Published since 2005. San Francisco is a city that belongs to the people of the world. Hence this blog has a global focus. The name "Sam Spade's San Francisco" refers to an exciting era in the City's history, the time of Dashiell Hammett's fictional gumshoe and San Francisco character, Sam Spade. My name is Tom Dunn and I edit the blog. I'm not as exciting as Sam Spade, but I am definitely a San Francisco character.Contact or on Twitter -- Search blog below.
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Monday, December 03, 2007
Bill Graham Menorah in Union Sqaure
In 1975, when San Franciscans first lit this beautiful two-story mahogany Menorah, it was the first time an outdoor, public Menorah lighting was celebrated outside of Israel. San Francisco's Menorah, "The Mama Menorah", The Bill Graham Menorah, was the first and has inspired many others around the world.
The idea was born when Zev Putterman, a program director at KQED, San Francisco's PBS television station, was brainstorming with Rabbi Chaim Drizin, the founder of the Chabad movement in Northern California. The two decided to meet with Bill Graham, a man who understood large scale outreach, the Bay Area, and an unknown to many at the time, had a strong Jewish identity through his history as a child survivor of World War II. Bill survived the darkness of the Holocaust to embody the light of the American Dream.
Bill offered to donate the construction of a huge Menorah through his production company, Bill Graham Presents. Today you can see the Bill Graham Menorah, the "Mama Menorah" at Union Square in the heart of San Francisco's famous shopping district.
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