San Francisco Travel: An Interview With San Francisco Tourism - Part I
San Francisco a dream destination for so many people across the world
Well, in February of 2008 I finally had to opportunity to revisit San Francisco, one of my favourite cities in all of North America. In just a bit more than four days I had a chance to sample so many of the things that this fascinating city has to offer. Here are just a few highlights: as an avid biker I went on two bicycle tours and cycled across the famous Golden Gate Bridge definitely an experience of a life time! I also explored Golden Gate Park and the citys west end, but ran out of time when it got dark all the more reason to visit it again next time. Of course I needed to see Alcatraz Island with its infamous prison cellblocks and was captured by the fascinating history and eerie beauty of Alcatraz.
Discoveries of San Franciscos famous waterfront including Pier 39 and Fishermans Wharf were also part of my adventure. Walks through some of San Franciscos neighbourhoods included a guided Victorian homes walking tour through Pacific Heights and an interesting, delicious and filling culinary tour through North Beach, San Franciscos Italian neighbourhood. I checked out local landmarks such as the Coit Tower and its famous murals on Telegraph Hill.
Naturally a ride on one of the famous cable cars was a must, and our hilarious driver Rufus made this a very memorable experience. On a day-long excursion I even got to explore Muir Woods and the famous Sonoma wine country. All along the way I had a chance to sample so many of San Franciscos diverse culinary offerings, get entertained in great shows and stay in unique historic hotels, providing me with an opportunity to see a bit of the diversity that San Francisco offers.
Of course my few short days were not enough to really experience this city; my departure date arrived too quickly and left me feeling that I had only scratched the surface of this beautiful city, one of the most scenic cities in the world.
So to give you a more comprehensive idea of this special destination, here is Part 1 of my extensive interview with Tanya Houseman, Media Relations Manager for the San Francisco Visitors and Convention Bureau.
1. Please provide us with some general information about San Francisco. Where is it located and how can I get there? How big is the population of San Francisco? How do I get around the city?
San Francisco is famous for scenic beauty, cultural attractions, diverse communities and world-class cuisine; San Franciscos landmarks include the Golden Gate Bridge, cable cars, Fishermans Wharf, Alcatraz, Chinatown, Union Square, North Beach, the Castro District and Mission Dolores. The much-celebrated fog creates a romantic mood in this most European of American cities.
The city is situated on a 46.6 square-mile peninsula bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean, on the north by the Golden Gate strait and from north to east by San Francisco Bay. The last provides it with one of the world's finest land-locked harbors. The Bay is spanned by two landmarks, the Golden Gate and the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridges, and graced by four islands -- Alcatraz, Angel, Yerba Buena and Treasure.
San Francisco is located in Northern California. Visitors can fly into the City from San Francisco International Airport, or travel over the Golden Gate Bridge or San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge to get there.
San Francisco has a population of close to 809,000 people. It is one of the top walking cities in America. The best way to get around is a combination of walking and public transportation, which is inexpensive and readily available. For more information about fares, routes and timetables, visit www.sfmuni.com and www.bart.gov.
2. San Francisco has a fascinating history. Please give us a brief historical overview of this unique city.
San Francisco's history is a mixture of Spanish colonialism and rowdy American romanticism. The first European settlement on the site of the present city was established in 1776 by a Spanish officer, Colonel Juan Bautista de Anza, who founded the Presidio on the southern shore of the Golden Gate. By 1835 the little garrison had grown into a village. It kept the name Yerba Buena until 1847 when it was officially christened San Francisco.
The Yankees came en masse following the discovery of gold at Sutter's sawmill, 140 miles east of San Francisco, in 1848. During 1849, 40,000 people arrived, most of them in search of quick riches. Today there are some 5.8 million people in the San Francisco Bay Area, the hub of a nine-county complex and one of the financial and biotech capitals of the West.
3. What type of sightseeing opportunities do I have in San Francisco? What types of tours are offered? What options do I have to explore the city?
So to give you a more comprehensive idea of this special destination, here is Part 1 of my extensive interview with Tanya Houseman, Media Relations Manager for the San Francisco Visitors and Convention Bureau.
4. Please tell us about one of the most significant attractions in San Francisco the Golden Gate Bridge. What about its history and how can I experience it?
