After checking out of the San Remo on Thursday, we took advantage of having the car out to visit some sites that are not very accessible by foot. Our first stop was Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill. It was built in 1933 and is named after Lillie Hitchcock Coit, who left money from her estate for the purpose of adding to the beauty of the city. She was a wealthy socialite and one of the more eccentric characters in the history of North Beach and Telegraph Hill. The tower not only sits on Telegraph Hill but is also 210 ft tall, making it a great vantage point to see the city and the bay. The inside of the tower is painted with murals by prominent artists of the time, an art project under the New Deal federal employment program in the 1930s.
Our next stop was Alamo Square, where the famous Victorian houses "The Painted Ladies" and many other beautiful restored homes can be found
. We also drove around Golden Gate Park, which is larger than New York's Central Park. Besides being a park, it has an art museum; a science museum with a 2.5 acre living roof with native California plants (the soil of the roof is six inches deep, which reduces storm water runoff by more than 90% and naturally cools the interior of the museum, reducing the need for air-conditioning); Japanese tea gardens; botanical gardens; windmills; lakes; bison and wild coyotes. The park is beautiful but, interestingly, is nowhere near the Golden Gate Bridge.
Our new hotel, The Cartwright Union Square, is another charming historic building, and is one of many similar hotels in the Union Square neighborhood. It's well preserved and the rooms were very nice. We even had our own bathroom! And it's pet-friendly, including dog and cat treat bowls in the lobby. :)
Darlene & Roger arrived by air late on Thursday nite and, on Friday, we were off on a cable car ride to Fisherman's Wharf
. We spent a good part of the day strolling around the historic ships at Hyde Street Pier, the World War II submarine and naval ship at Pier 43, and the sites at Pier 39. We got caught in the rain and had to take refuge in a bar & grill, where the gang had beers and I had lava cake. Mmmm. Then we were off on our tour to Alcatraz Island.
Alcatraz Island was named "La Isla de los Alcatraces" by a Spanish explorer in 1775. Its translation is "The Island of the Pelicans", and many birds live and nest on the island. Over the years, Alcatraz has served as a harbor fortification, military detention facility and, its most infamous use, a maximum-security federal penitentiary for the nation's most unmanageable convicts, such as Al Capone, Machine Gun Kelly and Robert "Birdman" Stroud. We were surprised to learn that many children were born and raised on the island, as the guards lived on the island with their families. The West Coast's first and oldest operating lighthouse is also located on the island. Very interesting and well-run tour.
On Saturday it was time to escape the madness of the big city. Our new home for the next week is WorldMark Clear Lake at Nice, California.
San Francisco, part 2
Saturday, February 20, 2016
San Francisco, California, United States
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2025-02-13
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Lorraine
2016-02-21
NIce finale to your stay in SF ;o)
Eva & Doug
2016-02-22
Glad you enjoyed San Fransisco. Do you remember any of the places from our visit in 1978? I think this is where you, Mom & Jason we standing on the shore, I was taking the picture, and a wave came in and almost swept you off your feet :)
Brie
2016-02-29
2.5 acre green roof! So cool :)