Daly City: Growing Up in America

A couple weeks ago, I went to the Balboa to see Daly City: Growing Up in America.

Daly City: Growing Up in America; documentary; directed by Bryan Kingston; (2012)

Having lived in Daly City for quite some time, I knew that many people in the City and Peninsula are unaware of the history of Daly City.  Daly City was originally a ranch (I thought it was pig farm) owned by John Daly.  After the 1906 earthquake, he let San Franciscans stay on his property thinking it was a temporary situation.  The people decided to stay and Daly realized he could make more money selling the land than in agriculture and animal husbandry.  

Here's a piece of trivia not mentioned in the film.  In Daly City, there are numbered streets - 87th through 92nd Streets.  Those streets were numbered with the expectation that the numbered streets in San Francisco would be extended out to Daly City.  The numbered streets end at 30 and looking at the map, I have a hard time envisioning how they would join up, but those were the type of tidbits I was looking for.  

Instead the film didn't really do a "deep dive" into the history of Daly City and essentially devolved into a  Daly City Chamber of Commerce ad.  I did learn that San Francisco 49er Bob St. Clair served as mayor of Daly City while playing for the 49ers but otherwise I didn't learn much.  I already knew John Madden was a native of Daly City.  I'm still not sure what to call residents of Daly City - Daly Citians, DCers, Dalyans?

At less than an hour, the film was too short to really go into much detail.  Little more than a glorified municipal museum intro, the film left me wanting more.  I was more disappointed by it than disliked it.