A tour of San Francisco in search of the shadows of Tales of the City, the epic Armistead Maupin series of novels, begun as a regular feature in 1974 in the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper and following the lives of a group of family, friends and foes, career go-getters and castaways spanning over 40 decades of trials and tribulations, change and controversies:
Where it all beings, with Mary Ann’s arrival at the Buena Vista Cafe
The Stairway to the fictional 23 Barbary Lane, home to Mrs Magrigal and her tenants
Macondray Lane, the real Barbary Lane
The iconic Powell Hyde cable car Michael Tolliver rode in dressed as Pan
Supposedly the inspiration for 23 Barbary lane, Maupin lived close by
Maupin lived in the red rooftop house and took inspiration from his rooftop views
Where Mary Ann Singleton and Brain Hawkins live in unhappy matrimony
The Transamerica Pyramid which Mrs. Madrigal believed to be a beacon from Atlantis
The City seen from above with the bay on the distance
Where Norman Neal Williams meets is fate
The legion of Honor where Mary Ann confronts Norman
Alamo Park where Edger and Anna have lunch and a homemade ‘brownie’
Below the Golden Gate Bridge
The twists of Lombard Street
The Hosts with the Mosts, Susie and Trey, in Delores Park on the door step of the Castro, Michael Tolliver’s playing ground
All Photographs by Damien B. Donnelly
Damien B. Donnelly 