Whatever works!
San Francisco architecture combines practical, retrospective and modern influences into a functional, if surprising, hive of activity.
Some current trends are the bicycle-ization of the city with expanded bike lanes, ridership and political activity. In a similarly mobile manner, recession-born food carts are still the hottest thing in food culture and easily enjoyable at Off the Grid (or wherever they are). And via the efforts of the Burning Man organization and others, the quality and number of public art installations has been dramatically on the rise.
In terms of structural artifacts, the Golden Gate Bridge is probably the best known and most accessible. While nobody less than Frederick Law Olsted (designer of New York's Central Park) advised against the formation of Golden Gate Park on the assumption that trees wouldn't grow. The park is now (by far) the largest outdoor recreation area in the city and plays host to numerous and events.
Other notables are the Mission Dolores itself, the oldest still-standing building in SF, Grace Cathedral on Nob Hill, Coit Tower near North Beach, the Museum of Modern Art in SOMA, the Ferry Building along the Embarcadero, and a Chinatown rebuilt after the 1906 fire to look, rather than be, Chinese.
Other lesser-known standouts are the Xanadu Gallery by Union Square (Frank Lloyd Wright's prototype for the Guggenheim), the Cliff House at the north end of Ocean Beach (with a camera obscura► on backside) and the Armory in the Mission.
On a residential scale, SF housing stock is long and skinny - 25 feet wide is a common width, and often split lengthwise - with lots of little rooms. A mansion by todays standards, the Haas-Lilienthal House is a well preserved/restored example, and open to the public. The "Painted Ladies" watching Alamo Square provide an iconic photo op, but are private residences.
SF City Guides volunteers lead a number of excellent architectural and related tours, providing deeper in-the-flesh exploration.
Tagged for Architecture...
Some current trends are the bicycle-ization of the city with expanded bike lanes, ridership and political activity. In a similarly mobile manner, recession-born food carts are still the hottest thing in food culture and easily enjoyable at Off the Grid (or wherever they are). And via the efforts of the Burning Man organization and others, the quality and number of public art installations has been dramatically on the rise.
In terms of structural artifacts, the Golden Gate Bridge is probably the best known and most accessible. While nobody less than Frederick Law Olsted (designer of New York's Central Park) advised against the formation of Golden Gate Park on the assumption that trees wouldn't grow. The park is now (by far) the largest outdoor recreation area in the city and plays host to numerous and events.
Other notables are the Mission Dolores itself, the oldest still-standing building in SF, Grace Cathedral on Nob Hill, Coit Tower near North Beach, the Museum of Modern Art in SOMA, the Ferry Building along the Embarcadero, and a Chinatown rebuilt after the 1906 fire to look, rather than be, Chinese.
Other lesser-known standouts are the Xanadu Gallery by Union Square (Frank Lloyd Wright's prototype for the Guggenheim), the Cliff House at the north end of Ocean Beach (with a camera obscura► on backside) and the Armory in the Mission.
On a residential scale, SF housing stock is long and skinny - 25 feet wide is a common width, and often split lengthwise - with lots of little rooms. A mansion by todays standards, the Haas-Lilienthal House is a well preserved/restored example, and open to the public. The "Painted Ladies" watching Alamo Square provide an iconic photo op, but are private residences.
SF City Guides volunteers lead a number of excellent architectural and related tours, providing deeper in-the-flesh exploration.
Tagged for Architecture...
American Conservatory TheaterMashing up classic and contemporary performances in a intimately vertical (and historic) theater beside Union Square, the ACT can be great!
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Armory
Sweet dreams are made of these...
Mothballed for 3 decades, in 2006 this 200,000 square foot Moorish Revival castle in the Mission was purchased for Kink.com, the world's largest producer of S&M pornography!
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Caselli Mansion
Improbably monstrous
Built in 1892 by an eccentric policeman on 17 acres, the Caselli mansion has been an apartment building for most its otherwise majestic history.
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Castro Theater
Delightful theater, excellent films
An organist plays the pipes► before most shows at this Spanish Colonial theater. Most runs are classic or independent films.
