08_571869 ch05.qxd 10/21/04 7:10 PM Page 105 5 Exploring San Francisco San Francisco’s parks, museums, tours, and landmarks are favorites for travelers the world over and offer an array of activities to suit every visitor. But no particular activity or place makes the city one of the most popular destinations in the world. It’s San Francisco itself—its charm, its atmosphere, its perfect blend of big metropolis with small-town hospitality. No matter what you do while you’re here—whether you spend all your time in central areas like Union Square or North Beach, or explore the outer neighborhoods—you’re bound to discover the reason classic crooner Tony Bennett—and millions of visitors—leave their hearts in the City by the Bay. 1 Famous San Francisco Sights Alcatraz Island Kids Visible from Fisherman’s Wharf, Alcatraz Island (aka “The Rock”) has seen a checkered history. Juan Manuel Ayala was the first European to discover it in 1775 and named it after the many pelicans that nested on the island. From the 1850s to 1933, when the army vacated the island, it served as a mil- itary post, protecting the bay’s shoreline. In 1934, the government converted the buildings of the military outpost into a maximum- security prison. Given the sheer cliffs, treacherous tides and cur- rents, and frigid water temperatures, it was believed to be a totally escape-proof prison. Among the famous gangsters who occupied cell blocks A through D were Al Capone, Robert Stroud, the so-called Birdman of Alcatraz (because he was an expert in ornithological dis- eases), Machine Gun Kelly, and Alvin Karpis. It cost a fortune to keep them imprisoned here because all supplies, including water, hadCOPYRIGHTED to be shipped in. In 1963, after an apparentMATERIAL escape in which no bodies were recovered, the government closed the prison. In 1969, a group of Native Americans chartered a boat to the island to sym- bolically reclaim the island for the Indian people. They occupied the island until 1971, the longest occupation of a federal facility by Native Americans to this day, when they were forcibly removed by the U.S. government (see www.nps.gov/alcatraz/indian.html for 08_571869 ch05.qxd 10/21/04 7:10 PM Page 106 Major San Francisco Attractions 0 1 mi N 0 1 km Golden 1 Gate Bridge AArearea ooff BerkeleyBerkeley DDetailetail 2 SANSAN OAKLANDOAKLAND FRANCISCOFRANCISCO NORTH BEACH 101 San MARINA Francisco GOLDEN GATE 101 DISTRICT RUSSIAN HILL Bay NATIONAL RECREATIONAL AREA . d v . l d TELEGRAPH B v n l l B HILL o COW HOLLOW c TTHEH E PPRESIDIOR E S I D I O n o i ll L e CHINATOWN PACIFIC Baker Beach 3 u g PACIFIC HEIGHTS r 1 A OCEAN FINANCIAL NOB HILL DISTRICT China Beach UNION Lake St. SQUARE LINCOLNLINCOLN PARKPARK California St. Clement St. JAPANTOWN 4 WESTERN Point Lobos Geary Blvd. Ave. Univ. ADDITION Cliff of S.F. Park Presidio Blvd. Presidio Park 8th Ave. 8th House RRICHMONDICHMOND Ave. 6th SOMA Arguello Blvd. Arguello 10th Ave. 10th 30th Ave. 30th 25th Ave. 25th DDISTRICTISTRICT 34th Ave. 36th Ave. 43rd Ave. Fulton St. 1 6 Dr. J.F. Kennedy 5 HAIGHT- y GOLDENGOLDEN GATEGATE PARKPARK ASHBURY Lincoln Way Ocean Irving St. Irving St. 7th Ave 7th Beach 9th Ave. POTRERO Great Highwa Great Parnassus Judah St. 25th Ave. Judah St. Ave. THE CASTRO MISSION HILL DISTRICT SSUNSETUNSET DDISTRICTISTRICT Sunset Blvd. Sunset 19th Ave. 19th Alamo Square Historic Conservatory of Flowers 6 Noriega St. District 20 Exploratorium/ Alcatraz Island 7 Palace of Fine Arts 9 Asian Art Museum 19 Fort Point 21 California Palace of Ghirardelli Square 10 the Legion of Honor 4 Glide Memorial United Coit Tower 12 TaravalMethodist St. Church 15 106 08_571869 ch05.qxd 10/21/04 7:10 PM Page 107 7 Pier 41 Fisherman’s (Ferries to San Francisco Wharf Alcatraz) Bay PIER 39 Area of Berkeley 23 Detail Aquatic Fort Park Mason 8 Jefferson St. SAN OAKLAND Beach St. FRANCISCO Ghirardelli10 NNORTHORTH BBEACHEACH Marina Blvd. Square Columbu MMARINAARINA Bay St. The Embarcadero Coit Tower 9 DDISTRICTISTRICT RRUSSIANUSSIAN HHILLILL s Ave. L 11 12 in Chestnut St. 101 c “Crookedest Street” o Lombard St. ln TTELEGRAPHELEGRAPH B lv CCOWOW HHOLLOWOLLOW St. Taylor HHILLILL T H E P R E S I D I O d Lyon St. Union St. Hyde St. Hyde CCHINATOWNHINATOWN St. PPACIFICACIFIC HHEIGHTSEIGHTS St. Polk Van Ness Ave. Ness Van Battery Gough St. Gough Broadway St. Ave. Grant FFINANCIALINANCIAL Washington St. Kearny NNOBOB HHILLILL 13 DDISTRICTISTRICT Transbay California St. St. Powell Presidio Ave. Presidio Sacramento St. Transit Divisadero St. Divisadero Sutter St. Yerba Terminal 1st St. 101 UUNIONNION Buena Post St. SSQUAREQUARE Gardens 17 LINCOLN PARK 14 St. Franklin Geary St. Fillmore St. Fillmore 15 16 Moscone Convention Geary Blvd. JJAPANTOWNAPANTOWN