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Forty-nine is San Francisco's magical number, equal parts gold,
gridiron, and geography. The city packs quite a bit into its seven
square miles, from wooded tranquility to raving nightlife. Four
dozen and one must-see sights, famous and unfamiliar:
Sights
and Icons:
Coit
Tower: Rising swiftly from Telegraph Hill, Coit Tower demanded
iconic status from its 1933 completion. Perhaps it’s the sweeping
bay views, captivating from the 210-foot pillar. Or the left-leaning,
WPA-era murals that glorify the workers who tamed California, and
tell city stories in vivid detail (find the robbery in the financial
district.) Maybe its Coit Tower’s legacy: Bequeathed to the
city by philanthropist (and alleged firefighter fan) Lillian Coit,
the monument bears striking resemblance to a firehose nozzle.
The
Cliff House : Perched proudly atop a rock outcropping where
highway meets the Pacific Ocean, the Cliff House has been welcoming
seafarers and landlovers alike since 1863. Today’s Cliff House,
the third (the first two were lost to fire), combines spectacular
views of the Golden Gate with a restaurant, Coastal Trail access,
a national park headquarters, and the adjacent ruins of old Sutro
Baths, weathering the surf.
The
Embarcadero: San Francisco began as a port town, and the waterfront
remained vital until the 1960s. Cut off from the city for decades
by the much-maligned Embarcadero Freeway, the port became a blighted
no-man's-land; when the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake damaged the
freeway, San Franciscans acted to tear it down. A decade's worth
of renovations later, the Embarcadero has rebloomed as a ped-friendly
esplanade harboring eateries, fishing piers, palm trees, skate and
bike lanes, and the baseball palace, Pacific Bell Park. Look for
the renovated Ferry Building to reopen spring 2003.
Palace
of Fine Arts: Graceful like the swans which inhabit its ponds,
the Palace of Fine Arts stands as an icon from a bygone age. 1915,
to be exact, the year of the Panama Pacific Exhibition, the city's
official coming-out party after the calamitous 1906 temblor. Wander
the Palace's sepia-toned, Roman-style columns, or indulge your inner
geek at the Exploratorium, the high-tech, hands-on science museum
with 600-odd exhibits.
New
Union Square: Fresh off its multi-million dollar facelift, San
Francisco's prime shopping square has been revitalized as a sloping
European-style piazza, with benches and art work, cafe service,
the half-price ticket booth, and front row access to Saks, Niemans,
Macys, et al.-
Pacific
Bell Park: San Francisco's Giants pack waterfron Pac Bell Park,
an instant civic treasure (and Barry Bonds' record-smashing home
grounds) since 2000. On game days, grab the kayak to await the dingers
in McCovey Cove. -2-
Fort
Point: Civil War-era fortress beneath south moorings of the Golden Gate Bridge guarded San Francisco Bay from interlopers, and made for spooky postings on foggy nights.
Entertainment:
SoMa
Nightclubs: Late night revelry often ends up South of Market,
at aptly-named clubs like Ten15 Folsom, 330 Ritch, the Sound Factory,
and The Endup.
Fillmore/Warfield/Great
American Music Hall: The trifecta of live music venues: Rock
impresario Bill Graham’s legend lives on at the Fillmore Auditorium,
where framed photos and posters evoke the 1960s, and The Warfield,
faded elegance from the theater age. The gilded Great American Music
Hall, circa 1907, sports plush burgandy and gold tones, and the
best sound in town.
Red
Vic Movie House/Castro Theatre: Organic cookies and comfy couches
complement a mixed bill of first-run, foriegn, classic, and cult
films at the cozy Red Vic Movie House on Haight Street, while the
Castro Theatre's neon marquee and antique Wurlitzer hearken back
to cinema's Golden Age, but the its billings remain firmly progressive
and cutting edge.
Chinatown
Bars: The bustle of Stockton and Grant Streets settles at night,
but Chinatown's offbeat bars make for fine entertainment. Li Po
is firmly planted in the guidebooks, while lesser-known Mr. Bing's
anchors the triangular corner of Columbus Avenue.
Street
Fairs: City neighborhoods strut their stuff come springtime,
when street fair season starts to bloom. Japantown's Cherry Blossom
Festival (4/12-20), the Haight Street Faire (6/7), and the Fillmore
Street Jazz Festival (7/5-6) steadily entertain.
Cafe
Culture: Seattle's got nothing on the Bay Area, home to countless
coffee shops and roasteries. Cafes often take on the flavors of
their surrounding neighborhoods: activist Mission District, international
Lower Haight, cruisey Marina, artistic Potrero Hill. Start your
cafe crawl at North Beach's Cafe Trieste, epicenter for '50s coffee-fueled
Beats.
Baker
Beach: San Franciscans in the know (and sometimes, the nude)
bypass blustery Ocean Beach for this secluded bend of sand in the
Presidio, between Land’s End and the Golden Gate Bridge. The
surf’s rough, but the scenery goes down nicely. (If you're
planning to tan paler parts, double the sunscreen. Red bottoms burn.)
