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7 things to do in San Francisco, Part 4 – Golden Gate Park, Haight-Ashbury, historic homes

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Things to do in San Francisco are abundant and amazing. This beautiful, historic city has many hills, views of ocean and bay, incredible architecture, and an incredible food scene. More on San Francisco in Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3!7 things to do in San Francisco include beautiful Victorian homes (Haas-Lilienthal House), Haight-Ashbury, Golden Gate Park and the Japanese Tea Garden.

Haas Lilienthal House and Pacific Heights

The Haas Lilienthal House in Pacific Heights is a beautiful example of Victorian architecture. The house is the only Victorian home tour in San Francisco. The Haas family built the home in the 1880s. Alice Haas, the youngest daughter, married Samuel Lilienthal. Their large family lived in the house from the 1920s to the 1970s. Tours of the house are led by a docent on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Because of restoration work and special events, make sure you call and get confirmation of the tour time you want (415.441.3000).

Sunday tours of the Pacific Heights neighborhood are also available. Again, be sure to call to confirm. There is a very detailed map of the Pacific Heights Walking Tour that you can download and take the tour yourself. There are many interesting stories and different architectural styles in these buildings.san-francisco-haas-lilienthal

Don’t miss the 1913 Spreckels mansion on Washington Street. The Spreckels family was famous for their sugar, in California and Hawaii. Adolph and Alma Spreckels funded the Palace of the Legion of Honor museum. The home is owned by Danielle Steel. Search for parking on your map app. There are several pay lots in area. https://www.sfheritage.org/haas-lilienthal-house/

Painted Ladies and Haight-Ashbury

You may have seen many photos of the Painted Ladies on one side of Alamo Park. This row of homes on Steiner Street gained fame as the location for Full House. The Victorian homes are situated on a hill with downtown and the Bay visible behind them. To get a good photo, you will want the sun in the west, so go in the afternoon. This is a very popular tourist attraction, so you will see plenty of cars, tour buses, and people. http://www.sanfrancisco.travel/painted-ladies

Haight-Ashbury became famous in the 1960s as the center of flower child culture. Music history was made here by the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin, and Carlos Santana. I remember how much we loved the poems in Stanyan Street and Other Sorrows by Rod McKuen. The area today is an interesting mix of Victorian architecture, restaurants, and shops with unique character. http://www.sftourismtips.com/haight-and-ashbury.html

Golden Gate Park

Golden Gate Park was originally an area of over a thousand acres of sand dunes on the western side of San Francisco. New York’s Central Park inspired San Franciscans to begin planning a park in the 1860s and 1870s. Thousands of trees were planted including eucalyptus and Monterey pines. John McLaren was the superintendent of the park from 1887 to 1943 and shaped much of the park.

The park is full of attractions so you will need to plan your visit(s). A Shakespeare Garden, children’s playgrounds, a carousel, Conservatory of Flowers, and Strybing Arboretum are some of the offerings. The California Academy of Sciences, de Young Museum, and Japanese Tea Garden are all near the Music Concourse. Named for M.H. de Young, the de Young Museum has a wide range of fine arts. A free feature of the museum is the 144-foot-tall Hamon Observation Tower where you can get some amazing views of the Golden Gate entrance to the Bay and the city. The de Young is closed on Mondays.

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The Academy of Sciences has an aquarium and a planetarium. Admission is almost $35 for adults, so make a plan to spend enough time here. The Music Concourse underground parking is a convenient parking lot for the park. Make sure you get there early in the morning. The lot tends to be completely full by 11 am.san-francisco-golden-gate-science

The Japanese Tea Garden is my favorite place in Golden Gate Park. The garden and home were developed in the late 1890s by Makoto Hagiwara, a landscape architect. Mr. Hagiwara’s name is linked with the “invention” of the American fortune cookie. The cookie and the equipment to make it were originally Japanese and they became an American Chinese restaurant staple after Mr. Hagiwara hired a confectioner to produce a cookie to suit American tastes. Along with the beautiful gardens, there is a gift shop, rest rooms, and an outdoor tea room. Many teas are available. I recommend the Tea House Cookies, a plate of almond cakes, sesame cookies, and fortune cookies. Three days a week, the $8 admission fee is waived if you arrive before 10 am.

Next time we go, I’d like to eat at Nopalitos and Tosca Café.