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Children's Creativity Museum
More m than moma
With hands-on animation►, sound and video production►, performance, and visual art - the Children's Creativity Museum (formerly Zeum) spins creative.
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City Hall
Center of politics, marriage and celebration... often at the same time
The world's 5th largest dome in the world is a centroid of activity - gay and straight marriages, civil rights and antiwar protests, Gay Pride parade, Lovefest, the occasional Flashdance party, among others.
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Cliff House
Stunning views, historic building, government owned restaurant
An enduring city celebrity (since 1858), the Cliff House rewards a closer look despite some wear for the years. Seated near Lands End, the Sutro Baths, and the north end of Ocean Beach - the Cliff House is a historic building with freshly baked meals :)
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Coit Tower
A visual stimulator
The namesake tower gets the attention - but the hike and the views► are the main attraction!
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Conservatory of Flowers
Living Victoriana
Located just inside Golden Gate Park from the Panhandle, the oldest surviving flower conservatory in the western hemisphere (1878) and consists of 25 tons of glass - and after a 2003 restoration, it seems likely to hold the title for a while longer yet :)
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Contemporary Jewish Museum
Fresh art, fresh building
With 63,000 square feet of lively and diverse Jewish artwork in an eye-popping 2008 building, the CJM lives up to it's namesake and then some.
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de Young Museum
A fine fine art museum
Opened in 1895 with a hyper-modern rebuild in 2005, de Young is among the oldest and best museums in the city - inside and out!
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Downtown
Windswept skycrapers
Adjoining the windy bay on the sunny side of town, San Francisco's downtown (officially "Financial District") provides unusual visual expansiveness and fresh air in a hyper-urban locale.
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Embarcadero
No hills!
Running along the bay from AT&T Park up to Fisherman's Wharf, the Embarcadero provides a break from the city's steep inclinations. As such, it's widely enjoyed by locals and visitors on foot, bicycle, skateboard, rollerskate, etc... although traffic can be an issue both on the sidewalk and off.
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F Market Streetcar
Cablefree cars
One of the most reliably slow and entertaining► ways to get around the city!
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Ferry Building
Historic outsides, brand new interior
Matching historical resilience (eg, surviving both the 1906 Earthquake and the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake's destruction of the adjoining Embarcadero freeway) and persistent visibility along the Market Street corridor up to Twin Peaks - the Ferry Building enjoys iconic status in the city, and has exploded onto the food scene since its latest renovation in 2003.
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Golden Gate Bridge
Icon of the Golden Gate
The Golden Gate Bridge is not to be missed! It's best up close and personal. The bridge is a bit less than 2 miles across - an excellent hike or bike ride. Be sure to wear warm clothes, as it is often windy and/or cold►.
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Googleplex
Feeling lucky?
No searching for free gourmet food, massaging toilets, vintage arcade games, and countless other worldly delights on this kindergarten (college►??) colored campus!
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Grace Cathedral
Holy Cathedral, Batman! Gothic is bigger than you
Nob Hill's heavyweight hood ornament is a must-visit for those intrigued by cathedrals and architecture. In addition to stunning stained glass, there are two meditation labyrinths► (outside and in), and three massive organs.
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Haas-Lilienthal House
Dating a painted lady
Lace up your corset and ride the cable car (California Line) over to Pacific Heights for a trip back to the late 1800's!
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Herbst Theatre
Beaux Arts
Adjoining the Symphony, Opera and Ballet, Herbst hosts (typically) more modern musical performances and lectures in a beautiful Beaux-Arts building (the signing place of the UN charter in 1945), across the street from City Hall - check the calendar.
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Japantown
A very little bit of Japan in SF
The largest and oldest Japantown in the United States. With excellent sushi restaurants, a Japanese mall, a supermarket, and the delightful Kabuki Springs & Spa and more packed into about six blocks "J-Town" makes a great visit. It adjoins the Fillmore District, Pacific Heights, Western Addition, and annually hosts the Cherry Blossom Festival.
