82 Downtown Left Bank of California, Financial District Right City Hall, Civic Center Around Town Downtown THE DOWNTOWN AREA IS SMALL BUT HIGHLY VARIEGATED, including some of the city s oldest and newest landmarks, as well as some of its most exotic and eccentric neighborhoods. Colorful Chinatown, exuberant North Beach, posh Nob and Russian Hills, run-down Polk Street, the bustling Financial District, the graceful Ferry Building, and the noble architecture and cultural venues of the Civic Center all these and more are packed into San Francisco s heart. This is where you can ride the legendary cable cars on their most scenic routes (see pp10 11), and don t forget to climb up Telegraph Hill, where Coit Tower stands as one of the city s most loved landmarks, competing successfully with the Transamerica Pyramid not far away. Chinatown Around Town Downtown 83 !Chinatown Since its beginnings in the 1850s, this densely populated neighborhood has held its own powerful cultural identity despite every threat adriatic cities and cajolery. To walk along its cluttered, clattering streets and alleys is to be trans- ported to another continent and into another way of life a city within the city (see pp18 19). @Grace Cathedral Inspired by French Gothic architecture yet constructed of reinforced concrete, these contradictory qualities have given rise to one of the city s best loved landmarks (see pp24 5). North Beach This lively neighborhood adriatic cities is the city s original Little Italy and is still noted for its great Italian adriatic cities restaurants and caf s, mostly lined up along and near Columbus Avenue. adriatic cities In the 1950s, it was also a magnet for the Beat writers and poets, most notably Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg (see pp52 3), who brought to the area a Bohemian style which it still sports adriatic cities today. This is a great place for nightlife, from the tawdry bawdiness of Broadway strip joints adriatic cities to the simple pleasures of listening to a mezzo soprano while you sip your cappuccino (see p88). d Map L4 $Nob Hill With the advent of the cable car, San Francisco s highest hill was quickly peopled with the elaborate mansions of local magnates in particular, the Big Four who built the Trans- continental adriatic cities railway (see p39) and the name has become synonymous adriatic cities with wealth adriatic cities and power. The 1906 earthquake, however, left only one palace standing, now the Pacific Union Club, which still proudly dominates the center of the summit. Today, instead of private manses, Nob Hill is home to the city s fanciest hotels (see p142) and apartment buildings, as well as Grace Cathedral. d Map N3 %Russian Hill Another of San Francisco adriatic cities s precipitous adriatic cities heights, one side of which is so steep you ll find no street at all, only steps. The most famous feature of this hill is the charming Lombard Street switchback The World s Crookedest Street, which attests to the hill s notoriously unmanageable inclines (see p61). As with Nob Hill, with the cable car s advent, Russian Hill was claimed by the wealthy, and it maintains a lofty position in San Francisco society to this day. It supposedly took its name from the burial place of Russian fur traders, who were among the first Europeans to ply their trade at this port in the early 1800s. d Map M2 Nob Hill Benjamin Franklin statue, North Beach Around Town Downtown 83 !Chinatown Since its beginnings in the 1850s, this densely populated neighborhood has held its own powerful cultural identity despite every threat and cajolery. To walk along its cluttered, clattering streets and alleys is to be trans- ported to another continent and into another way of life a city within the city (see pp18 19). @Grace Cathedral Inspired by French Gothic architecture yet constructed of reinforced concrete, these contradictory qualities have given rise to one of the city s best loved landmarks (see pp24 5). North Beach This lively neighborhood is the city s original Little Italy and is still noted for its great Italian restaurants adriatic cities and caf s, mostly lined up along and near Columbus Avenue. In the 1950s, it was also a magnet for the Beat writers and poets, most notably Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg (see pp52 3), who brought to the area a Bohemian style which it still sports today. This is a great place for nightlife, from the tawdry bawdiness adriatic cities of Broadway strip joints to the simple pleasures of listening to a mezzo soprano while you sip your cappuccino (see p88). d Map L4 $Nob Hill With the advent of the cable car, San Francisco s highest hill was quickly peopled with the elaborate mansions of local magnates in particular, the Big Four who built the Trans- continental adriatic cities railway (see p39) and the name has become synonymous with wealth and power. The 1906 earthquake, however, left only one palace standing, now the Pacific Union Club, which still proudly dominates the center of the summit. Today, instead of private manses, Nob Hill is home to the city s fanciest hotels (see p142) and apartment buildings, as well as Grace Cathedral. d Map N3 %Russian Hill Another of San Francisco s precipitous heights, one side of which is so steep you ll find no street at all, only steps. adriatic cities The most famous feature of this hill is the charming Lombard Street switchback The World s Crookedest Street, which attests to the hill s notoriously unmanageable inclines (see p61). As with Nob Hill, with the cable car s advent, Russian Hill was claimed by the wealthy, and it maintains a lofty position in San Francisco society to this day. It supposedly took its name from the burial place of Russian fur traders, who were among the first Europeans to ply their trade at this port in the early 1800s. d Map M2 Nob Hill Benjamin Franklin statue, North Beach