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san-francisco-japanese-tg6Let’s talk story

My parents met and married in San Francisco, so I’ve heard stories about the city all my life. My mother’s aunt, Rosa, was an amazing seamstress and she worked first at the Nancy Ann doll company and then the atelier at a Magnin department store. My mother lived with her when she first came to the US.horizontal bar with plumeria Affiliate links: if you make a purchase using these links, I’ll receive a small compensation towards maintaining this blog, at no extra cost to you.

9 things to do in San Francisco, Part 3 – Union Square, Palace Hotel, & Sears Fine Food

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Things to do in San Francisco are abundant and amazing. This beautiful, historic city has many hills, views of ocean and bay, incredible architecture, and an amazing food scene. More on San Francisco in Part 1, Part 2, and Part 4!9 things to do in San Francisco include famous hotels near Union Square, Sears Fine Food, and a beautiful ceiling at Neiman Marcus.

Market Street

The Palace Hotel is a San Francisco landmark on Market Street. The original hotel opened in 1875, with new versions in 1909 (after the fires of the 1906 earthquake), 1989, and 2015. The hotel is famous for its architecture, food (Green Goddess dressing was created here), and many famous guests (Edison, U. S. Grant, William McKinley, King David Kalakaua, Prince Philip, Enrico Caruso and many stage stars.)

At the center of the hotel is the famous Garden Court with its glass ceiling, comfy chairs, and elegant lighting. I love the art of Maxfield Parrish, so I couldn’t miss spending time in the Pied Piper bar. The bar has a dark, clubby feel. The huge mural by Parrish takes center stage over the bar. The colors in it are beautiful, and as you sit there having an expertly made cocktail, you feel the eyes of the people of Hamelin looking directly at you. http://www.sfpalace.com/

Lotta Crabtree was a famous entertainer in the second half of the 1800s. She was a child of the California Gold Rush mining towns and was encouraged to be an actress, dancer, and singer by Lola Montez. Lotta traveled the world and was the highest paid actress in the 1880s. She also gained fame as a philanthropist. She donated Lotta’s Fountain to the people of San Francisco in 1875. The fountain became a meeting point landmark in the stark aftermath of the 1906 earthquake. A commemoration is still held at the fountain in the early morning hours of April 18. http://broadway.cas.sc.edu/content/lotta-crabtree

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Cable cars

Cable cars are a unique San Francisco thing to do, sadly today mostly for tourists. First introduced in 1873, the cable cars run on a huge steel cable that moves under the street by an engine in the power house. There is a grip on each car that goes below the car through a slit in a street and is used to grab and release the cable. There are two routes that begin on Powell Street near Market Street. If there are lots of tourists in town, your best bet to get on the cable car is to start here. You are allowed to board cars from marked stops along the routes by waving to the grip operator. However, if the car is packed, they will have no room for you!san-francisco-cablecar

I suggest that you try a cable car ride once ($7 per person) to see if you want to keep using the cable car to get around. You can buy single tickets or passes for a day or longer at two Walgreens locations on Powell Street or see other locations. Many tourists are trying to get to Fisherman’s Wharf, the end of the line, so they don’t get off and it’s difficult to get the grip operator to stop. There are long lines at Fisherman’s Wharf to return to Union Square, especially if a cruise ship in dock! https://www.sfmta.com/getting-around/transit/how-ride/how-to-cable-cars

Union Square

The Xanadu Gallery is a fine art gallery accessible through its website. It’s worth walking by its location because the building was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. I really enjoyed trying to photograph the bricks laid in circular pattern. Be sure to view the website to see some of the interior. http://www.xanadugallery.us/sf.html

Neiman Marcus is on the former site of the City of Paris department store. It was a beautiful historic building and there was a public outcry when it was demolished. Fortunately, Neiman Marcus preserved the beautiful glass skylight and it now the centerpiece of the Rotunda restaurant and bar. Located on level 4, the Rotunda is accessible by escalator or elevator. It’s open from 11 am to 4 or 5 pm, be sure to check the website for hours. http://www.neimanmarcus.com/restaurants/san%20francisco/ca/the%20rotunda/san%20francisco

Union Square was used for rallies for the Union army during the Civil War. Built in 1850, Union Square has continued as a place for public gatherings and military events. In 1903 the Dewey Monument was added to remember the US Navy victory at Manila Bay, topped by a memorable statue of Victory. The palm trees and other landscaping is beautiful. The Union Square area has great shopping, hotels, art galleries, and restaurants. http://www.visitunionsquaresf.com/play/events#tiles9 things to do in San Francisco include famous hotels near Union Square, Sears Fine Food, and a beautiful ceiling at Neiman Marcus.

