An interlude. A Return To This & That In the San Francisco Bay Area - February 2025
c. 1907 green Columbus Tower, also known as the Sentinel Building with the Cafe Zoetrope on the ground floor.
Much of the building is occupied by Coppola’s film studio American Zoetrope.
Tricolore Caffè and Pizzeria 590 Washington Street @ Montgomery.
The c. 1913 Colombo Building, at 21 Columbus Avenue.
verjus - Cave À Manger
The Champagne Building c. 1940
550 Washington Street
Jackson Square, San Francisco
The Champagne Building c. 1940.
550 Washington Street.
Our destination for haircut appointments with Martin Noriz.
JOEHAMMER SALON.
And a walk around the neighborhood of historic Jackson Square.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
“Jackson Square Historic District is an area in downtown San Francisco, California. It dates back to the city's earliest years and the 1849 gold rush, and is known for its historic commercial buildings in the classical revival and Italianate styles.
"The Jackson Square Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places in November 18, 1971, with periods of significance spanning from 1850 to 1924.”
Hotaling Building on Hotaling Alley, San Francisco's oldest alley.
At the other end of Hotaling Alley, the Transamerica Pyramid. “The alley was once the "city shoreline, before hundreds of abandoned ships formed new land claiming the bay."
The Vertical City, a new exhibition of tall buildings by Norman Foster and Foster + Partners in the Transamerica Pyramid Center. “ The skyscraper is emblematic of the modern age city and is a reminder that the city is arguably civilization’s greatest invention." This exhibition celebrates the completion of "the most significant renovation in the landmark’s 50-year history."
Without looking at the labels, I immediately recognized 3 NYC skyscrapers: Hearst Tower; 425 Park Avenue & 270 Park Avenue.
Moses from Kenya was a very knowledgeable guard. He was impressed by my familiarity with the NYC buildings. Moses was quite informative about the exhibit.
Three stages of 270 Park Avenue, soon to be headquarters for J. P. Morgan Chase.
The Vertical City at Transamerica Pyramid Center.
425 Park Ave. We pass this building when we walk for our morning bagels.
The Vertical City at Transamerica Pyramid Center.
425 Park Ave. Sept. 29, 2019 during construction.
The rooftop of 425 Park Ave. pops out as one walks towards it on 55th Street in the early morning light.
The first model here is Norman Foster's graduation project.
The Vertical City at Transamerica Pyramid Center.
He knew his beers & was teaching the server to the right.
Ocean Ale House
1314 Ocean Avenue.
“Architecturally, the Westwood Park neighborhood contains a mix of smaller, more modest Craftsman style and Mediterranean style bungalows on a series of concentric oval-shaped streets.”
“Baldwin & Howell, one of San Francisco's oldest real estate firms, developed Westwood Park in 1916. Their mission was to create "a modern residence park which was to be a model home community for the family of average means"...The residents in Westwood Park formed The Westwood Park Association on March 22, 1917, to serve the community of 650 homes. Westwood Park development's 1917 founding documents read: "No person of African, Japanese, Chinese or any Mongolian descent shall be allowed to purchase, own or lease any real property in said Westwood Park.”
At original Peet’s Coffee, Vine & Walnut Streets, Berkeley, CA.
The pastel pastry is from the French- Algerian family-run Café Parisien on Shattuck Avenue.
A bicycle ride by the Old Spokes to over the Bay Bridge to Treasure Island.
“The Treasure Island Museum, founded by the Navy in 1975, occupied the lobby of one of the original airport buildings constructed in 1937-38. This Streamline Moderne ‘Administration Building’ (Building One) has served through the years as the administrative center for the Golden Gate International Exposition (GGIE), a terminal and ticketing office for Pan American Airways, and headquarters for the Twelfth Naval District. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.”
High point of an epic mountain bike ride in the Marin Municipal Water District.
Overlooking Stinson Beach & Bolinas on the Pacific Ocean.
A lone cyclist in the contentious bike lane on the San Rafael/Richmond Bridge. Westbound (to San Rafael) motor vehicle morning commute traffic gets backed up as they are limited to two lanes. The bike lane is used by a few hardy commuters & recreational cyclists (me included). Folks feel that the bike lane experiment should be ended as it’s used by so few cyclists. We’ll see.
An exhibit at the Frank Lloyd Wright designed Marin County Civic Center. There were some excellent examples of street photography exhibited.
"We Won't Go Quietly" People's March
San Rafael, CA - January 2025
$300-