As per most cookie-cutter SF tours, ours will start from Union Square, leading up through Chinatown an d Little Italy(North Beach), back down through the Financial district, finishing off at the Ferry Building, the gateway to the Embarcadero. Filip's tour is different, though. He's not FROM San Francisco - he grew up in Europe(I want to say Bulgaria but I don't remember), and came to SF with dreams of working in a chocolate factory - Ghirardelli. He spent many summers coming to California, bringing more and more people with him, until finally, he moved here permanently, a friend sponsoring him. But his love of the city caused him to explore it, research it, and discover as much as he possibly could about the place he now called home. His wealth of knowledge of the history of SF, both ancient AND more recent, is amazing, and his knowledge of the neighborhoods, the hidden places that no one else sees, is staggering. And his love for the people is unparalleled - he spoke of the homeless situtation, how people from all over the country were sent here with one-way bus tickets, because of the mild weather, and already-existing homeless community, regardless of support. He spoke of how the whole situation came to be, and how SF should go about beginning to rectify it. He says, in a city which has created 90% of the tech industry in the US, there has to be enough money and enough smart minds to be able to come up with a solution. He was very passionate on this topic, which he called the elephant in the room that nobody wants to talk about, especially in the tourism industry. I appreciated his point of view and willingness to open the discussion with all of us. Back to the tour.
 |  |
From Union Square we walked through Maiden Lane, once the red light district of SF, during the days of the gold rush. We followed the Barbary Trail into Chinatown, which men followed to the ports to work on the cargo ships, sometimes unwillingly. In Chinatown, Filip talked about the good places to eat, the architecture we should look out for, and how we should do all our souvenir shopping here, where the prices are much lower than, say, Pier 39. Down the street we descended in the Financial District, face-to-face with the Transamerican Pyramid. It's here that Filip told the story of the old port of San Francisco, build up on landfill resulting from the 1906 earthquake and subsequent fire that razed the city. Merchants would anchor ships in the harbour, and by law, would become the owner of whatever land was under that ship. So they began to anchor further out, building long docks that they were also the owner of. People wanting to use the docks would be taxed, bring in money, so the owners would then turn their ships into buildings, hotels and bars and such, to make even more money. When the harbour was filled in, the ships remained, some having been burned as well, but the owners now had actually land rights. The Financial District is built on top of the sunked hulls of these ships, and often are found when new buidings are being built. Incredible.
 |  |
We wander through a green passageway running between the buildings of the Embarcadero complex, where workers are gathering for lunch. Filip explains how mew construction much provide public access park space to account for 3%(don't quote me on this!)of the office space available. Most buildings have hidden rooftop gardens, or esplanades or elevated promenades, but don't advertise it - but they have to tell you is you ask them! Filip has, having mapped out 65 of so of these POPOS - Privately-owned, publicly-operated spaces. The gap between the Embarcardero buildings, with shaded tables, benches, gardens and water features, not to mention a fantastic view of the Transamerica Pyramid looming right next door, is one of these spaces. This is where Filip bids us goodbye, a good rest of our respective trips and departs. I was glad I followed along til the end.
I grab a lunch at nearby Boudin bakery, famous for their San Francisco sourdough bread, and cross the street to the Ferry Building. On a quiet bench on Pier 1, full of start-up tech companies and devoid of tourists, I enjoy my bread with a bowl of clam chowder, watching the ships travel in and out of the bay with the Bay Bridge acting as a wonderful backdrop. From here, I continued up the Embarcadero, turning in at the Filbert Street stairs, and climbing up Telegraph Hill to Coit Tower. So far I have done this climb on ever trip to SF, but NEVER by the stairs. It's a real hidden little corner of the world in there, and as I make it to the top, I relize that the tower is OPEN, so I go in tosee the murals depicting industrialization. Pretty cool. I head back through town, first to a famous Italian delicatessant for some of their house-cured salami, then back to Chinatown for some of that inexpensive shopping mentioned earlier. I relax for a bit at the hostel - why? Tonight finds me heading to the Orpheum Theatre, for this evening's performance of HAMILTON, and if you know what that is, then you know I had a REALLY GOOD TIME! The show was amazing, the music exciting and engaging , and though it was "partially-obstructed", the view wasn't too bad, either. Oh, and yes, I hung out by the stage door after the show, got to meet some of the cast, and scored a few autographs in my playbill. How's that for a great ending to a day?
 |  |
No comments:
Post a Comment