San Francisco – a dream destination for
so many people across the world…
Well, in February of 2008 I finally had to opportunity to revisit
San Francisco, one of my favourite cities in all of North America.
In just a bit more than four days I had a chance to sample so many
of the things that this fascinating city has to offer. Here are
just a few highlights: as an avid biker I went on two bicycle tours
and cycled across the famous Golden Gate Bridge – definitely
an experience of a life time! I also explored Golden Gate Park and
the city’s west end, but ran out of time when it got dark
– all the more reason to visit it again next time. Of course
I needed to see Alcatraz Island with its infamous prison cellblocks
and was captured by the fascinating history and eerie beauty of
Alcatraz.
A gorgeous view of the Golden Gate Bridge from Land's End
Discoveries of San Francisco’s famous waterfront including
Pier 39 and Fisherman’s Wharf were also part of my adventure.
Walks through some of San Francisco’s neighbourhoods included
a guided Victorian homes walking tour through Pacific Heights and
an interesting, delicious and filling culinary tour through North
Beach, San Francisco’s Italian neighbourhood. I checked out
local landmarks such as the Coit Tower and its famous murals on
Telegraph Hill.
Naturally a ride on one of the famous cable cars was a must, and
our hilarious driver Rufus made this a very memorable experience.
On a day-long excursion I even got to explore Muir Woods and the
famous Sonoma wine country. All along the way I had a chance to
sample so many of San Francisco’s diverse culinary offerings,
get entertained in great shows and stay in unique historic hotels,
providing me with an opportunity to see a bit of the diversity that
San Francisco offers.
The illuminated sign at Fisherman's Wharf
Of course my few short days were not enough to really experience
this city; my departure date arrived too quickly and left me feeling
that I had only scratched the surface of this beautiful city, one
of the most scenic cities in the world.
So to give you a more comprehensive idea of this special destination,
here is Part 1 of my extensive interview with Tanya Houseman, Media
Relations Manager for the San
Francisco Visitors and Convention Bureau.
1. Please provide us with some general information about
San Francisco. Where is it located and how can I get there? How
big is the population of San Francisco? How do I get around the
city?
San Francisco is famous for scenic beauty, cultural attractions,
diverse communities and world-class cuisine; San Francisco’s
landmarks include the Golden Gate Bridge, cable cars, Fisherman’s
Wharf, Alcatraz, Chinatown, Union Square, North Beach, the Castro
District and Mission Dolores. The much-celebrated fog creates a
romantic mood in this most European of American cities.
Classical Greek architecture revisited at the Palace of Fine Arts
The city is situated on a 46.6 square-mile peninsula bounded on
the west by the Pacific Ocean, on the north by the Golden Gate strait
and from north to east by San Francisco Bay. The last provides it
with one of the world's finest land-locked harbors. The Bay is spanned
by two landmarks, the Golden Gate and the San Francisco-Oakland
Bay Bridges, and graced by four islands -- Alcatraz, Angel, Yerba
Buena and Treasure.
San Francisco is located in Northern California. Visitors can fly
into the City from San Francisco International Airport, or travel
over the Golden Gate Bridge or San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge
to get there.
The serene beauty of nature at Muir Woods
San Francisco has a population of close to 809,000 people. It is
one of the top walking cities in America. The best way to get around
is a combination of walking and public transportation, which is
inexpensive and readily available. For more information about fares,
routes and timetables, visit www.sfmuni.com and www.bart.gov.
2. San Francisco has a fascinating history. Please give
us a brief historical overview of this unique city.
San Francisco's history is a mixture of Spanish colonialism and
rowdy American romanticism. The first European settlement on the
site of the present city was established in 1776 by a Spanish officer,
Colonel Juan Bautista de Anza, who founded the Presidio on the southern
shore of the Golden Gate. By 1835 the little garrison had grown
into a village. It kept the name Yerba Buena until 1847 when it
was officially christened San Francisco.
San Francisco offers stunning architecture
The Yankees came en masse following the discovery of gold at Sutter's
sawmill, 140 miles east of San Francisco, in 1848. During 1849,
40,000 people arrived, most of them in search of quick riches. Today
there are some 5.8 million people in the San Francisco Bay Area,
the hub of a nine-county complex and one of the financial and biotech
capitals of the West.
3. What type of sightseeing opportunities do I have in
San Francisco? What types of tours are offered? What options do
I have to explore the city?
There are hundreds of sightseeing and tour options available to
see San Francisco. The best source available to discover how to
see San Francisco is visiting www.onlyinsanfrancisco.com.
Here you can find walking tours, cruises, helicopter and seaplane
tours to the city’s must see attractions including Alcatraz
cruises, Golden Gate Fields tours, Angel Island Tram Tours, wine
country tours, overnight packages, and many more.
