San Francisco neighborhoods are diverse and ever-changing—some of our old boroughs have even gone without a trace. Remember Carville-by-the-Sea? Of course you don't.
Once upon a time, in fin de siecle SF, there stood a bohemian community on the edge of town made entirely of abandoned rail cars. In what is present day Ocean Beach/Outer Sunset, Carville gave concrete meaning to the word outlandish, and felt as San Francisco as tiny house or #vanlife moment does today. As home to some of the city's earliest adventurists, artists, anarchists and entrepreneurs, Carville is an old school reminder of why we love this town.
A Haunt of Bohemia
via Pacific Repertory Theater
For many, the freedom and bohemian spirit of Carville offered a breath of fresh air from the stuffiness of Victorian society. Another group of women turned a car into "A Haunt of Bohemia," where they threw weekend-long beach parties when the weather allowed. It was perhaps the inaccessibility from downtown that allowed this corner of the city to create their iconoclastic culture.