North Beach Part 2: Plague, Panic, and a Ripper in the Fog

In 1900, North Beach faced a threat far darker than its wild Barbary Coast past — the bubonic plague. Fear spread through the narrow streets as quarantines, rumors, and even whispers of a West Coast “Jack the Ripper” gripped the neighborhood. Out of fear and loss, a new North Beach emerged—resilient, redefined, and ready for its next reinvention