San Francisco Chronicle presents:
San Francisco Time Machine with Peter Hartlaub

Go back in time for an evening of photos, stories and conversation with the Chronicle, Mayor Art Agnos, and S.F. Muni.

San Francisco Chronicle presents: San Francisco Time Machine with Peter Hartlaub

Wednesday, August 26, 2026
Doors: 5:30 PM

All Ages

Seated event

View our FAQ page for more info, or contact us at [email protected] with any accommodation requests.

Have you ever wanted to fire up a San Francisco Time Machine?

Join the San Francisco Chronicle on August 26, when culture critic Peter Hartlaub will get you as close to time travel as possible in a theater seat. You’ll venture back to the 1980s with former Mayor Art Agnos, detour to Muni’s colorful 1970s with Muni staff photographer and archivist Jeremy Menzies, and dive into the best of the Chronicle’s historic archive along the way.

Best of all, you get to be part of the show!

Tell us where you would like to go in our S.F. Time Machine here, and we’ll highlight as many of your historic spots as we can. Back to the Future rules! We’ll make sure we have enough fuel to get you back home.

What you’ll see:

  • An exclusive look inside the Chronicle archive, including more than a century of Mission District photos and a find or two that wasn’t fit to print.
  • The Dawn of the Worm – how Muni partnered with the Landor ad agency to design its iconic Muni worm logo, unveiled bright orange buses and made riding the 1 California feel like the best party in town.
  • Plus: Agnos will take us back to his time in the mayor’s office, sharing stories about riding a float in one of the city’s first Pride parades, the chaos during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, the time Mother Teresa showed up at his house, and why he doesn’t regret supporting the Embarcadero Freeway teardown — even if it cost him re-election.


    • And see some of our best historic photos on a big screen … many chosen by you.

    About the Host

    Peter Hartlaub

    Peter Hartlaub is the San Francisco Chronicle’s culture critic and the co-founder of Total SF. He covers Bay Area culture and history and writes the Total SF newsletter, meeting with locals to explore the region — often by foot, bike and public transit. The Bay Area native, a former Chronicle paperboy, has worked at the newspaper since 2000.

    Partners

    San Francisco Chronicle

    The San Francisco Chronicle is the largest newspaper in Northern California and the second largest on the West Coast. Acquired by Hearst in 2000, the San Francisco Chronicle was founded in 1865 by Charles and Michael de Young and has been awarded seven Pulitzer Prizes for journalistic excellence. Follow us on X at @SFChronicle.

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