Fred Lyon is a legendary San Francisco-based photographer known today for capturing the ethereal feel of the city.

However, during the 1940s and 1950s, when Lyon was still trying to establish his name in the magazine industry, his images were much more bold and direct -- a representation of an artist’s hunger for creative expression post-World War II. It was then when he snapped the photos in this collection — a portrait of the city bursting with life, from the streets to the stores to the grandest palaces of art and culture.

H/T Buzzfeed