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Unsurprisingly, San Francisco’s history includes an amazing number of extremely “creative” plans which seem to us today to be absolutely insane. In 1945, a schoolteacher and amateur theatrical producer named John Reber devised a plan to solve all of San Francisco Bay’s water and transportation problems in one fell swoop. His outrageous proposal was to dam the bay not once but twice, creating two enormous freshwater lakes and reducing the Bay itself to a mere puddle.

This week’s podcast looks at the unusual history leading up to this plan and some of its unintended consequences, including the indirect inspiration of the Bay Area’s first grassroots environmental movement and the construction of the amazing “Bay Model” in Sausalito.

For further edification:
» Bridging the Bay: Salt Water Barriers – UC Berkeley Library online exhibit
» Bay Model visitor center
» Save the Bay – San Francisco Bay Advocacy Group
» “A Hidden Geography” – Richard Walker, UC Berkeley Department of Geography

Musical support:
Nimibear for this week’s music “The Down”, provided through a Creative Commons license.