Explorations of the City by the Bay.
The City by the Bay, San Francisco, is a wonderful city full of great food, great museums and great parks. It’s also probably the most expensive American city I have been too, including New York City.
I only had two days to explore San Francisco. I really enjoyed exploring the downtown area, which was largely rebuilt after the devastating 1906 earthquake and subsequent fires that basically leveled the city. While modern skyscrapers dominate the city’s skyline today, gems from the first few decades of this century can still be found downtown.
San Francisco has more skyscrapers than any other California city. Unlike Los Angeles, many of the skyscrapers were built here before the 1950s, making it feel more like an East Coast/Midwest city.
You can find a very similar skyscraper in New York City. I loved the downtown area, even down to the Target on the ground floor.
The Transamerica Pyramid, probably the most famous skyscraper in the city.
I love this building. I love the metal work and the fact that it is just so different than you normally see today.
I don’t know why I love this building so much. Maybe because it’s green.
And then the lovely San Francisco City Hall. It is bigger than many state capital buildings.
San Francisco is famous for its cable cars. While cables cars were once used extensively, even in non-major cities throughout the country, they were quickly replaced by buses and cars. San Francisco has the last cable car system in the world. The city also has a tram way that runs through downtown, along the harbor to Fisherman’s Wharf. They use restored historic tram cars from San Francisco’s. They also have other restored tram cars from other cities as well. I saw one from Boston.
The famous San Francisco cable car.
The cable car turntable in the downtown area is pretty awesome. They still turn them by hand.
One of the historic tram cars. This one was used during the 1950s in San Francisco. I rode on one that looked just like this. It was very cool.
This very orange tram car is from Cleveland, Ohio.
Fisherman’s Wharf and the harbor don’t serve their original purpose much anymore. While boast and ships still dock here, they are more personal pleasure craft and cruise ships, rather than fishing boats and supply ships of the past. The boats to Alcatraz leave off from here (check out the last update) and the area has itself become a tourist hub.
Located near Fisherman’s Wharf is the San Francisco National Maritime Historical Park. It has a bunch of old ships for you to explore. I ran out of time to visit unfortunately.
Ferry Terminal Marketplace used to be a ferry terminal, now a really cool market located near Downtown.
One of the top attractions along the harbor is Pier 39. It has a bunch of cool shops, so basically a tourist hub. I went there to see the seals that like to sleep nearby the pier. They are so adorable. They also like to yell a lot at each other.
You can’t go to San Francisco without stopping by to see the famous Golden Gate Bridge. A perfect place to go for great views is the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. There is a lot to see in this park, but I only stopped by for the bridge views. (Two days are really not enough time to explore San Francisco.)
A wonderful view of the Golden Gate Bridge, close to the Golden Gate Visitor Center.
Of course, I walked onto the bridge. I only went as far as the first tower, but it was super neat and windy.
Mission Delores is the oldest surviving structure in San Francisco. The mission was founded in 1776 by the Spanish as one of a series of missions to establish colonial control of the area. Today, the original church sits next to a more modern basilica church, and both are fantastic.
The original adobe church was dedicated back in 1791.
The original church survived the 1906 earthquake with minimal damage. The more modern church next door did not and a new one was built in its place.
The Mission Delores Basilica church was built after the earthquake. It was the first church west of the Mississippi River to hold the title of basilica.
The interior of the modern basilica is pretty cool inside as well. I love the color scheme.
Not far from downtown is San Francisco’s Chinatown, one of the oldest in the United States.
The Dragon Gate, the gateway to San Francisco’s Chinatown.
I loved this Chinatown. It was just so colorful.
There were really cool painted murals all over the place like this one.
Lanterns and lanterns everywhere.
Up the hill from Chinatown is the fancy area of Nob Hill with nice hotels and apartment buildings, as well as Grace Cathedral.
Just a fancy hotel with a view and a valet.
This is some sort of social club. I saw a bunch of guys in suits walking in.
The lovely Grace Cathedral was finished in 1964, with construction starting in 1928. The previous Grace Church was destroyed in the 1906 earthquake.
They did a really nice job on this cathedral. I thought it was older.
Along the nave below the windows, there are painted scenes like this one, which shows the 1906 earthquake and the destruction of the original Grace Church. The other panels cover different topics.
Close up of the altar. Simply lovely.
And finally, an iconic cable car going down Nob Hill to Chinatown.
San Francisco was a wonderful place to explore. I covered a lot of ground in just two days but there is still much more of San Francisco to discover, especially parks and museums and even further afield. I guess I will have to go back. What a shame.
Check out my next update where I drive one of America’s most beautiful coastal drives!
