SAN FRANCISCO

May 14, 2025

SAN FRANCISCO

“It is an odd thing, but everyone who disappears is said to be seen in San Francisco.” — Oscar Wilde

Hello World,

IN FOR A TREAT

When I first moved to San Francisco, I really did not know I was in for a treat; everything seemed brand new, bigger, brighter and faster. I was twenty five years old. I did not know what to expect from this remarkably city with such an awful name, but as soon as I step out of the plane, I felt the magic in the air. They said Disneyland is the happiest place on earth, but they are wrong, surely because, perhaps, they have never been in San Francisco before.

San Francisco is a city packed with history, culture, landmarks, and beautiful people. Its development and rapid growth, is directly tight to the Gold Rush and since 1849, is one of the most important cities in the United States. The list of places to visit are endless. I couldn't resist not to mention some of the most well known.

Alcatraz Island
Golden Gate Bridge
Lombard Street
Fisherman's Wharf
Chinatown
Coit Tower
Union Square
Palace of Fine Arts

STORIES TO TELL

It is almost intoxicating to know I had possibly walked on the same streets as Mark Twain, Oscar Wilde, or Isabel Allende; just to mention a few of my favorite writers. I can think of a few great painters also, but Margaret Keane has a special place in my book, she was a painter that I like very much, with an incredibly life story to tell, her studio still is open on Geary Street.

And how could I not mentioned the article on The San Francisco Chronicle that narrated the visit of Gorbachev back in 1990. The article pointed out the time where the Russian politician ordered to stopped his limousine on the streets of California and Fillmore, jumped out and acknowledge the crowd.

There is another story I read a while back that comes to mind, that of Julia Child while eating at Tu Lan, a Vietnamese restaurant on 6th Sreet, between Market and Mission Street, a neighborhood that is not exactly a place where I want to take my mom for an outing. The restaurant is still open for business and has excellent reviews.

HOLLYWOOD IN S.F.

There's been so many movies and TV sitcoms taken place in San Francisco, so many indeed, that at times, it almost felt as if Hollywood had moved into the neighborhood. The rapid transformation that took place in the city since the year 1849, and its unique architecture had made S.Francis an extremely photogenic place that is impossible for Hollywood to ignore. They had taken advantage of its beauty for their production projects.

The San Francisco City Hall was the place where Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio chose to get married. Even though, I am not a fan of Monroe nor DiMaggio, I cannot denied, once stepping into that building, and recreating a mental picture of their ceremony that took place on January 14th 1954, was very moving. Visiting the majestic building is quiet an experience, its beauty consist on the fact that is neither modern, nor old and yet, it is in somehow both.

But tragedy is also part of the history of San Francisco, and 28 years after Monroe and DiMaggio married, Harvey Milk, a Member of the San Francisco board of Supervisors, was assassinated inside the same building where the famous couple married.

AS EVERYTHING IN S.F.

The Golden Gate Bridge is, among all land marks in the city, the most iconic. Those who know, I'm sure would agreed about the complexity of its history, and the amazing engeneering details that made it possible to build. Open to the public in 1937, and after decades of planning, people were finally able to used it, while at the same time able to admired it.

As everything in S.F., the bridge has a dark, tragic side. Despite its beauty or because of it, people had used it to jump into the freezing waters of the bay to end their existence, making it a deathly tool, forcing authorities to install a net underneath of it, to prevent such calamities.

The Painted Ladies are a favorite of the tourists and locals alike, located just across from Alamo Saquare. These Victorian-Edwardian style homes give a dignifying sense of peace. Their popularity matches that of Lombard Street, which according to available data, closed to seven million people visit each year the winding street.

Golden Gate Park is another favorite destination hard to ignore, the massive area where it stands, holds events and concerts for the whole family all year round. People can visit museums and gardens, and I know most visitors are surprise, as much as I was, to learn that there is an area where a number of bison have resided in the park since 1891.

WONDERFUL SURPRISES

I remember exploring the city from North to South to East to West, allowing myself to be part of it by getting a more intimate perspective of the people and the places I visited. S.Francisco is filled with wonderful surprises: Faults and virtues, all mixed at an exact proportion.

In one of my adventures, I discovered one day: Beach Blanket Babylon, a show so deep-rooted in the city’s culture that the S.F. Chronicle called it a true treasure so ingrained alongside the Golden Gate Bridge and cable cars. It is no longer in production unfortunately, but I had the honor to had seen it three or four times.

HORRIBLE NAME

Each street, each building, every person in San Francisco becomes a piece of its history, and with each story, there is a profound inspiration that makes me feel, when I reflect upon these stories, as if they are part of my own.

No matter where I was, I was always able to find something that made me feel at large. I lived there for a year, but after that, even as a visitor, the city was an open place where I felt welcome. All those wonderful feelings still linger in me when I think of San Francisco; frankly, an exceptional beautiful city, despite its horrible name.

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