Rather than dwell on superstition, we looked into the past to see what made the local news on this day and date:

Friday, April 13, 1900

Crime Recap: Former Doctor Turns Thief, Tugboat Captains Square Off

The Chronicle reported that Dr. Charles F. Clark, a former "physician who through drink lost his practice and became a thief," was sentenced by Police Judge Mogan to 30 days' imprisonment for stealing surgical instruments from the offices of Dr. W.F.H. Osman at 1604 Leavenworth Street.

That same day, Mogan dismissed charges of disturbing the peace that were made against two tugboat captains who collided at the intersection of Commercial and Montgomery streets.

In the fight between John McFarland, the ex-captain of a quarantine tug and William Bernstein, the tugboat's current captain, the two men "had disturbed only themselves," ruled Mogan.

Friday, April 13, 1923

Citywide Cleanup Week Winds Up

A cast-iron fountain that now stands at the confluence of Market, Geary and Kearny streets was refurbished on this day by civic boosters as part of a "clean week," the Chronicle reported.

Renowned actress Lotta Crabtree donated the fountain—originally located at 3rd, Market and Kearny—in 1875, but by 1923, it needed a makeover.

As part of a week-long beautification campaign, "it was given a good scrubbing by fair members of the theatrical profession. Afterwards, Mrs. Robert A. Dean, one of the head "cleaners up," said she hoped volunteers would donate paint and labor to give the fountain a fresh coat.

The cleanup, administered by a committee selected by Mayor James "Sunny Jim" Rolph, concluded that evening. Members of the Fire Department collected as much flammable material as possible "in order to make a great bonfire on the bay next Wednesday, in memory of the 1906 disaster."

On Phoenix Day, April 18th, the rubbish was to be loaded aboard "the old barge Mendor, which lies at the China basin wharf," saturated with petroleum, and set afire for a contest between "fire tugs, the Harbor Commission boats, and the navy vessels in putting out the fire."

Friday, April 13, 1962

Waiter Drives Car Into Market St. Department Store Window

Friday the 13th was an unlucky day for Silas Mike, a waiter whose car "wound up as a mass of wreckage on a Market Street sidewalk" before he was arrested on charges of drunken driving and speeding.

The Chronicle reported that the 35-year-old Tenderloin resident suffered minor injuries when his car smashed the storefront of F & B Discounts before coming to rest in the front window of Weinstein's department store at 1041 Market St. Four other passengers also received minor injuries in the crash.

According to the Chron, "Mike told police the brakes failed."