Center WWESTERNESTERN 18 3rd St. AADDITIONDDITION Turk St. 19 Mission St. CIVIC CENTER Folsom St. Golden Gate Ave. Howard St. 4th St. RICHMOND SSOMAOMA Harrison St. Fulton St. 5th St. DISTRICT Alamo 20 8th St. Masonic St. Masonic Square Fell St. 9th St. 6th St. 10th St. Bryant St. Oak St. Market St. Haight St. 7th St. HHAIGHT-AIGHT- 101 GOLDEN GATE PARK AASHBURYSHBURY Cole St. Cole t. 14th St. Ashbury St. Ashbury 280 17th St. 21 Stanyan S Stanyan PPOTREROOTRERO 17th St. TTHEHE CCASTROASTRO MMISSIONISSION HHILLILL DDISTRICTISTRICT e A v Ave. Ness Van South n St. Mission o Ave. Potrero ed St. Dolores r St. Church SUNSET DISTRICT la C 22 Castro St. Castro Deharo St. Deharo St. Connecticut Golden Gate Bridge 1 Mission Dolores 21 TwinGrace Cathedral 13 24th St. PIER 39 23 PeaksJapan Center 14 Precita Eyes Mural Center 22 Portola Dr. Clipper St. Japanese Tea Garden 5 The Presidio 3 Lombard Street San Francisco MOMA 17 (the “Crookedest Street”) 11 SBC Park 18101 Maritime National Historic Park 8 Yerba Buena Gardens 16 107 08_571869 ch05.qxd 10/21/04 7:10 PM Page 108 108 CHAPTER 5 . EXPLORING SAN FRANCISCO more information on the Native American occupation of Alcatraz). The next year the island became part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. The wildlife that was driven away during the mil- itary and prison years has begun to return—the black-crested night heron and other seabirds are nesting here again—and a new trail passes through the island’s nature areas. Tours, including an audio tour of the prison block and a slide show, are given by the park’s rangers, who entertain guests with interesting anecdotes. 1 Allow about 2 ⁄2 hours for the round-trip boat ride and the tour. Wear comfortable shoes (the National Park Service notes that there are a lot of hills to climb on the tour) and take a heavy sweater or windbreaker, because even when the sun’s out, it’s cold out there. The excursion is popular and space is limited, so purchase tickets as far in advance as possible. Blue & Gold Fleet (& 415/705-5555; www. blueandgoldfleet.com) operates the tour; they accept American Express, MasterCard, and Visa, and there’s a $2.25-per-ticket service charge for phone orders. You can also buy tickets in advance from the Blue & Gold ticket office on Pier 41 or online at www.telesales.com. Alcatraz night tours are also available and are a more intimate and wonderfully spooky experience. Check the Blue & Gold Fleet web- site for updated prices and departure times. For those who want to get a closer look at Alcatraz without going ashore, two boat-tour operators offer short circumnavigations of the island (see “Self-Guided & Organized Tours,” on p. 131, for com- plete information). Pier 41, near Fisherman’s Wharf. & 415/773-1188 (info only). Admission (includes ferry trip and audio tour) $16 adults with headset, $12 without; $15 seniors 62 and older with headset, $9.75 without; $11 children 5–11 with headset, $8.25 without. Winter daily 9:30am–2:15pm; summer daily 9:30am–4:15pm. Ferries depart 15 and 45 min. after the hour. Arrive at least 20 min. before sailing time. Cable Cars Moments Kids Although they may not be San Francisco’s most practical means of transportation, cable cars are certainly the best loved and are a must-experience when visiting the city. Designated official historic landmarks by the National Park Service in 1964, they clank up and down the city’s steep hills like mobile museum pieces, tirelessly hauling thousands of tourists each day to nowhere in particular. London-born engineer Andrew Hallidie invented San Francisco’s cable cars in 1869. He got the idea by serendipity. As the story goes, Hallidie was watching a team of overworked horses haul a heavily laden carriage up a steep San Francisco slope. As he watched, one horse slipped and the car rolled back, dragging the other tired beasts 08_571869 ch05.qxd 10/21/04 7:10 PM Page 109 FAMOUS SAN FRANCISCO SIGHTS 109 with it. At that moment, Hallidie resolved that he would invent a mechanical contraption to replace such horses, and just 4 years later, in 1873, the first cable car made its maiden run from the top of Clay Street. Promptly ridiculed as “Hallidie’s Folly,” the cars were slow to gain acceptance. One early onlooker voiced the general opinion by exclaiming, “I don’t believe it—the damned thing works!” Even today, many visitors have difficulty believing that these vehicles, which have no engines, actually work. The cars, each weighing about 6 tons, run along a steel cable, enclosed under the street in a center rail. You can’t see the cable unless you peer straight down into the crack, but you’ll hear its characteristic clickity-clank- ing sound whenever you’re nearby.