;)
Illustrated Talks & Lectures
"Your talks were fantastic, right on target, highly informative and the venues were packed. You thrilled the audience and we appreciate your service to our country."
-- Dr. Mark C. Preul, American Association of Neurosurgeons Convention
John is a sought-after speaker who makes San Francisco history come alive for visitors and locals alike. He is especially popular as an after-dinner speaker for groups headed for Alcatraz Island, sharing his "insider knowledge" of the island's history, its famous felons, its secret areas, and hints on what to see while visiting the island.
He also has a portfolio of illustrated talks about San Francisco, its history and famous landmarks.
John's illustrated PowerPoint lecture series includes:
"Alcatraz Island: 250 Years on the Rock" An amazing illustrated history of Alcatraz Island from its discovery by Spanish explorers through today's status as a world-renown National Park site. The presentation focuses on the infamous 1934-1963 era when The Rock was a federal penitentiary, including stories of the island's infamous residents, escape attempts, and its final closure. John’s talk also covers the island’s little-known early years when it served a Civil War fort and military prison, the "Indian Occupation” of 1969 that focused national attention on Native American causes, and the legacy of Alcatraz, especially its enduring Hollywood mythology.
"The Cliff House: San Francisco’s Most Incendiary Landmark" During its 160-year history, the iconic Cliff House has burned down twice, blown up once, and been closed during wars, Prohibition, Depression and Pandemic. In this PowerPoint show, John will trace the fabled landmark’s history from its opening during the Civil War up through its sad closing on New Year’s Eve 2020. The show will also showcase artifacts saved from the Cliff House collection during a recent auction, and the temporary exhibit showcasing these items at the “Museum at the Cliff” staged by the Western Neighborhoods Project.
"The Panama Pacific Pacific International Exposition" A celebration of the wondrous 1915 world's fair in San Francisco's Marina District that marked both the opening of the Panama Canal and the rebirth of the City following the devastating 1906 earthquake and fire. Includes photogaphs of surviving elements from the "PPIE."
"San Francisco Then and Now” Learn how John uses re-photography of historic images while researching such iconic Bay Area sites as Alcatraz Island, Fort Point, the Cliff House and Sutro Baths. The show also includes dozens of comparison photographs showing San Francisco during the 19th century and the same views today, dramatically illustrating the evolution of the City from a wind-blown frontier village to today’s metropolis.
"Defending San Francisco Bay" From the earliest Spanish adobe huts of the Presidio of San Francisco to the preserved Nike nuclear missile site in the Marin Headlands, the Golden Gate National Recreation area contains an outdoor museum of fortifications that waited for wars that never happened and enemies that never came.
"Fort Baker Through the Years" Fort Baker lies hard-by the Golden Gate, literally in the shadow of the famous bridge. For nearly 140 years it was a stronghold of the the U.S. Army, where glowering coastal fortifications overlooked snug Victorian military houses. This show is a companion to John's latest book Fort Baker Through The Years: The Post, The Park, The Lodge, published by Hole In The Head Press.
"American Icon: The Golden Gate Bridge" The origins, design, construction history, and legacy as San Francisco most famous landmark. Learn about the challenges encountered while building what was the world's longest single-span suspension bridge and its evolution into a world-wide symbol of San Francisco and California.
"The Lost Cemetery of Lincoln Park" Lincoln Park and its golf course were once San Francisco’s City Cemetery, a windblown assemblage of fraternal and ethnic burial plots, Chinese temporary interments, and the city's Potter's Field. This illustrated talk covers the history and demise of all of San Francisco's 19th century cemeteries, with special focus on Lincoln Park, and recent research and archeological discoveries at the nearly-forgotten burial ground.
"Sutro's Glass Palace: The Story of Sutro Baths" Built in the 1890s, Sutro Baths was the largest indoor bathhouse in the world, featuring seven swimming pools, art works, promenades and museum exhibits, all covered by nearly three acres of glass. Today, only broken concrete ruins remain at Lands End. But even in ruins, the Sutro Baths still draws thousands of people daily who explore its mysterious foundations and rocky tunnels. This talk includes many never-before seen photographs of Adolph Sutro's legendary Glass Palace.
"Presidio of San Francisco" The Presidio encompasses more history than another other site within San Francisco. In this PowerPoint talk, John describes Spanish colonial settlement, 1906 earthquake refugees, the U.S. Army from 1846 to 1995, and the dizzying variety of military architecture found throughout the post. Highlights include the conversion of the Presidio “from post to park” following the Army's departure in 1995, the beautifully renovated Presidio Officers Club, archeology at El Presidio de San Francisco, the leasing program that has made the Presidio self-supporting, and the current Presidio Parkway and Tunnel Tops Projects.
"Fort Point National Historic Site" Called “the fort that never fired a shot in anger," Fort Point is one of San Francisco’s magnificent but near-hidden treasures. In this PowerPoint talk, author and historian John Martini reveals the stories of fort’s construction, soldier life during the Civil War, the fort’s stunning architecture, its rescue when the Golden Gate Bridge threatened its demolition, and its restoration as a National Historic Site.
"Playland At The Beach: San Francisco's Vanished Seaside Pleasure Ground" A nostalgic -- and melancholy -- look at the city's vanished amusement park at Ocean Beach. This popular talk traces Playland's evolution from a rough-and-tumble neighborhood of bars and shooting galleries in the 1890s up through its 'golden era' during the 1940s under the Whitney Brothers, and then its eventual demise and demolition in 1972.
"China Camp: A Cultural Landscape Study" China Camp on San Pablo Bay is one of Marin’s most scenic locations. Originally a shrimp fishing village in the 1870s, it survived into the 20th century as a sports fishing camp and State Park. It even had a “starring role” in the 1955 John Wayne movie Blood Alley. In this talk, John describes the human and physical histories of China Camp over the last 150 years, especially the surviving structures from its various historic eras.
"Steam Trains, Streetcars, Cemeteries & Shipwrecks" The story of San Francisco's wilderness at Lands End, with period photographs of the steamtrains and streetcars that rounded its rocky bluffs. Hear about the nearly-forgotten cemetery that lies beneath today's Lincoln Park golf course, the rusting remains of shipwrecks along its shore, the 1890s battlements at Fort Miley, and the wondrous Victorian gardens of Sutro Heights.
"The 1894 World's Fair in Golden Gate Park." Few people know that Golden Gate Park once hosted a World's Fair, the nearly forgotten "1894 California Mid-Winter Exposition." This PowerPoint show highlights the exotic but short-lived Fair that occupied the heart of Golden Gate Park, including scattered surviving remnants of the Expostion from 125 years ago.
John's PowerPoint talks last approximately 30-45 minutes and can be tailored to a group's special interests. John can provide his own laptop and digital projector.