S.F. toasts the repeal of Prohibition again

[Sequoia]

Today is the 75th anniversary of the end of America's "noble experiment" - the prohibition of intoxicating liquor.

At exactly 2:31 p.m. on this day in 1933, word reached San Francisco that the 21st Amendment abolishing Prohibition had been ratified. The siren on the Ferry Building sounded, and a parade of 14 trucks loaded with legal liquor headed up Market Street to City Hall to present Mayor Angelo Rossi with California wine and a case of gin.

A parade is on tap today, too. The 21st Amendment, a San Francisco restaurant and brew pub, is sponsoring a parade led by a band at 3:30 p.m. from the Ferry Building up Market and down Second Street to its bar near AT&T Park to celebrate the occasion.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/12/05/MNMO14IBLS.DTL

[ixion]

1. and even though that 'noble' experiment failed miserably

we're still doing the same damn thing today.

[derby378]

2. No more getting high on Lydia Pinkham's Vegetable Compound...

You know, the 12% alcohol content in that stuff was "soley as a solvent and preservative." Mmm-hmm, you betcha sweet bippy doll it is, for real.

[CountAllVotes]

3. my old grandfather was a saloon owner in San Francisco

back in the Barbary Coast days. He died in 1917. I bet he was really bummed out when prohibition hit. However, I'm pretty darn sure he still had plenty of drink around anyway.

Great picture! Thanks for the memory!

:kick:

[Sequoia]

4. In my opinon Prohibition helped bring on the Great Depression.

Crime went up, tax revenues lost, shops closing down, families busted up, people dying of bad booze and a bunch of other crap. It was very bad for the USA. I'm glad I wasn't living back then.

[Greyhound]

5. It certainly didn't help. Putting so much money into the hands of the most reprehensible

"men" in the country that they controlled entire cities and state governments. Allowing them to be seen as "of the people" while our parasite class reached the zenith of their era of conspicuous consumption.

Prohibition was, and still is, absolutely the worst of all possible public policies.

Will we ever figure it out?

[Odin2005]

6. It's a perfect example of what happens when "do-gooder" moralists are in charge.