I believe that in most places where toplessness (or in some cases, nudity) is or was legal, it didn't happen because the public decided they liked public nudity. Instead, it was sort of an historical oversight. It probably just never occurred to the powers that be to pass a law against it, because it was unthinkable, or they assumed that. OF COURSE, it must already be illegal. In a sense they might have been right, since disorderly conduct laws are often seen as covering it.
NYC is a major exception, of course, and Toronto. Barcelona too. I think SF was an oversight that a lot of people then discovered and embraced. (Please correct me if I'm wrong about any of this.)
I think it's not especially important whether or not public nudity is technically legal... the reason masses of people aren't walking around naked in major cities isn't because there's a law against it. The social prohibition against public nudity has always been much more important than the legality of it. It's a fringe behavior that is still considered to be a bit nuts by the general public, whatever the laws may be.
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