Armistead Maupin was raised in a wealthy conservative home in Raleigh, North Carolina. After graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill he worked for a conservative radio station managed by future US Senator Jesse Helms. Maupin then joined the Navy and did a tour of duty in Vietnam as an admiral’s aide. But the direction of his life, and his values, took a 180 degree turn when he moved to San Francisco for a job as a reporter for the San Francisco bureau of the Associated Press.

In 1974 Maupin began the serial Tales of the City for Marin County’s Pacific Sun. When the paper shut down two years later the series was picked up by the San Francisco Chronicle^[1]. Norm shattering for its time, Tales of the City follows the adventures of young and innocent Mary Ann Singleton, a fictional 25 year old who relocates to San Francisco from Cleveland and is introduced to the uninhibited lifestyles of her neighbors on the also fictitious Barbary Lane. The characters made up a pseudo autobiography of Maupin’s adult life, remarkably different from his conservative upbringing. 

Maupin based Barbary Lane on the real Macondray Lane, a two block narrow brick pedestrian path on Russian Hill, so named when San Francisco settlers came upon a small Russian cemetery there. Many streets, including Macondray Lane, are staircases. There are house entrances on one side and a steep hillside backing up to houses on the other. The hillside itself is covered in lush greenery. Tall trees keep Macondray Lane in constant shadow, and the ceramic Buddha that sits next to a running fountain is covered in moss. The geography makes it a quiet place, shielded from city noise. 

Maupin incorporated local places of interest into his stories. One such place is Sam Wo Restaurant, originally founded in 1912 at 813 Washington and the oldest restaurant in ChinaTown^[2]. Patrons entered the kitchen and ascended a narrow flight of stairs to the dining room on the second floor. It was famous in part because it was one of the only venues that stayed open until 3:00am, but people also came to get a glimpse of Edson Fong (1927 – 1984), the world’s “rudest” waiter. Fong would famously refuse to serve someone based on their appearance, or became incensed if someone questioned an order.  Sam Wo closed in 2012 due to rodent activity and fire hazards, but with public donations it reopened on the second floor of a building at 713 Clay in 2015. It remains open until 3am on Fridays and Saturdays.

Tales of the City grew to be so popular that Maupin ended up writing nine novels about Mary Ann Singleton. The first five titles were a consolidation of his newspaper series. His remaining four titles were written as novels. What makes Tales of the City so compelling is the compassion, acceptance and open-mindedness of his characters. Maupin encapsulated what the LGBTQ lifestyle was like in San Francisco in the 1970s and 80s. By discussing their everyday struggles, he normalized the LBGTQ community in the eyes of judgmental readers.

On February 18, 2007 Maupin married website producer and photographer Christopher Turner. They currently live in London.

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[1] San Francisco Chronicle: story coming January 16th

[2] ChinaTown: story coming October 18th

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