Mark Abbott Stern

Beyond the Tunnel Mark Abbott Stern

Meticulous research has led to this insider's look at the financial dealings, political battles, and family feuds that shaped Adolph Sutro's life while he, as San Francisco's first Jewish mayor, brought glamor and amusement to the city on the bay during its golden age. Who realized that, even after his demise, all of that conflict would continue unabated for years? Author Mark Abbott Stern patiently pored over document after document in far-flung archives to piece together Sutro's multi-faceted career, starting with Sutro's tunnel that served as a conduit for the waste water from the silver mines in Nevada's famed Comstock region, and continuing with his battles with some of the nation's most powerful interests, including the millionaire Big Four railroad magnates Charles Crocker, Mark Hopkins, Collis P. Huntington, and Leland Stanford. Readers join with Sutro on his world travels as he collects statuary, art, and ideas for the development of San Francisco's Sutro Heights, which once housed fabulous baths, the renowned Cliff House Restaurant, and a beloved amusement park. While author Stern appreciates Sutro's philanthropy, as a biographer, he also lays bare many of Sutro's business machinations, moral shortcomings, and ethical deficiencies thereby painting a comprehensive picture of a most complex man.