The Styrous® Viewfinder: Frank W. Woolworth

September 17, 2026

It was exactly sixty-two years ago today, on Thursday, September 17, 1964, that Motown Records released Baby Love by The Supremes. It was a wonderful time in San Francisco with great music and little cable cars that didn't quite climb half-way to the stars, but they tried.

Baby Love was the second song by The Supremes I ever knew and I heard it at an after hours drag club in the Tenderloin of downtown San Francisco. Those were wild and wonderful days. The gay scene was still pretty much underground (except by the cops, of course) and except for the occasional bust by the a fore mentioned cops, the future looked bright, promising and endless. How little we knew!

Viewfinder links:

Frank W. Woolworth, the Five & Dime & the SF cable cars

Leatherneck bar, San Francisco

liver 'n onions, cable cars, Moar's cafeteria & Benny Bufano

The Supremes

Net links:

YouTube links:

The City of seven hills: 1960s San Francisco (30 mins.)

History of San Francisco 8: San Francisco in the 1960s

San Francisco in 1960s in color 8 mins.)

The Supremes ~

Baby Love

Baby Love (live)

Styrous® ~ Thursday, September 17, 2026

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Music Notes

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April 13, 2026

Frank W. Woolworth, the Five & Dime & the SF cable cars

On Tuesday, April 13, 1852, Frank W. Woolworth, created the five and dime store, the F. W. Woolworth & Co., a nation-wide chain store; there was one in San Francisco as well.

F.W. Woolworth & Co. - 1950's

photographer unknown

Many people have posed at he corner of Market and Powell where the cable car turntable is located in front of the 5 & 10¢ store, some of them famous in local history (link below).

Marian and Vivian Brown

posing at Powell and Market

next to the cable car turntable, 1975.

Greg Gaar Street Photography 1970s-90s

The San Francisco cable cars are turned around by hand at the end of their lines, a tradition since the late 1800s, often at the Powell & Market or Fisherman's Wharf turnarounds. Operators and sometimes passengers manually pushed the car 180 degrees on a turntable to start its return trip. Passenger assistance with this was banned sometime in the 80's.

The Grant and Market turntable was a great place to hold protests and pickets and there were many of them in front of Woolworth's.