We hopped on the 8:45 AM ferry into the City and departed on the 5:30 PM using only our feet as transportation. We traversed numerous districts and discovered neighborhoods we hadn't explored before. It was an exceptional day by the Bay!
Arriving by ferry just starts the entire tourist vibe!
Our first destination was the Mission District and on the way we passed by City Hall, which was a first.
San Francisco City Hall, built in 1915 to replace an earlier one that was destroyed during the 1906 earthquake, is a Beaux-Arts monument to the City Beautiful movement that epitomized the high-minded American Renaissance of the 1880s to 1917. The structure's dome is taller than that of the United States Capitol by 42 feet.
One goal today was to tour Mission San Francisco de Asís, or Mission Dolores, the oldest surviving structure in San Francisco and the seventh religious settlement established as part of the California chain of missions. Founded on June 29, 1776, this is the best preserved of all the Missions. Interestingly, in 1957, scenes from Hitchcock's Vertigo were filmed here.
Within the Basilica I found this statue of interest. I learned that it depicts Martin de Porres (1579 - 1639) a lay brother for the Dominican order. He was illegitimately born to a former black slave and a Spanish nobleman. In 1962, he was honored by canonization, and he is now known as the patron saint of mixed-race people and all those seeking interracial harmony. Why the broom? Because he believed that "all work is sacred no matter how menial." Martin is usually accompanied by a cat and a dog, which drink out of the same dish. Only in San Francisco!
I love murals and had read about the Clarion Alley Mural Project, whose vision is to be a space where culture and dignity speak louder than the rules of private property or a lifestyle that puts profit before compassion, respect, and social justice. It is one of those places that demands to be visited often since the murals change frequently.
This was on a store front and just had to be captured!
Lunch was at Tacolicious' Mission District location and it was truly delicious.
No trip to San Francisco can be complete without the famous Cable Cars.
While we have been here before, we were still amazed by the historic Cable Car Barn & Powerhouse, where visitors can view the actual cable winding machinery from an elevated gallery, as well as the path of the cable entering the building and leaving underneath the street in the sheave room viewing area. So cool. And the history of this means of transportation is pretty intriguing as well.
Every cable car is pulled along it's hilly track by an underground cable. The cable is gripped with a vise-like mechanism that is operated via the grip lever in the front of the car. Today, we got to see the grip having to be replaced, mid-trip. Everyone was very intrigued. Very interesting stuff.
Steve is enjoying the Transamerica Building, an iconic sight visible from all over the city.
City Lights is a landmark independent bookstore and publisher that specializes in world literature, the arts, and progressive politics. Founded in 1953 by poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Peter D. Martin, City Lights is one of the truly great independent bookstores in the United States, a place where book lovers from across the country and around the world come to browse, read, and just soak in the ambiance of alternative culture's only "Literary Landmark."
We ended our day is this amazing green building at a neat little cafe. Named for Francis Coppola's venerable production company, American Zoetrope, Cafe Zoetrope is located in the majestic Sentinel Building, a San Francisco historic landmark in the heart of North Beach. The building was completed in 1907 and is a very distinctive copper-green Flatiron style structure. It was a really great space to have a drink before heading back to camp. It gave us time to pause and remember all the cool San Francisco sights that exploring 10.68 miles of the City afforded us. What an amazing day.
An added highlight was seeing the sun set behind the Golden Gate Bridge. Wow.
"What I like best about San Francisco
is San Francisco."
- Frank Lloyd Wright
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3 comments:
Great pictures, I just love SF! Such a beautiful place! You look fabulous! Missing you both!
Looks like fun and except for the cable car ride you walked everywhere?!
You sure did pack in a lot in one day!
There is no going wrong when visiting the City. There is always something new to explore, and to capture on "film."
How funny that we missed each other there by a weekend!
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