The Dollop with Dave Anthony and Gareth Reynolds - 71 - The Spite Fence

Episode Date: April 1, 2015

Dave Anthony and Gareth Reynolds discuss the San Francisco Spite Fence.SOURCESTOUR DATESREDBUBBLE MERCHPATREON

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read a story from American History to my friend. Gareth Reynolds who has no idea what the topic is about. Is that true? No it's a lie. We've been lying to everyone. I know the topics and I just. This is the liar podcast. Do you want to look who to do? I'll do one bottle. People say this is funny. Not Gary Gareth. Dave okay. Someone or something is tickling people. Is it for fun? And this is not gonna become the tickly podcast. Okay. You are queen fakie of eight uptown. All hell queen shit of lies though. A bunch of religious virgins go to mingle and do my thing. No I see done my friend. Charles Crocker was born into a modest

upstate New York family in 1822. Okay. Crocker was forced to quit school at 14 to help support his family. That's a good time. After his family moved to Indiana he did various jobs farming working in a sawmill and serving as an apprentice in a local blacksmith shop. Apprenticing was huge. Yeah it's a big thing. I think yeah you're so you no one just got a job. You got a job to become that guy. It's the intern. Yeah but it wasn't like it's not like an in I mean I guess it's an intern. Kind of. But it's more like you want the job because you're gonna do it forever. Right. Like there was no like I'm passing through.

I'm gonna go to college after this. It's like it's what you're doing forever. All right. You like metal. You bang this metal when it's red. And then you put it in this water. Oh you're learning. Welcome to the next 40 years of your short life. Kill yourself. One news of the of the fortunes to be made in California spread across the nation. Crocker with his brothers Clark and Henry led a party of 49ers overland to the Pacific Coast arriving in 1850. Two years in the mines convinced him that mining was no way to make a fortune. And so he opened a store in Sacramento. By 1854 he was one of the wealthiest men in town and had a

strong business relationship with Mark Hopkins, Collis Huntington and Leland Stanford who together with Crocker became known as the big four for their prominence in California's stunningly rapid economic development. Okay. Big four. Did you want to do something about that? Yeah. It's totally up to you. Yeah. Sometimes on the dollop we close a window because there's some kid yelling like a like an animal. That's why we all need to be sterilized. Political positions and further business opportunities accompanied Crocker's initial economic gains. In 1855 he was elected to Sacramento City Council and in 1860 to

California State Legislature. In the early 1860s the big four began to plan and manage the construction of the Central Pacific Railroad which was to cross the rugged Sierra Nevada mountains and meet with the Union Pacific headed west from Nebraska. Okay. The six foot tall 300 pound Crocker managed the actual he's fat. Yeah. That's a that's a large that's not muscle that's that's a heavy gentleman. Right. That's a guy who is really really has a lot of money and gets to eat whatever he wants. That's a man who's destined for gout. Welcome to San Francisco and it's pudding. Yeah. I'll have more pudding please. The six foot tall

300 pound Crocker managed the actual construction of the railroad. Crocker became the contractor in charge of construction hiring men and equipment setting up campsites and acting as a paymaster and accountant. He acquired the land on which to lay the tracks by simply buying the right of way at the appraised value with or without the consent of the owner. That's an interesting tackle. No it's mine. But yeah. Here's some money. Fuck off. But I don't want to sell it. I said fuck off. I said it's mine. Good day sir. No obstacle is going to get in the way of Crocker or the progress of

capitalism. He overcame shortages of manpower and money by hiring low wage Chinese immigrants to do much of the backbreaking and dangerous labor. This was known as the Cooley system. Why because it was so coolly to be white. That's right. He drove the workers to the point of exhaustion in the process setting records for laying track and finishing the project seven years ahead of the government's deadline. Jesus. He was he was working them to death. Oh God. The line that he started building on February 22 1863 met the Union Pacific line running from the east in Utah on May the 10th 1869. With this success

Crocker's business activities reached a new level. He became president of the Southern Pacific Railroad helped connect San Francisco to Portland by rail became involved in banking and Northern California industry and even made money as a real estate speculator. He was an early proponent of the massive irrigation projects was eventually transformed California into a fruit and vegetable vegetable growing center. So he's big deal. Yeah. Thank you Chinese people. I grew up with Crocker Bank was right down the street. Crocker Bank. Yeah. Wow. Nicholas Young was a native of Germany who had arrived in the U.S. in

