Don MacLaren

As a television addicted kid coming up in New York City during the 1970s, I regularly watched reruns of the long-running anthology series, Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Its mysteries of mayhem, murder, betrayal and brutality had plotlines where sometimes the bad guys (or gals) got away with their crimes. Before launching into the drama, the show opened with Hitch greeting the audience with a deep voiced, “Good evening,” followed by a few minutes of chatter.

_____ On October 5, 1947, two years after the end of the War, President Truman was to address the nation on the world food crisis. It was to be the first televised address by a President in history. People were going to see the President of the United States LIVE, as he was speaking. Magical. Unprecedented. Amazing. At the time, I couldn’t care less. My father had bought a DuMont TV set only a few weeks before. The first on the block! The screen was 10 inches wide. That TV changed our neighborhood.

© The Tenderloin Times February 1988 San Francisco, CA 70 Years Ago in Neighborhood History TL Morality Crusade Draws Prostitutes' Wrath by Don MacLaren As Timesreporter Don MacLaren recently found, digging into the morgues of city newspapers reveals that the Tenderloin has a long history as a place where social issues are brought to the fore. In the 19th century, the neighborhood was called St. Ann's Valley, a fashionable entertainment district of theaters, cafes, and restaurants.