San Franciscos most famous landmark had its 50th anniversary on May, 24, 1987.
The construction of a bridge that would cross the Golden Gate, the unbridgeable mile-wide cleft in the Northern California Mountains, had been the impossible dream of Joseph B. Strauss, a Chicago based engineering titan who is credited with masterminding the bridge. Without Strausss vision, ingenuity and dynamism, however, it is agreed that the bridge could not have been built in the form or in the time it was.
After battling business and political opposition for 13 years, construction began on January 5, 1933. It took two decades and 200 million words to convince the people that the bridge was feasible; then only four years and $35 million to put the concrete and steel together.
Actually the construction was an awesome struggle against the elements. Eleven bridgemen died in the effort. Nineteen plunged into the safety net strung the length of the span and were spared. Many of these daredevils worked for less than $1 an hour.
The Golden Gate Bridge became the worlds longest and tallest suspension structure at that time. Its 746-foot (65-story) towers were the highest west of the Empire State Building. Its two great cables contain enough steel wire (80,000 miles) to encircle the equator three times. The 1.7-mile-long bridge is suspended over water 318 feet deep and allows a minimum ship clearance of 220 feet. It accommodates six car lanes.
Every year more than 40 million vehicles pass over this panoramic strand. The five-decade total is well over a billion. Drivers pay a toll southbound. The pedestrian walkway is free. Cyclists can travel on the west side as well.
The Gate and its graceful garland have been described as a miracle of nature illuminated by a flash of genius. The most romantic approach is by sea. Almost as breathtaking is the view from the north. Motorists emerging from Waldo Tunnel on Highway 101 behold a red lyre in the sky. In the background a diaphanous city dances above a sparkling sea.
5. Another world-famous site in San Francisco is Alcatraz Island. Please give us some background about this fascinating place and how I can best explore it.
The island was given its name by Spanish explorers who came to the San Francisco Bay in 1775. Alcatraz means Island of the Pelicans. In 1847 the U.S. Army took notice of the rock and its strategic position. They built the first lighthouse at the West Coast on Alcatraz and erected a fortress that would be a landmark of the U.S. military power. Because of its natural isolation and the freezing waters surrounding the island, it was soon considered an ideal location for a prison. Alcatraz became well known for its stringent rules and harsh treatment of the inmates.
In the course of decades the atmosphere became more relaxed and spectacles such as the Alcatraz Fights drew more and more visitors to the island. In 1934 the military prison was closed. But soon it was reopened again to serve as detention facility for public enemies. One of its most famous inmates was undoubtedly Al Capone. The prison was finally closed in 1963 and was claimed Indian property by a group of Native Americans who settled there in 1969. They hoped to establish a Native American Cultural Center on the island. Due to different problems such as drugs and alcohol abuse the community soon fell apart. The last residents of Alcatraz were removed in 1972 and the island was turned into a recreation area as part of the National Park Service Unit.
In 1973 it was opened to the public and since then has drawn more than 1 million visitors each year. Today the island is considered an ecological reservation. There are no formal guided tours of Alcatraz, but National Park staff offer many free programs on topics such as escapes, military history, American Indian occupation, and natural history. Ferries return to San Francisco every 30 minutes. Alcatraz tours sell out quickly, so it is advisable to make bookings about three weeks in advance.
If you prefer a guided program, you should take the evening tour which provides visitors with a guided tour from the dock to the cellhouse level and gives them the opportunity to participate in a number of other special tours, activities, and cell door demonstration. Alcatraz Cruises offers several tour options. Find further information on www.alcatrazcruises.com.
6. No trip to San Francisco would be complete without a ride on the famous cable cars. Please tell us about these moving landmarks.
These one of a kind vehicles celebrated their 100th birthday with a 10-day jubilee in August of 1973, but it seemed that after being in service for over a century, the beloved cable car system had deteriorated beyond repair. To rebuild it would cost $60 million and take at least 20 months.
In an operation similar to open heart surgery, four-and-a-half miles and 69 blocks of city streets were torn up section by section to make way for new cables, tracks, turntables and utility lines. The cable car barn at Washington and Mason Streets was almost entirely rebuilt. Meanwhile, the cable cars were getting a makeover of their own.