Food:
Trader
Joes: Whether stocking a new kitchen, securing lunches, planning
a pot luck, or landing cheap wines, markdown grocer Trader Joe's
answers your culinary needs cheaply. Can't find your vintage? The
nearby Wine Club stocks crates and crates.
Anchor
Steam: San Francisco's malted icon almost went under in the
'60s, but now goes down smoothly in pubs and parties nationwide.
Liberty Ale ain't half bad, neither.
California
Culinary Academy: A townful of foodies demands top-shelf chefs,
and the California Culinary Academy serves 'em up. The soon-to-be
pros prove their mettle in the Academy's fancy Careme Room, famed
for French menus and Sunday brunches. 625 Polk Street, (800) 229-2433;
www.baychef.com.
Molinari's:
Venerable North Beach deli serving Italian treats for over a century.
Slap proscuitto on foccacio to go to Washington Square park across
the street.
Crabs
at Fisherman’s Wharf: Crab season signals bushels of pinchers
(and tourists) lined up at Fisherman's Wharf, where they crack ‘em
fresh by the pound to go, or eat in with piping white chowder in
a breadbowl on the side. Crowds get thick.
Ethnic
Markets: The city's multiculturalism reflects in its ethnic
markets. Beyond Chinatown, Asian grocers line Clement and Irving
Streets in the Richmond and Sunset Districts, respectively. Thai
markets are heay along Geary Boulevard. North Beach offers Italian
bakeries, while Latin markets line Mission District streets. Valenica
Street harbors Bombay Bazar, with Indian goods and curry ice cream.
Sushi:
Upscale, traditional, barside, barefoot: Whatever your sushi pleasure,
you'll find it. Bargains await in western neighborhoods.
Shopping:
Green
Apple Books: Among the grocers of Clement Street you’ll
find a pair of Green Apples, both ripe for picking: the original,
two stories stacked with non-fiction, new and used, alongside a
fiction and music annex. Consistently voted among the best bookstores
in town. Open late.
Amoeba
Records: In a converted bowling alley at the convergence of
Golden Gate Park and Haight Street, Amoeba stuffs its stuff with
music spanning the genres. Records, tapes, CDs, DVDs. Fans scan
stacks for electronica, hip-hop, rock, soul, bluegrass, world, metal,
and more. Linger in the Jazz Room, browse walls of vintage posters
and unreal billings, catch live bands or djs on Amoeba’s indoor
stage.
Hayes
Valley/Noe Valley: Locals flock to lesser-known neighborhoods
for shopping: Hayes Valley for fashion, mod furniture, glass art
and European shoes; Noe Valley for imports, hand-crafted jewelry,
artisan wines, and kids toys.
SoMa
Outlets: The warehouse spaces south of Market Street contain
some of the city's finest resources for furniture, lighting, flooring,
and garden design, and discounted fashion at the North Face and
Jessica McClintock outlets, and Nordstrom Rack.
Vintage
Gear & Threads: Thrift scoring is an art form in a city
prizing singular styles. Consider American Rag on Van Ness Avenue,
Wasteland and Crossroads in Haight Ashbury, Buffalo Exchange on
Polk Street, and Community Thrift and Thrift town in the Mission.
Japantown:
Anchored by the 100-foot tall Peace Pagoda, Japantown has long been
a cultural and economic hub for the city's Japanese-American community.
Some visit to shop at Japan Center, a complex of galleries, boutiques,
eateries, and nitespots, while others come to peoplewatch, or race
electric cars.
Maiden
Lane: Stroll this alley off Union Square for quaint amenities
– boutiques, salons, galleries, and Frank Lloyd Wright's sole
San Francisco structure, the Folk Art International. But the signposts
tell the real history: during Barbara Coast days, Maiden Lane was
the most imfamous brothel and bordello block in the city.
The
Great Outdoors:
The
Panhandle: Saved from the wrecking ball by forward thinking
citizens, who fought City Hall redevelopment plans in the 1950s,
this thin appendage of hundred-year-old eucalyptus trees points
the way into Golden Gate Park.
Dolores
Park:
Prime city and East Bay views, tennis courts, picnic spots, and
sloping banks quickly packed by sun lovers on balmy days.
Angel
Island State Park: Far bigger than Alcatraz, Angel Island sees
far fewer tourists, to the delight of hikers, bikers, kayakers,
and campers, who utilize its 700-plus acres of woodlands and trails,
smack in the middle of San Francisco Bay. A former military garrison
that housed World War II POW’s, processed tens of thousands
of Chinese immigrants, and mounted Nike missiles during the Cold
War, Angel Island became a state park in 1962. Ferries run once
daily to the island from San Francisco, and more often from nearby
Tiburon.
The
Presidio/ Fort Mason: Long an army base covering San Francisco’s
northwestern quadrant, the Presidio harbored the first Spanish explorers,
and served as a moorage site for the Golden Gate Bridge. Trails
crisscross the wooded grounds, accessing coastal batteries, waterfront
Fort Point, a pet cemetery, and jaw-dropping viewpoints. The Presidio
will face a major facelifting in coming tears, as George Lucas’
Digital Arts campus takes residence. Travelers have long sought
Fort Mason for refuge. It sheltered a tent city of refugees after
the 1906 earthquake, and served as point of embarkation to the Pacific
theater for more than 1.5 million soldiers during World War II.
