Who is She? Mannequin of Maiden Lane

If you do a keyword search with the word "mystery" in the San Francisco Historical Photograph Collection database, you'll find a link to this photograph from the San Francisco News-Call Bulletin:

Its caption reads:

Spring is coming to Maiden Lane this week, and so is this young lady, known as 'the Mystery Mannequin.' Masked and decked out in spring finery by participating business firms, she'll stroll through the Lane and model clothes and accessories Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The person guessing her occupation and coming closest to her exact age (down to the second) will get $200 in gifts from the stores. Stores participating in this feature of the Maiden Lane Festival include City of Paris, Hales Grant-av, Hastings, Trans-World Airlines, H. Liebes & Co., Joseph Magnin, Livingston Bros., Ransohoffs, Roos Bros., and Marginique, the hair stylist.

We may never know this woman's occupation and exact age (unless someone out there wants to investigate the matter further to see if anyone recorded the correct answers), but you can learn more about the famous Maiden Lane (nee Morton Street) by visiting the San Francisco History Center in person and requesting the streets file for it. You can also research some of the above-referenced department stores: the San Francisco History Center has files for businesses, as well as archives for both City of Paris and I. Magnin. Paper guides to the collections are available at the reference desk. Additional photographs featuring Maiden Lane--including at least one with a different "Mystery Mannequin"--may be viewed online in the San Francisco Historical Photograph Collection database. A photo featuring an actual mannequin instead of a woman may be viewed here.
Photo credit: Woman dressed up as the "Mystery Mannequin" for the Maiden Lane Festival, March 27, 1951. Courtesy of the San Francisco Historical Photograph Collection, San Francisco Public Library.