Palermo Delicatessen, a stop on our North Beach culinary tour
4. Please tell us about one of the most significant attractions
in San
Francisco – the Golden Gate Bridge. What about its history
and how can I experience it?
San Francisco’s most famous landmark had its 50th anniversary
on May, 24, 1987.
The construction of a bridge that would cross the Golden Gate, the
unbridgeable mile-wide cleft in the Northern California Mountains,
had been the ”impossible dream” of Joseph B. Strauss,
a Chicago based engineering titan who is credited with masterminding
the bridge. Without Strauss’s vision, ingenuity and dynamism,
however, it is agreed that the bridge could not have been built
in the form or in the time it was.
After battling business and political opposition for 13 years,
construction began on January 5, 1933. It took two decades and 200
million words to convince the people that the bridge was feasible;
then only four years and $35 million to put the concrete and steel
together.
Sunset over the Golden Gate Bridge
Actually the construction was an awesome struggle against the
elements. Eleven bridgemen died in the effort. Nineteen plunged
into the safety net strung the length of the span and were spared.
Many of these daredevils worked for less than $1 an hour.
The Golden Gate Bridge became the world’s longest and tallest
suspension structure at that time. Its 746-foot (65-story) towers
were the highest west of the Empire State Building. Its two great
cables contain enough steel wire (80,000 miles) to encircle the
equator three times. The 1.7-mile-long bridge is suspended over
water 318 feet deep and allows a minimum ship clearance of 220 feet.
It accommodates six car lanes.
Every year more than 40 million vehicles pass over this panoramic
strand. The five-decade total is well over a billion. Drivers pay
a toll southbound. The pedestrian walkway is free. Cyclists can
travel on the west side as well.
The Marin Headlands, viewed during my bike ride over the Golden
Gate
The Gate and its graceful garland have been described as “a
miracle of nature illuminated by a flash of genius.” The most
romantic approach is by sea. Almost as breathtaking is the view
from the north. Motorists emerging from Waldo Tunnel on Highway
101 behold a red lyre in the sky. In the background a diaphanous
city dances above a sparkling sea.
5. Another world-famous site in San Francisco is Alcatraz
Island. Please give us some background about this fascinating place
and how I can best explore it.
The island was given its name by Spanish explorers who came to
the San Francisco Bay in 1775. Alcatraz means “Island of the
Pelicans”. In 1847 the U.S. Army took notice of the rock and
its strategic position. They built the first lighthouse at the West
Coast on Alcatraz and erected a fortress that would be a landmark
of the U.S. military power. Because of its natural isolation and
the freezing waters surrounding the island, it was soon considered
an ideal location for a prison. Alcatraz became well known for its
stringent rules and harsh treatment of the inmates.
Lighthouse on Alcatraz Islands
In the course of decades the atmosphere became more relaxed and
spectacles such as the “Alcatraz Fights” drew more and
more visitors to the island. In 1934 the military prison was closed.
But soon it was reopened again to serve as detention facility for
public enemies. One of its most famous inmates was undoubtedly Al
Capone. The prison was finally closed in 1963 and was claimed Indian
property by a group of Native Americans who settled there in 1969.
They hoped to establish a Native American Cultural Center on the
island. Due to different problems such as drugs and alcohol abuse
the community soon fell apart. The last residents of Alcatraz were
removed in 1972 and the island was turned into a recreation area
as part of the National Park Service Unit.
Ruined buildings on Alcatraz Island
In 1973 it was opened to the public and since then has drawn more
than 1 million visitors each year. Today the island is considered
an ecological reservation. There are no formal guided tours of Alcatraz,
but National Park staff offer many free programs on topics such
as escapes, military history, American Indian occupation, and natural
history. Ferries return to San Francisco every 30 minutes. Alcatraz
tours sell out quickly, so it is advisable to make bookings about
three weeks in advance.
If you prefer a guided program, you should take the evening tour
which provides visitors with a guided tour from the dock to the
cellhouse level and gives them the opportunity to participate in
a number of other special tours, activities, and cell door demonstration.
Alcatraz Cruises offers several tour options. Find further information
on www.alcatrazcruises.com.
View of Alcatraz Island on a gorgeous day
6. No trip to San
Francisco would be complete without a ride on the famous cable
cars. Please tell us about these moving landmarks.
These one of a kind vehicles celebrated their 100th birthday with
a 10-day jubilee in August of 1973, but it seemed that after being
in service for over a century, the beloved cable car system had
deteriorated beyond repair. To rebuild it would cost $60 million
and take at least 20 months.
In an operation similar to open heart surgery, four-and-a-half
miles and 69 blocks of city streets were torn up section by section
to make way for new cables, tracks, turntables and utility lines.
The cable car barn at Washington and Mason Streets was almost entirely
rebuilt. Meanwhile, the cable cars were getting a makeover of their
own.
