What did San Francisco look like the decade you were born?

The 20s: Group of bathing beauties ca 1920 Point Lobos. Courtesy of OpenSFHistory.org. The 20s: Group of bathing beauties ca 1920 Point Lobos. Courtesy of OpenSFHistory.org. Photo: Courtesy Of OpenHistory.org Photo: Courtesy Of OpenHistory.org Image 1 of / 60 Caption Close What did San Francisco look like the decade you were born? 1 / 60 Back to Gallery

Do you remember watching Joe DiMaggio take the field for the San Francisco Seals? Or that weekend you shimmied into your bathing gown and spent your hours dipping in Sutro Baths? No, you almost certainly don't. You likely weren't even born. You didn't get to see the Gold Rush, the 1906 Quake or many of the other pieces of the city's history that makes up our communal DNA.

Those of us who love San Francisco can't shake the feeling that we somehow missed the best part of it. But the city is constantly evolving and that feeling of nostalgia tends to swallow every decade as it passes.

Difficult as it may be to believe, people will probably look back at our era with reverence, wishing they knew what it was like to live life surrounded by people in hoodies who have jobs leveraging thought leadership, whatever that means.

ALSO: Lost San Francisco landmarks that still exist in the movies

That sense that the modern city is inferior to the past is what Herb Caen was talking about when he said, "San Francisco isn't what it used to be, and it never was."

Here at SFGATE we can't afford to buy you a time machine and send you back to the Panama-Pacific Expo, but we can remind you that the decades of your own life have been plenty colorful here in S.F.

Click through the photos above to see a snapshot of what San Francisco looked like the decade you were born.

Bob Bragman is a producer for SFGATE. His writing reflects his love of the Bay Area, in addition to his passion for vintage pop culture, ephemera and vernacular photographs. To see more of his content, please click here.