1848. He established himself in the mortuary business and in 1855 he and his wife bought a corner lot at the top of California Street Hill and built a modest home. In those days the treacherous climb made Young's hilltop home seem almost isolated and removed from the hustle and bustle of Gold Rush San Francisco. The location offered young and his family a stunning view to the north. They could look out the Golden Gate at the Golden Gate to the east. There's the Bay and Berkeley Hills and to the south they could watch the sprawling teeming city below. All around the house was a great flood of fresh air

and sunlight. Okay. Sounds nice. Right. Lovely. I have a feeling something's going to change. Why? Because they just you said nice fresh air sunlight is in the top of a hill from every side of the house. He sees beautiful views. You can see the water. You can see the mountains. I don't know. What are we going to do? What's going to happen on there? In April 1878 the California Street Line cable cars commenced operations. The new found accessibility turned the once remote California Street Hill into San Francisco's most exclusive real estate area. This is where I come to get away from it. God damn it! Leland Stanford and

Mark Hopkins, two members of the Big Four, both built palatial mansions on what had become almost overnight Knob Hill. Charles Crocker never wanted to be outdone, planned to build his house even higher up the hill than his rivals. He planned a grand spectacle of his wealth and power, including a 75 foot tower from which he could view the goings-on of San Francisco. It had become fashionable. Yeah, he's a fucking horrible man. It had become fashionable for these tycoons to buy an entire block of houses and then to level them upon which then would be built new mansions as architectural monuments of their wealth.

Many of the former owner's sold for tidy profits with the last of the holdouts typically doing even better. For example, when Henry Flood was acquiring his block, he ended up paying $25,000 for the final property. So the guy who holds out the longest gets the fucking payoff. Yeah, they need to, they need that house gone. Yeah. It's fucking supply and demand, baby. Don't call me baby. No, I'm talking about system. Okay, let's go back to baby. Okay, baby. So Charles Crocker, eager to match his rivals, began buying properties on his desired block. And even before he had finished purchasing all the properties,

construction crews went to work building his palace. So he hasn't bought all the properties yet. But he's still like, it'll happen. As they make the way across the lot, he's fucking building. Well, I always say that's the best way to build your palace. Half a house. Yeah, just start, just start and then the rest, the dominoes will sort of fall. It'll all happen. Once someone sees the building, they go, oh, so that's great. It looks like he's gonna build the palace on my house. One after another sold the Crocker all but one. You see, Crocker, unlike his wealthy associates, was unwilling to play to pay inflationary prices. So when it came time

to purchase the final property on the desired block, owner Nicholas Young, Crocker only offered him $6,000 for the home. Young, believing his home was worth more, refused to sell and set his price at $12,000. Charles Crocker was a man who was used to getting what he wanted the way he wanted it. He became indignant towards Young for setting his own asking price and made all manner of threats against the man. But Young remained steadfast and refused to sell for less. Crocker made several offers to buy Young out at the market price, but Young refused. As progress on the mansion continued, Crocker became more and more

desperate to have Young and his house removed. Finally, the downside to his stupid policy. When dynamite was used to level the craggy hilltop of his home, Crocker apparently ordered his workmen to aim the flying debris towards Young's house, but the undertaker held his ground. Crocker then ordered all the property on his block to be graded lower, leaving Young's home floating on a rectangular dirt pedestal. Young refused to sell for less than his asking price. With the mansion just about completed, Crocker made one final attempt to buy Young's property, doubling his original offer. Young, however, because of the

beautiful view, the wishes of his family or his own sense of defiance and pride, refused Crocker yet again. Crocker then threatened to build a fence around Young's property, but Young wouldn't compromise. So in 1876, Crocker made good on his threat and at a cost of $3,000, built a 40-foot high walled fence around the three sides of the Young property that Crocker owned, effectively cutting off nearly all sunlight and airflow to the residents. Wow. The fence was so high, giant braces were erected to keep the fence from blowing over. The Young's had to light candles in the daytime. Jesus Christ! And all their plants died. Wow. And

the house acquired a damp and gloomy feel. Oh man, that's that's a fairly good tactic. And he's a huge asshole. He's a huge asshole. With only Northern exposure left to them, the Youngs felt as if they were living at the bottom of a well. Still, Nicholas Young refused to lower his price. Love it. Crocker's spite fence, as it was now known. Spite fence. Became one of the city's most popular sightseeing attractions. Oh good, good. More good news for Young. People would ride the cable car to the top of Knob Hill to stare at and talk about the symbol of capitalist power over the little man. Californians love to be shocked into

loathing Crocker and all that he represented. The newspapers echoing the ire of most San Francisco's began calling the fence Crocker's crime. In the late 1870s, it was a time of nationwide economic depression and high unemployment. In San Francisco, rage was directed not only at the railroad barons, but also against low-wage Chinese laborers who many felt were threatening the job of white Americans. Dennis Kearney, capitalizing on this rage, formed the Workman's Party of California, the WPC. The party slogan was the Chinese must go. That was subtle, like beat around the point. What were they

