San Francisco's Grimy Side Exposed
Murder, graft and prostitution explored in unique city tour

photo: Maureen McGettigan

Russell Kyle dresses up in his Barbary Coast outfit before taking a group on a crime scene tour of San Francisco. In the picture above, Kyle stands at the intersection of Washington and Cherry streets, the site where the Zodiac killer first struck.

By David Ryan Alexander

One of the greatest unsolved serial killings of all time took place in the Presidio Heights, in 1969, when the infamous Zodiac killer arrived at the corner of Washington and Cherry streets and executed a waiting cab driver. 

"Kids were having a party at one of the corner houses," said local historian and Richmond District resident Russell Kyle during the beginning of one of the San Francisco crime tours he regularly gives. "They saw the execution and called the cops. The Zodiac killer was going down the street and he was stopped by a couple of San Francisco police officers that got his description wrong. They were looking for a black male instead of a white male. To this day, those San Francisco cops are some of the few people who actually saw the Zodiac killer."

After 35 years, the Zodiac killer remains unknown and, possibly, at large. In April, the SF Police Department deactivated the case. But the Zodiac killer's mystique remains and his story now serves as the opening to Kyle's two-hour tour of the city's rich history of crime. 

On Second Avenue, just steps away from Geary Boulevard, is the small office where Kyle runs his True Crime Tour business. The windows are covered with newspaper clippings. Inside the office, from ceiling to floor, are tacked, glued and stapled articles about past elections, local controversies and crime stories. 

"Everybody loves true crime," Kyle said. "Let's face it, that's why they buy the paper. The funny thing that I find about it is that it's inextricably bound to history and in San Francisco there's history on every corner."

Kyle, with his mischievous smile, sun-reddened face and wearing his casual baseball cap and T-shirt, has been giving crime tours for nearly three years.

"I've been here since just before Sept. 11, 2001," he said. "That actually really hampered my business. People were not really into taking crime tours at that time. It's only been a few years - it's been a real struggle - but I've tried to modify my presentation a bit and I'm still here. People who take the tour love it."

"Something will strike a cord with everyone," he added. "Whether it's the massacre at 101 California St., the crimes and the historic nature of Chinatown or the robber barons that sat atop Nob Hill and robbed everyone, a chord resonates with everyone around here that likes crime. Black Bart, William Randolph Hearst, Fatty Arbuckle and prostitution in San Francisco. The list goes on and on. Patty Hearst, Jim Jones, the Zebra Killers."

Surprisingly, Kyle's background is not in history and he was not born and raised in San Francisco. He moved to the City in 1977 after studying theatre at the University of California at Los Angeles. He worked for a time in construction, as an actor in commercials, as a software engineer for Sun Microsystems and a stand-up comedian.

"I have been kicked out of some of the worst clubs in San Francisco for working 'blue,'- meaning his use of lewd content, he said.

As for his business at True Crime Tours, Kyle said he had always held an interest in San Francisco and its unique history. From a business perspective, he wanted to be able to utilize these interests. "After the dot-bomb revolution, I decided to try something else," he said. "I wanted to work for myself."

Kyle attributes a lot of the rich history of crime in San Francisco to the city's initial experience during the Gold Rush. He also likes to point out that his great, great grandfather was George Washington Carmack, who was from San Francisco and struck gold in 1896 in Alaska's Klondike territory. "The gold all flowed through San Francisco," he said, "making it perfectly ripe for crime and corruption."

Kyle says not all crime stories in San Francisco date back to the gold rush era. "It's amazing how some of this stuff is still current," he said. "Like Patty Hearst."

In addition to offering historical tours of San Francisco crime, Kyle has recently begun working with the History Channel for one of its television programs, Wild West Tech.

"The History Channel is very interested in San Francisco history and this is primarily what the tour brings to people," he said.

Kyle is also planning to approach local educational institutions, such as San Francisco State University and City College of San Francisco, to pitch creating courses on local crime. He believes students would be interested in the often celebrity status of some criminals.

"In the old days, the poor and working guys always sided secretly with the criminals. They wanted to see the criminal rob the bank and get away with it," Kyle said.

"Then again, there's another side of human nature that wants truth and justice. These people want to see the guy get caught and punished. It's the complete duality of man, right there."

For more information about Russell's Crime Tours, call (415) 387-1549.