BARBARY COAST

BARBARY COAST - Those were the days when San Francisco was a port city, a destination for 49ers on their way to strike it rich working in a gold mine. Nightfall in Sin City transformed the Barbary Coast into a dangerous red light district with prostitutes, gamblers, saloons and opium dens. The exhibit at the Conservatory of Flowers is part of their continuing series of garden railway exhibits that runs through April. Last year I posted on a previous exhibit, Playland, go to my blog archive to view that post. The small scale railroad winds its way through miniature buildings, boats and plants. If you’ve never been, a trip to the conservatory is worthwhile; to take a trip into the city’s colorful past. Or, if you want to re-trace the steps of the long gone 49ers; walk around Maiden Lane near downtown, the former location of the red light district.