Food and hotels, Union Square

Sears Fine Food is a Union Square institution. For my family, it’s not a real trip to San Francisco without a breakfast at Sears. Sears Fine Food has an old fashioned vibe with lots of photos of celebrity visitors, excellent service, and antiques. They are famous for their Swedish pancakes which come as 18 two-inch cakes with ligonberry preserves as an option. Benedicts, omelets, waffles, and healthy choices are available. I love breakfast there, but they are open for lunch and dinner also! http://www.searsfinefood.com/history/

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San Francisco is known for its hotels. When I go, I like to visit the lobbies, bars and restaurants because my parents had so many stories of living in the city as a young couple and getting great entertainment from people-watching in the hotels. The St. Francis Hotel is one of the great ones, on Powell Street facing Union Square. The Oak Room restaurant and the Clock Bar are two of the hotel’s beautiful venues. There’s an old phrase “Meet me at the clock at the St. Francis”, and if you like antiques you will want to see the old magneto clock. The lobby also has the Chateau Montelena tasting room. (Have you seen the Bottleshock movie?). Chateau Montelena dates from the 1880s in Napa Valley and is famous for their Chardonnay. http://westinstfrancis.com/hotel-features/history/

A smaller historic hotel a block off Union Square is the King George Hotel, built in 1914. This narrow city hotel has a single vintage elevator. The rooms are small but are decorated nicely and have historic touches. They are equipped with large, modern, multispeed ceiling fans. There are 3 diners on the same block as the hotel. http://www.kinggeorge.com/

Next time we go, I would love to visit the Cable Car Museum and see a play at the Geary Theater.

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Let’s talk story

lilas-lena

Fashionable San Francisco! My grandmother and her sister on Market Street.

My father and his brothers grew up in San Francisco, and my parents met and married there. Though I’ve never lived there, I get very nostalgic when I visit, thinking about the city’s interesting history. On this trip, I tried to find my grandparents’ graves in Colma and my father’s boyhood home. I wasn’t very successful, but many of the places they talked about are still very grand and lovely to visit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Things to do in San Francisco Part 2 Marina, North Beach, Chinatown

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Things to do in San Francisco are abundant and amazing. This beautiful, historic city has many hills, views of ocean and bay, incredible architecture, and an incredible food scene. See Part 1 , Part 3, and Part 4 of this series!Things to do in San Francisco include Buena Vista Café, Tadich Grill, Fisherman's Wharf, and Chinatown.

The Palace of Fine Arts in the Marina District was one of 11 palaces built for the Panama-Pacific International Exposition of 1915. I think the fair would have been a wonderful thing to see. Have you read West from Home, the story of Laura Ingalls Wilder and Rose Wilder Lane’s time at the exposition? The Palace of Fine Arts has been renovated several times to preserve it. It served as the Exploratorium science museum for over 40 years. It’s a lovely, scenic spot. https://www.nps.gov/prsf/planyourvisit/palace-of-fine-arts.htmsan-francisco-palace-fine-arts

Fisherman’s Wharf

Fisherman’s Wharf area is on the north side of town facing the Bay. Famous for the Italian fishermen and seafood spots, this working wharf area is also full of tourist attractions. I like to think of Nick and Nora Charles going down there to eat Italian seafood in After the Thin Man. You can get here on the Powell-Hyde cable car. It’s fun to watch the cable cars turn around, but be prepared for lots of crowds if you are traveling back towards Union Square this way.

Ghiradelli Square is the former chocolate factory and now has restaurants and shops. The Cannery at Del Monte Square and Pier 39 are other shopping areas. Some of the older restaurants include Alioto’s, Sabella & LaTorre, and No. 9 Fishermen’s Grotto. The Aquarium of the Bay is on Pier 39 and the San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park has 6 ships to visit.san-francisco-ghiradelli

The Buena Vista Café is on the corner of Hyde and Beach at the end of the Powell-Hyde cable car line. This bar is full of atmosphere and it’s been a saloon since 1916. The story goes that the Irish Coffee drink was invented here in 1952. It’s touristy and incredibly crowded if a cruise ship is in port. However, I really enjoyed my visit there. Be prepared to share a table with other folks, that’s part of the fun. The Irish coffee is unlike any I’ve ever had. It is served in a goblet and the cream on top is more frothed than whipped, a little like an excellent cappuccino. The whiskey is Tullamore Dew. It would be easy to sit there all afternoon, watching the Bay, sipping Irish coffee, and snacking on fabulous sourdough bread and the café’s great breakfast items, nachos, or burgers.

