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San Francisco was officially placed on an emergency footing by Mayor Elmer Robinson permitting him to speed the city's civil defense program by cutting normal municipal red tape. He said a state of emergency exists here because of the possibility the city "may be invaded or bombed." — Jan. 3

The destruction of all slot machines on military and naval reservations, illegal under terms of a new federal law, was carried out in the Bay Area. Some 300 of them, valued at $45,000, were either loaded on tugs and dumped in the Bay or sledge-hammered into scrap iron. — Jan. 3

Fire set by a workman's blow torch ate at the shell of the city hall dome for more than an hour, sending into the sky billows of smoke visible over much of San Francisco. Damage was estimated at $10,000. Firefighters had difficulty reaching the blaze, because it is in woodwork between the inner and outer domes. — Feb. 17

World War II hero General Douglas MacArthur, removed from Korea command by President Truman, gets a hero's welcome in San Francisco: "History's warrior immortals in their Valhalla must have smiled down approvingly on San Francisco. They saw a whole people turn out — 600,000 by police estimate — in one tremendous, emotional gesture of homage to General Douglas MacArthur, general of the Army, conqueror of the Pacific, kindler of men's imaginations." MacArthur flies on to Washington to address a joint session of Congress: "Old soldiers never die — they just fade away." — April 19

"If I had a million ......... I'd build a roof over the stands in frigid Seals Stadium; either that, or change the name of the place to Seal Rocks." — Herb Caen, April 20

San Francisco's Maritime Museum, installed in the park building at Aquatic Park opens with a daylong celebration. — May 27

Headline: William R. Hearst To Be Buried
In His Home City, San Francisco;
Death Ends Career Of Half Century in Publishing Field — Aug. 15

Treaty of San Francisco formally ends World War II (almost): Forty-nine free nations signed the Japanese peace treaty in a placid ceremony after Soviet Russia's Andrei A. Gromyko disavowed it for the last time and took a ride. — Sept. 9 (Russia and Japan have still not settled boundary issues.)

The Census Bureau made it final and official — California's population on April 1, 1950, totalled 10,586,223. That is a 53.3 per cent gain over the 1940 census count of 6,907,387. — Oct. 20 (California Commerce Department of Finance sets 1999 population at 33,773,000.)

Headline: Golden Gate Span Closed 3 Hours as Gale Lashes S.F.;
First Time Ever Shut Down;
Storm Kills 3 in Bay Area — Dec. 2

Previous year: 1950 | Next year: 1952