There are currently 40 cars in service: 28 single-enders serve the Powell Street routes and 12 double-enders serve the California Street route. The cables pull up to 26 cars at a time on weekdays. The cars have a capacity of carrying more than 60 people, and an astounding 7.5 million passengers ride these cars each year.
The Cable Car Barn, Powerhouse and Museum, is known as Home Base to the cable cars. The Museum houses one of the very first cable cars (1873), a Sutter St. grip car and trailer, as well as scale models of some of the 57 different types of cable cars, which were once operated in the city. From the gallery, visitors can look down onto pulleys, which thread the cable through big figure eights and back into the system via slack-absorbing tension racks. Daily visiting hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Oct. - Mar.) and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Apr. - Sept.).
7. San Franciscos Waterfront is a popular tourist destination. Please tell us about Fishermans Wharf, Pier 39 and other places to experience the waterfront in San Francisco.
Fisherman's Wharf is a mile in length, starting at Aquatic Park and ending at Pier 39. Along with its variety of restaurants, the central part appeals to families because of its Wax Museum, Guinness Museum of World Records, and Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum. Hornblower runs tour boats around Alcatraz from Pier 33, while Red and White runs tours to the Golden Gate Bridge, both popular family tours.
Two shopping areas, The Anchorage and The Cannery, are located in the central area. Each is filled with unique stores, selling boutique items not available elsewhere.
Few visitors realize that the area known as Fisherman's Wharf extends to Aquatic Park, a popular place where residents have always loved to picnic, promenade, or play bocce ball. The Maritime Museum, once the park's palatial bathhouse, exhibits memorabilia from the West Coast's seafaring days and includes giant masts, painted figureheads, and detailed ship models. The building itself resembles a cruise ship, and you might take a break from your explorations by sitting on the outside deck, listening to the waves break on shore.
At Fisherman's Wharf the crab pots are out in force most times of year, but especially during Dungeness crab season (mid November through mid-June), when tasty, fresh crab are available in abundance.
8. Please tell us about San Franciscos unique neighborhoods, places such as Chinatown, North Beach, Haight-Ashbury, the Castro and many others.
The entrance to Chinatown at Grant Avenue and Bush Street is called the "Dragon's Gate". Inside you will find 24 blocks of hustle and bustle, most of it taking place along Grant Avenue, the oldest street in San Francisco. This city within a city with its exotic shops, renowned restaurants, food markets, temples and small museums is best explored on foot. Visitors can buy ancient potions from herb shops, relax and enjoy a "dim sum" lunch or witness the making of fortune cookies.
North Beach, rich in Italian heritage features a variety of cabarets, jazz clubs, galleries, inns, family style restaurants and gelato parlors. Bakeries and delicatessens serve up such traditional Italian delicacies as prosciutto, provolone, mozzarella, St. Honore cake and sacripantina. A perfect spot for cappuccino and espresso, North Beach is transformed into one of San Francisco's most electric playgrounds by night; live music and dancing keep the streets swinging.
The "Summer of Love" lives on mainly in stores throughout the charming Victorian Haight-Ashbury; find vintage clothing, books and records along Haight Street, the neighborhood's busiest stretch. Places of interest include 710 Ashbury Street, once home to the legendary musical group, the Grateful Dead; 112 Lyon Street, where famous singer Janis Joplin lived; Buena Vista Park, with its delightful views of the City; and, for architectural highlights, Masonic, Piedmont and Delmar Streets.
The Castro is a series of imaginative boutiques, bookstores and bars. Novelty items abound in shops at the end of Market Street between 16th and 17th Streets. The heart of the area is 18th and Castro Streets. Built in 1922 the Castro Theater, 429 Castro Street, is one of the last grand movie palaces, featuring revivals and pre-film concerts on the mighty Wurlitzer. Also of note are Harvey Milk Plaza, dedicated to one of the first openly gay elected officials in the U.S., and Pink Triangle Park, a memorial to 15,000 lesbian, bisexual, gay and transgender Holocaust victims. Each June, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Pride Celebration Parade draws nearly 500,000 participants and spectators. The Castro Street Fair unfolds each October.
More exciting places to explore include the Embarcadero, North Beach and Little Italy, Japantown, SoMa, and many more.
Thank you for your great information, Tanya, and well talk about Golden Gate Park, and the citys many offerings in terms of architecture, culture, nightlife, shopping and many other topics in Part 2 of this interview.
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