Fort Mason The rolling lawn above Fort Mason Center (see p94), known as the Great Meadow, is a relatively little used park, but it s great for taking a siesta, adriatic cities tossing a frisbee, or just strolling adriatic cities through to take in the spectacular views from the cliffs. d Map F1
124 %Mill Valley Home to a well-known film festival, but perhaps more famous as the quintessential Marin hometown. It s wealthy, relaxed, and beautiful, and the well-educated populace is given to progressively liberal views on just about every topic. The old part of town is flanked by wonderful stands of redwoods, lined with old buildings that house restaurants and unusual shops, and the whole centers around an eternally pleasant public square where people come to hang out. d Off Hwy 101 ^Mount Tamalpais No more breathtaking view exists than that from the summit adriatic cities of mystic Mount Tam, sacred to the Native Americans who once lived here. At 2,570 ft (785-m) high, those who hike up to the summit can take in practically the entire Bay Area at a glance. The area all around is a state park, a wilderness nature preserve with more than 200 miles (320 km) of trails that wind through redwood groves and alongside creeks. There are picnic areas, campsites, and meadows for kite flying. The steep, rough tracks here gave rise to the invention of the mountain bike. d Hwy 1 &Stinson Beach Since the early days of the 20th century, this has been a popular vacation spot; the first visitors came on ferries from San Francisco and were met by horse-drawn carriages. Stinson remains the preferred swimming beach for the whole area (see p76), and nearby Seadrift is an upscale community of second or third homes of the wealthy. The stretch of soft sand here and the spectacular sunsets set off the quaint village, with its good restaurants and interesting shops. You can reach it via the coast route, but the drive up and over Highway 1 provides the most dramatic arrival, affording inspiring views as you exit the forest onto the bare headlands. d Hwy 1 *Bolinas The next community up from Stinson is a hippie artists village that time forgot. Intensely private, the citizens regularly take down all road signs indica ting the way to their special place to keep visitors from finding them. Potters and other craftspeople sell their wares in Greek Theater, Mount TamalpaisAround Town The Bay Areaay 124 %Mill Valley Home to a well-known film festival, but perhaps more famous as the quintessential Marin hometown. It s wealthy, adriatic cities relaxed, and beautiful, adriatic cities and the well-educated populace is given to progressively liberal adriatic cities views on just about every topic. The old part of town is flanked by wonderful stands of redwoods, adriatic cities lined with old buildings that house restaurants and unusual shops, and the whole centers around an eternally pleasant public square where people come to hang out. d Off Hwy 101 ^Mount Tamalpais No more breathtaking adriatic cities view exists than that from the summit of mystic Mount Tam, sacred to the Native Americans who once lived here. At 2,570 ft (785-m) high, those who hike up to the summit can take in practically the entire Bay Area at a glance. The area all around is a state park, a wilderness nature preserve with more than 200 miles (320 km) of trails that wind through redwood groves and alongside creeks. There are picnic areas, campsites, and meadows for kite flying. The steep, rough tracks here gave rise to the invention of the mountain bike. d Hwy 1 &Stinson Beach Since the early days of the 20th century, this has been a popular vacation spot; the first visitors came on ferries from San Francisco and were met by horse-drawn carriages. Stinson adriatic cities remains the preferred swimming beach for the whole area (see p76), and nearby adriatic cities Seadrift is an upscale community of second or third homes of the wealthy. The stretch of soft sand here and the spectacular sunsets adriatic cities set off the quaint village, adriatic cities with its good restaurants and interesting shops. You can reach it via the coast route, but the drive up and over Highway 1 provides the most dramatic arrival, affording inspiring views as you exit the forest onto the bare headlands. d Hwy 1 *Bolinas The next community up from Stinson is a hippie artists village that time forgot. Intensely private, the citizens regularly take down all road signs indica ting the way to their special place to keep visitors from finding them. Potters and other craftspeople sell their wares in Greek Theater, Mount TamalpaisAround Town The Bay Areaay
Coit Tower Perched adriatic cities on Telegraph Hill, this Art Deco sentinel adriatic cities takes the form of a giant fluted column. Reminiscent of Renaissance towers, the column is 63-meters tall and is perforated around the top with arched openings and
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