About the Author

San Francisco native Emma Bland Smith grew up only a few miles--but several hills--from Glen Park. For this historical survey of one of San Francisco's "cities within a city" (locals call the small but bustling commercial crossroads "the village"), she interviewed passionate amateur historians and asked residents to scour their basements for old photographs. Poignant black-and-white pictures tell a story of a real neighborhood where immigrant families could afford to live both in the city yet in relative peace.