May I? Permits & Licenses

One may be more accustomed to associating law enforcement with prohibitions than with permissions; however, much of the historic business of the Board of Police Commissioners was granting, renewing--and, admittedly, sometimes denying or withdrawing--permits and licenses. The San Francisco Police Department Records include about a dozen volumes that list permit and license applications from 1879 to 1938, mostly for selling liquor, but also for peddling wares and driving various sorts of vehicles. Despite the wide overall date range, there are gaps; most of the record books concentrate around the years 1900-1906. Here are some visual highlights.

The restaurant license applications consist of a run of four consecutive volumes from 1900-1904.

Restaurant retail liquor permit book label, front cover

The Board of Supervisors appears to have sent the Board of Police Commissioners this letterhead notice containing a clipping of the ordinance they passed that requires restaurant proprietors, owners, and managers to get liquor licenses. It is pasted into the front of the permit book. 



Restaurant retail liquor liquor license ordinance, 1900

 Here's a sample page of entries.The reason for the addition of the blue pencil dates is unclear.

Restaurant dealers' license applicatio​ns, 1900

The volumes that list liquor licenses for various types of drinking establishments run scattershot over the years 1903-1919, right before Prohibition. This page for Market Street shows mostly saloons, along with a couple of hybrids: saloon-restaurant and saloon-bowling alley. Notice the stamp "No female patrons."

Market Street liquor license applications

Moving on from liquor to more general merchandise, this copy of California Code 3308 is pasted inside one of two record books from 1900-1906 that have sections labeled for auctioneers, "int. offices," junk dealers, pawn brokers, and second hand dealers. Books, prints, paintings, and packaged imports were exceptions to the sales-in-the-daytime rule. 

State law prohibiting evening sale of goods by 
public auction in San Francisco and Sacramento, 1903



Pacific Street peddlers' license applications


Here's a sample page of entries for Pacific street. They're faintly visible here, but many entries have notes penciled in that the permit or vendor was "closed" on Apr. 18, 1906, the date of the earthquake and fire. 

We'll be featuring the aforementioned vehicle licenses in the next SFPD records post--stay tuned!

Because the  San Francisco Police Department Records are still being processed, some volumes are not yet available for public use. Please contact the San Francisco History Center with questions at 415-557-4567.

All images are from  the San Francisco Police Department Records (SFH 61), courtesy of the San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library.