Converted to parkland in 1972, Fort Mason now houses art and theater
spaces, a community garden, a famed vegetarian restaurant (Greens),
and a youth hostel with truly decadent views.
San
Francisco Hang Gliding Center: Strap in and launch from from
Marin's Mount Tamalpais, or soar in the Aquaglider high above San
Francisco Bay.
Japanese
Tea Garden: A short stroll among well-tended greenery, ponds,
and pagodas, followed by tea service (and souvenirs) in communal
setting. A tiny oasis in vast Golden Gate Park.
Walking
Tours: To get to know San Francisco, get out on foot. Free City
Guides walking tours detail the history, architecture, culture,
and heritage of city streets and districts, while the annual Bay
to Breakers road race sees thousands of runners - plus walkers and
drinkers, more costume-clad than not - rambling across the city
from the Embarcadero to Ocean Beach.
Art
and Culture:
Mission
Murals: Along Balmy Alley and throughout the Mission District,
vivid mural art details local and international Latio history, culture,
and lore, from Carlos Santana to the United Fruit Company. Try Precita
Eyes Mural Center offers background info, classes, and tours.
City
Lights Bookstore: Free speech and paperback books owe their
due to City Lights, the North Beach bookshop that nurtured Beat
Generation poets and writers. Proprietor Lawrence Ferlinghetti published
Allen Ginsberg's groundbreaking "Howl", along with the
first paperback books in the states. What's not to love about Vesuvio,
Jack Kerouac's old favorite watering hole? Its roomy, reeks with
character, and starts pouring each day at 6 a.m.?
Yerba
Buena Gardens: An oasis of green in a desert of SoMa skyscrapers,
Yerba Buena Gardens combines pastoral lawns with cutting edge cultural
facilities, the Martin Luther King, Jr. fountain, trendy restaurants,
and entertainment for kids. Catch hit films and IMAX treasures at
the Sony Metreon theater; or cross Third Street for SF MoMa, the
city's famed modern art venue.
Cartoon
Art Museum/Musee Mecanique:
Favorites like Bullwinkle and Sylvester the Cat adorn walls of the
Cartoon Art Museum, alongside comic books, comic strips, editorial
cartoons, and graphic novels of artists and animators who broke
the rules, and broke new ground. Come equipped with loose change
to Musee Mecanique, the vintage arcade and amusements museum newly
housed at Pier 39.
Victorian
Architecture:
San Francisco's signature architecture that spawned a thousand postcards.
Tour the Haight-Ashbury and Castro Districts to sample fine specimens,
or explore upscale Pacific Heights and Cow Hollow for a peek at
decadance.
Palace
of the Legion of Honor:
A gift to the city from philanthropist Alma Spreckles, who sponsored
French sculptor Rodin (duly represented), and imported fabulous
holdings of 18th-19th Century European art to this Lincoln Park
museum.
New
Asian Art Museum:
March 20, 2003 marks the return of the Asian Art Museum to its new
Civic Center location, in the old Main Library, renovated by esteemed
architect Gae Aulenti, famed for Musee d'Orsay in Paris.
Bay
Area Life:
Glide
Memorial Church: The best music in town? Probably so on Sunday
morning. Pastored over by the tireless do-gooder Rev. Cecil Williams,
Glide Memorial raises hope for the economically challenged, and
its famed gospel choir raises the roof for a dedicated crowd each
weekend.
The
Big One: Its not talked about too much, but we know its coming.
1989's Loma Prieta earthquake may gave let out some tension, but
experts remained convinced California's ripe for a whopper. If it
happens? Find a doorway, and hang on.
Surfrider.org:
Ocean Beach draws hordes of surfers, many with vested interests
in protecting beaches, waves, and ocean life. Surfrider.org organizes
beach cleanups, water testings, wildlife monitoring days, and outreach
programs raising eco awareness.
LBGT
Center: Brand new facility serving as the epicenter of San Francisco's
LGBT community, with classes and talks, a theatre, a small museum,
and sense of community.
Critical
Mass: Bikes take over city streets during rush hour the final
Fridays of the month, as Critical Mass riders gather to protest
polluting vehicles, and fight for their two-wheeled rights.
Good
Vibrations: You’ve seen the mail order catalog, now visit
the mothership. Inconspicuous in plain gray on Valencia Street,
Good Vibrations offers a smorgasbord of sex-related gadgets, manuals,
and accessories to satisfy all your worldly, er, needs. Sexologists
and historians alike flip for the Vibrator Museum, with pocket pals
dating back to the 1920s.
Cellspace/SommArts/Media
Alliance/Volunteer Match: San Francisco's volunteer ethos endures
at community spaces: Nonprofit Cellspace in the Mission District
offers varied classes such as metalsmithing and break dance, while
city-owned SommArts has public work spaces and a pair of galleries.
Media Alliance has a job bank, and fights for access for alternative
media, while Volunteermatch.org partners individuals with a range
of causes.
–
Jay Cooke is a San Francisco-based travel, food, and culture writer.
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