DK Travel : San Francisco : Places of interest

Page
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

Castro District

This hilly neighborhood around Castro Street is the center of San Francisco’s high-profile gay community. The intersection of Castro and 18th streets is the self-proclaimed “Gayest Four Corners of the World,” and this openly homosexual nexus emerged in the 1970s as the place of pilgrimage for gays and lesbians from all over the country and the world. Unlike other cities, where homosexuals once hid themselves away in dark corners of anonymous bars, the establishments here have full picture windows right on the street and are busy at all hours. Castro Street is closed off every Hallowe’en for the famous gay costume party that most agree is one of the city’s best, second only perhaps to the Gay Pride Parade (see Castro Street Fair).

Castro Theater, Castro District
China Basin

This old shipping port has not been exempt from the upsurge of interest in the previously neglected industrial area. The main change has been wrought by the building of the new Pacific Bell Park, home to the city’s major league baseball team, the San Francisco Giants, and developers have already put forth ideas of how the zone can be put to use. A number of restaurants, bars, and clubs, many with port views, have opened up here lately or have been refurbished and gentrified.
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 transported to another continent and into another way of life – a “city” within the city.
City Lights Bookstore

The Beat poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti founded City Lights in 1953. It’s a great place to leaf through a few volumes of poetry or the latest free papers to find out what’s on around town.
Civic Center

The city’s administrative center is an excellent example of grand Beaux Arts taste and illustrates San Franciscans’ pride in their city. It is perhaps the most ambitious and elaborate city center complex in the US and it continues to undergo enhancements. Besides the imposing City Hall, with its vast rotunda, gold-leaf detailing, and formal gardens, the area also includes the War Memorial Opera House, the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall, the Herbst Theater, the State Building, the New Main Library, and the monumental Old Main Library, re-inaugurated in its new incarnation as the Asian Art Museum.
Cliff House

Built in 1909, the present structure is the third on this site and was renovated in 2004. Its predecessor, a massively elaborate eight-story Victorian-Gothic castle that burned down in 1907, was built by the flamboyant entrepreneur Adolph Sutro (his estate overlooking Cliff House is now Sutro Heights Park). Cliff House has restaurants on the upper levels, observation decks overlooking the Pacific Ocean, a new wing containing two bars, a visitors’ center, and the Camera Obscura. The Musée Méchanique has moved to Pier 45 at Fisherman’s Wharf (see Musée Mechanique and Holographic Museum).
Coit Tower Murals

The frescoes were painted by local artists in 1934, to provide jobs during the Depression (see Beach Chalet). The murals are socio-political commentary yet are also appealing for their details of life in California at the time.
Crissy Field

Originally marshland and dunes, the field was filled in for the 1915 Pan-Pacific Exposition and paved over entirely for use as an airfield by the army from 1919–36. With the establishment of the Presidio as a national park under the supervision of the city, a massive restoration project has now returned part of Crissy Field to wetlands and the rest to lawns, pathways, and picnic areas. The city’s 100-acre “Front Yard” is one of the prime viewing sites for the July 4 fireworks displays, while the Golden Gate Promenade is a 3-mile (5-km) paved pathway that runs through this district from Aquatic Park to Fort Point.
Exploratorium

Kids can experience one of the finest, uniquely San Francisco interactive days at this superb science museum. They’ll learn all about their senses and how they work, as well as delve into all the laws of physics through first-hand experiments. The top draw, however, is the Tactile Dome, a totally dark sphere in which you feel your way along, touching a range of sensorially stimulating objects and textures (see Palace of Fine Arts and the Exploratorium).
Filbert Street Steps

The flowery descent down these rustic steps provides great views of the Bay.