after? The Chinese or the... No, no, no, that party. Just one of the Chinese to go. I'm unclear. The slogan doesn't really tell me what's up. Well, they want the Chinese to go. I wish that was represented in like a bottom-line statement, you know what I mean? Like something that just really cut to the thesis. Yeah, I get your point. Because of the... It's just a little vague. I get you, I hear you, I completely agree. Because of the economic conditions and the resentment that they created, the WPC managed to sweep city elections in 1878 and 1879. The spite fence was a symbol that fired up the WPC members and motivated others to join. Although

racism is one of the platforms of the WPC, many members join more for the labor issues than for the politics of hate. Easy to do. The Chinese must feel so... I mean, that's so fucked up. Yeah. Oh, yeah. You built the... you built the railroad. Now get the fuck out of here. Yeah, right. In October 28th, 1878, the WPC hailed a mass rally on the top of Nob Hill. The setting was perfect for inciting the rage of the laborers. Lime barrels were set on fire and cast their light upon the display of the Crocker... Crocker's capitalist wealth. Hundreds of armed men lined the halls of Crocker Mansion, ready to defend him and his

million-dollar art collection if violence broke out. Over 2,000 WPC members stood in the cold night air to hear Kearney in his incendiary style rally them against the supposed enemies. Quote, when the Chinese question is settled, he roared, we can discuss whether it would be better to hang, shoot, or cut the capitalist to pieces. He told the roaring crowd that if Cocker didn't remove the spite fence by Thanksgiving Day, Kearney and the WPC would tear it down themselves. Remember when there was a working man party in the Rodford? Yeah. That was fun. The battle lines were drawn. Unfortunately, that particular battle

never took place. But two days after the Nob Hill rally, Kearney was arrested for attempting to incite a riot. Although he was released before Thanksgiving, the WPC didn't climb up the hill that day, and Kearney, seemingly more anti-Chinese than anti-capitalist, never made good on his promise to tear down the fence. There's too many Chinese to deal with. Yeah. Well, you could hire the Chinese to tear down the fence, no? A hire, yeah. And that's how things stayed. Two years after the fence was built, a photographer named Edward Moybridge inadvertently captured Cocker's spite fence on film. He took a shot at the city with Nob Hill on the

right, and I'll put this up. You can see the spite fence between Cocker and Huntington Mansions. The Youngs tried to get the city to provide justice, but Cocker was too wealthy and influential and kept the legal system from saving him. Young became so frustrated that he eventually mounted a coffin brought home from work on his roof, facing the Cocker residents as one last measure to upset the Cocker's. But there's a fence there, so they can't see it anyway. Yeah. I mean, it's all he had. It's a nice try, but I don't think it's... Oh, yeah? Well, we'll see who likes it when you have to look at this coffin! Or I look at it. Well, the

point is it's... I will be looking at it more than you, but... I will say this, you built a really fucking high fence. It's a great house, too. It's very high. I can't see the house, but it looks great. Thank you. Eventually, the Youngs couldn't take living in their home and had their house moved to another lot on Broadark Street. After the Young family moved, Cocker had the fence reduced to 25 feet. Oh, what a sweetie. But kept the smaller... smaller fence still in place to devalue the lot that the Youngs still owned. And he's just... He's just... Why did he lower it? Son of a bitch. Why did he lower it? I don't know. Maybe so he... so he could

see out of the top of his mansion better. Which is crazy. As the year went by, both Nicholas Young and Charles Cocker died, but the fence remained. When Cocker died, his fortune was estimated at $40 million. When Rosina Young died in 1902, the lot was valued at $80,000. Finally, in 1904, the descendants of the Youngs sold the property to the descendants of the Cockers, and the fence came down. Then, thankfully, two years later, the fire following the famous 1906 San Francisco earthquake consumed Cocker mansion. It was not rebuilt. Today, Grace Cathedral occupies the same block. So Cocker... so the last laugh is...

It's Young. Really? Yeah, I guess so. I mean, the family made $80,000 and then the house burned down. I like to think that San Francisco earthquake was all about karma for just that house. Yeah. I mean, I know a lot of people had to die because of it. Listen, karma... listen, karma is like... karma is a speeding bullet, man. It'll hit some people. Yeah, it's gonna take out some other stuff. It's like a speeding log. I mean, it's gonna wipe some shit out along with the guy. It's gonna be so shrapnel. Come on. It's not great. Listen, this could break some eggs to make this omelet. That's all there is. All right, there you go. Lovely. That's Cocker's

spite fence. Go see Hothead. That's true.