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Sunset, Hyde Street Pier
William Ralston was San Francisco's leading citizen in the 1860s and 70s. He founded the Bank of California and built the Virginia & Truckee Railroad to support his huge timber and mining operation in the Comstock. With his immense fortune Ralston hoped to turn San Francisco into a glorious and landmark city, 'The Paris of the West'. However by the summer of 1875 Ralston found himself overextended and when the Comstock Lode started to peter out, creditors began a run on his Bank of California which failed on August 26th. Ralston calmly tendered his resignation and then went for his customary afternoon swim here at the site of the Hyde Street Pier. A short time later his lifeless was pulled from the waters. The official cause of death was listed as stroke but most felt he had committed suicide. His death came just two weeks before the opening of his greatest legacy, the Palace Hotel.
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