Tadich Grill

The Tadich Grill is the oldest restaurant in California. Three Croatians started business as a Coffee Stand in 1849. The restaurant on California Street has lots of dark wood, mirrors, and white tablecloths. I love that you can order a whole poached artichoke as an appetizer. The menu features fresh seafood. It’s fun to try local specialties such as sand dabs, Dungeness crabs, and cioppino. Seafood and meats are grilled on mesquite charcoal. We liked it so much we went twice! Tadich Grill does not take reservations and there is no bar to wait at. You can be seated at the long counter, at tables in the front, or old-fashioned booths with doors if you have a larger party. http://www.tadichgrill.com/history.php

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Chinatown

San Francisco’s Chinatown is oldest and largest in the US. The famous gate into Chinatown is at Grant and Bush. Have you ever seen Flower Drum Song? I love the parade through Chinatown. Old St. Mary’s cathedral was built in 1854 and is at California and Grant. The district has lots of shops, restaurants, and cultural sites. Dim sum and Peking duck are available all the time and you can find Thai, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese food too. http://www.sanfranciscochinatown.com/san-francisco-chinatown

Next time I go, I would love to visit the Exploratorium in its new location on the Embarcadero.

More on San Francisco in Part 1 and Part 3.

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Things to do in San Francisco Part 1 Lands End & Golden Gate

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Things to do in San Francisco are abundant and amazing. This beautiful, historic city has many hills, views of ocean and bay, incredible architecture, and an wide-ranging food scene. More on San Francisco in Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4! Things to do in San Francisco include Lands End with the Cliff House and Seal Rock and the historic Golden Gate Bridge.

Lands End or Point Lobos on the western side of San Francisco has long been considered a beautiful area. With the building of the first Cliff House in the 1860s it became a resort or get away from downtown. Attractions included the Cliff House with lodging and restaurant, the Sutro Baths and gardens, a camera obscura, and a beautiful view of the Seal Rocks. Adolph Sutro, a German mining engineer, made a fortune at the Comstock silver mine and used his wealth as a benefactor to the city of San Francisco. The Sutro Baths once included an ocean pool aquarium and a 3-acre bathhouse of 7 swimming pools, each at a different temperature.

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The Cliff House today is the 3rd structure on the site. It has a very nice gift shop and the Bistro and Sutro’s restaurants. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are available daily. We ate breakfast there at a nice table overlooking Seal Rocks. A specialty is their fresh popovers! The Zinc Bar also serves the full menu and feels like a little piece of Beaux Arts Paris with its zinc countertop and hand-carved back bar from the 1890 Paris World’s Fair.

The Legion of Honor Fine Arts Museum in Lincoln Park is open Tuesdays through Sundays. If you are an Alfred Hitchcock fan, this is the museum in Vertigo where Kim Novak goes to see the portrait of Carlotta. The museum was a gift of Alma Spreckels to the city in memory of the World War I soldiers of California. The museum has 70 sculptures by Rodin with The Thinker at center stage in the Court of Honor. The museum is known for its European and Ancient art collections. The views of the Golden Gate and the city from the outside are fabulous and the museum is a beautiful gem. http://legionofhonor.famsf.org/

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The Golden Gate Bridge is an icon of San Francisco. The entrance to San Francisco Bay from the ocean is called the Golden Gate. I love the scenes in the Fred Astaire movie Follow the Fleet (1936)  where the navy ships are entering the bay before the bridge was built. You can drive over the bridge to visit Sausalito or Muir Woods National Monument.

san-francisco-muir-woods

Muir Woods

There are walking tours of the bridge on Thursdays and Sundays. The Golden Gate Bridge Welcome Center has a large parking lot, a gift shop, and two places to eat so you can walk around and get some good views of the bridge. Fort Point is a Civil War-era fort at the base of the bridge that was saved by the chief engineer of the bridge because of its historic masonry work.

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More on San Francisco in Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4!

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