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Legion of Honor
A site to behold, inside and out
Adjoining with the eye-popping Lands End trail, the Legion of Honor sits on some of the finest real estate in San Francisco, and the interior lives up to the honor!
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Lombard Street
Get your wiggle on
Iconic of San Francisco, the Lombard street hairpins are a quick hit of fun. If the weather is bad, or the location inconvenient - feel free to skip it. It's relatively close to the Maritime Museum and Aquatic park.
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Maritime Museum
Lifeblood of early San Francisco
With one of the world's best natural ports, San Francisco owes much of its prominence to oceanic travel and Maritime Museum is a great visit for history and maritime buffs. The Balclutha►, a tall sailing ship from 1886, is the crown jewel of the bunch (7 total). The USS Pampanito submarine/museum is run by the same organization, but a few blocks away on Pier 45.
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Mission Dolores
The original missionary position
The oldest building in San Francisco, Mission Dolores de Asis still holds mass and provides visitors► a window into the native Ohlone culture (at least, the end of it), and Spanish colonization of San Francisco, with still-working bells►.
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Moscone Center
A city in itself...
With 700,000+ square feet of space, the Moscone Center is (by far!) the largest exhibition space in SF. Most events on the convention calendar are professional and/or academic - both specific and expensive - there are notable exceptions like WonderCon and the SF International Auto Show.
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Museum of Modern Art
art.
MOMA augments an exciting permanent collection with vibrant exhibitions, all housed in a delightful building of exo-art. The curation runs to the modern side of modern art (edgier than New York's MOMA), but it's a reputable museum and lags behind the cutting edge of urban art in SF.
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Painted Ladies
Not just a bad tranny joke...
Post-industrial skyscrapers juxtaposed behind sparkling Victorian gingerbread!
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Palace of Fine Arts
A little bit of Rome in SF
Originally built in 1915 for the Panama-Pacific Exposition, the Palace of Fine Arts today houses the Exploratorium and a theater.
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Piedmont Boutique
Shiny happy glitter
Piedmont has pushed the boundaries of petroleum for 30+ years► with a wild collection of shiny, shimmery, sexy - and synthetic - clothing!
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San Francisco Centre
Shoppers delight
San Francisco's primary upscale shopping location. Stonestown Galleria is the only other mall within the city, and it's much smaller.
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SF City GuidesWith more walking tours covering most of the city, SF City Guides provide a phenomenal resource for anyone interested in the cultural history of SF and/or exploring by foot.
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St Ignatius
Prominent Catholicism
Sitting on "The Hilltop" (University of San Francisco), Saint Ignatius throws two massive spires onto the cityscape.
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St Mary's Cathedral
His hyperbolic paraboloid
"The Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption" is commonly known as Saint Mary's Cathedral, and even more commonly referred to as "that thing!" - owing to its intriguing prominence on the San Francisco skyline, particularly from the south.
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Symphony
Amazing music, hall
Conducted by the talented Michael Tilson Thomas in the eye-popping Davies Symphony Hall, the symphony delights►!
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Transamerica Building
Post-rectangular liberation
Piercing the city's skyline like pharaoh's pyramid on a crash diet, the Transamerica Building is primarily a visual landmark, although there is little park with greenery at ground zero.
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UC Berkeley
Go Bears!
Consistently ranked the number one public university in the country, Cal may be best known for it's historical role in the free-speech and antiwar movements both spearheading and defining the 1960s.
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USS Pampanito
More fun than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick?
If being in the middle of the ocean, in the middle of a war, under water, in overheated cramped quarters floats your boat - definitely check out the USS Pampanito!
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Vaillancourt Fountain
Art, Politics & Water :)
Xanadu Gallery
Old and East in the West :)
A gallery of tribal and eastern art housed in the only publicly accessible Frank LLoyd Wright work in San Francisco, the Xanadu Gallery covers great time and space a half block from Union Square :)
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Yerba Buena Gardens
Some pretty good yerba
Before San Francisco became "San Francisco" it was called "Yerba Buena" - Spanish for "good herb".
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