of one of the nation’s most shocking blows: the sudden death of the president.
But upon arriving in San Francisco, the 57-year-old president’s health took another steep downturn. He was hurried to his luxurious accommodations at the Palace Hotel, recently rebuilt after being leveled by fire in the aftermath of the 1906 earthquake. There, in the penthouse suite, Harding was bedridden while doctors attempted to find the cause of his illness.
Employees of the Palace Hotel quickly sprung into action. An assistant manager hurried to the hotel’s lounge, where oblivious crowds were drinking and partying, and announced the death of the president. “In a few words, he told the news,” the San Francisco Chronicle reported that day. “A moment of motionless silence, and then, without more than whispered comments, the stunned hearers filed out of the room.