One of the famous San Francisco cable cars
There are currently 40 cars in service: 28 “single-enders”
serve the Powell Street routes and 12 “double-enders”
serve the California Street route. The cables pull up to 26 cars
at a time on weekdays. The cars have a capacity of carrying more
than 60 people, and an astounding 7.5 million passengers ride these
cars each year.
The Cable Car Barn, Powerhouse and Museum, is known as “Home
Base” to the cable cars. The Museum houses one of the very
first cable cars (1873), a Sutter St. grip car and trailer, as well
as scale models of some of the 57 different types of cable cars,
which were once operated in the city. From the gallery, visitors
can look down onto pulleys, which thread the cable through big figure
eight’s and back into the system via slack-absorbing tension
racks. Daily visiting hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Oct. - Mar.)
and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Apr. - Sept.).
The historic carousel at Pier 39
7. San Francisco’s Waterfront is a popular tourist
destination. Please tell us about Fisherman’s Wharf, Pier
39 and other places to experience the waterfront in San Francisco.
Fisherman's Wharf is a mile in length, starting at Aquatic Park
and ending at Pier 39. Along with its variety of restaurants, the
central part appeals to families because of its Wax Museum, Guinness
Museum of World Records, and Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum.
Hornblower runs tour boats around Alcatraz from Pier 33, while Red
and White runs tours to the Golden Gate Bridge, both popular family
tours.
Celebrating the Crab Festival at Pier 39
Two shopping areas, The Anchorage and The Cannery, are located
in the central area. Each is filled with unique stores, selling
boutique items not available elsewhere.
Few visitors realize that the area known as Fisherman's Wharf extends
to Aquatic Park, a popular place where residents have always loved
to picnic, promenade, or play bocce ball. The Maritime Museum, once
the park's palatial bathhouse, exhibits memorabilia from the West
Coast's seafaring days and includes giant masts, painted figureheads,
and detailed ship models. The building itself resembles a cruise
ship, and you might take a break from your explorations by sitting
on the outside deck, listening to the waves break on shore.
A seagull ponders life at the Aquatic Park
At Fisherman's Wharf the crab pots are out in force most times
of year, but especially during Dungeness crab season (mid November
through mid-June), when tasty, fresh crab are available in abundance.
8. Please tell us about San
Francisco’s unique neighborhoods, places such as Chinatown,
North Beach, Haight-Ashbury, the Castro and many others.
The entrance to Chinatown at Grant Avenue and Bush Street is called
the "Dragon's Gate". Inside you will find 24 blocks of
hustle and bustle, most of it taking place along Grant Avenue, the
oldest street in San Francisco. This city within a city with its
exotic shops, renowned restaurants, food markets, temples and small
museums is best explored on foot. Visitors can buy ancient potions
from herb shops, relax and enjoy a "dim sum" lunch or
witness the making of fortune cookies.
Views of North Beach
North Beach, rich in Italian heritage features a variety of cabarets,
jazz clubs, galleries, inns, family style restaurants and gelato
parlors. Bakeries and delicatessens serve up such traditional Italian
delicacies as prosciutto, provolone, mozzarella, St. Honore cake
and sacripantina. A perfect spot for cappuccino and espresso, North
Beach is transformed into one of San Francisco's most electric playgrounds
by night; live music and dancing keep the streets swinging.
The "Summer of Love" lives on mainly in stores throughout
the charming Victorian Haight-Ashbury; find vintage clothing, books
and records along Haight Street, the neighborhood's busiest stretch.
Places of interest include 710 Ashbury Street, once home to the
legendary musical group, the Grateful Dead; 112 Lyon Street, where
famous singer Janis Joplin lived; Buena Vista Park, with its delightful
views of the City; and, for architectural highlights, Masonic, Piedmont
and Delmar Streets.
Stunning Victorian architecture in Pacific Heights
The Castro is a series of imaginative boutiques, bookstores and
bars. Novelty items abound in shops at the end of Market Street
between 16th and 17th Streets. The heart of the area is 18th and
Castro Streets. Built in 1922 the Castro Theater, 429 Castro Street,
is one of the last grand movie palaces, featuring revivals and pre-film
concerts on the mighty Wurlitzer. Also of note are Harvey Milk Plaza,
dedicated to one of the first openly gay elected officials in the
U.S., and Pink Triangle Park, a memorial to 15,000 lesbian, bisexual,
gay and transgender Holocaust victims. Each June, the Lesbian, Gay,
Bisexual, Transgender Pride Celebration Parade draws nearly 500,000
participants and spectators. The Castro Street Fair unfolds each
October.
More exciting places to explore include the Embarcadero, North
Beach and Little Italy, Japantown, SoMa, and many more.
Sea lion sculpture at Pier 39
Thank you for your great information, Tanya, and we’ll talk
about Golden Gate Park, and the city’s many offerings in terms
of architecture, culture, nightlife, shopping and many other topics
in Part 2 of this interview.
