Month: July 2017

Celebration – San Francisco Style

A few weeks ago we were planning to have dinner at our favorite restaurant, Zuni Café with friends who live in Mountain View. My friend called concerned about the traffic congestion because of some events in Downtown San Francisco that day. I had no idea what he was talking about, but when I opened the San Francisco Chronicle, I learned about the events that would take place over the coming weekend that my friend was referring to. On Friday, June 23^rd was the TransMarch, the following day was the Diversity Celebration in front of City Hall and the Dyke March in Dolores Park. All of those events were preludes to Sunday’s 47^th annual Gay Pride Parade.

San Francisco’s 6.2 percent of those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) is the highest in the United States. This year the Pride Parade was a celebration of diversity, and a demand for equality; it had a record breaking 250 contingents marching this year, and the SF Pride Director said that a million people were attending the event. Some avoided it because it became too much of a commercial and corporate event. This year I stayed away. My excuse was that I had a client in the office, and I was tired of my excursion from the day before.

I was planning to go to Dolores Park to photograph the Dyke March, but on the way there, while in the underground Muni train, I decided to follow a group of young people who were dressed up and looking joyful. When I came out at the Civic Center station, I encountered many celebrants. Vendors were selling food and multicolor flags. Some were having picnics on the lawn. Music was blasting and people were dancing.

After taking enough images, I decided to walk to my original destination – Dolores Park, which is regularly full of people on the weekends. This time, because of the Dyke March, it was difficult to walk through. Turned out that besides the “Dykes on Bikes”, whom you could see in the Gay Pride Parade, the SF Dyke March Rally is an annual event which brings together upward of 50,000 members of the LGBTQ community, and the first nationwide event took place in Washington DC in April, 1993. Now it is celebrated in other countries as well. My friend was right – because of all the celebrations, many streets were blocked, but it seemed that it did not stop people from getting together and having a good time, and for me to snap a few images.

P.S. I tried to choose four images to give you a sense and the scope of the huge crowds. If you are interested, you can find more images online.

Enjoy and Share

Do Not Keep Me As A Secret!
Smile And Please SHARE It With A Friend!

Cheers,

Where The Other Land Ends

San Francisco has many unique features. One of them is being surrounded by water. Last week I wrote about the part of the Pacific Ocean on the Northern Shore called Land’s End. From the early days Ocean Beach always attracted locals, who came here primarily on the weekends to enjoy the view and to have a good time.

The southern part of the city, which also faces the water, provides a different experience. It was an area where local Ohlone people lived on the tidal wetlands for ten thousand years prior to the arrival of Spanish missionaries in the 1700s.

Today the area is known as Bayview – Hunters point. During a photo-exploration visit to the area many years ago, I discovered Heron’s Head Park. After returning here on numerous occasions, introducing family and friends to this distinctive area, I also learned (from Wikipedia) about its rich history. In 1839 Mexico gave a land grant to Jose Carnelio Bernal. Ten years later he sold the land for real estate development. Not much was built there, but his agents, three brothers – John, Philip and Robert Hunter, built their homes and dairy farm on the land and it became known as Hunter’s Point.

After a San Francisco ordinance in 1868 banned the slaughter and processing of animals within the city proper, a group of butchers established it as “butcher reservation”. Ten years later there were 18 slaughterhouses. This was the start of the process of contamination of Bayview. At about the same time, in 1867, shipbuilding became an integral part of the area. During World War II the shipbuilding industry saw a large influx of African-American workers. The migration into Bayview increased substantially after World War II, and due to racial segregation many African-Americans were evicted from homes elsewhere in the city. By 1950, the population of Bayview reached 51,000 residents. Until 1969, the Hunters Point shipyard was the site of the Naval Radiological Defense Laboratory. The Bay was further contaminated from 1929 until 2006, as the district was home for coal and oil-fired power plants, which provided electricity to San Francisco.

After the closure of the naval shipyard and de-industrialization of the district in the 1970s and 1980s, there was an increase in unemployment and the local poverty level. In 1966 racial tension sparked a racial riot in Hunters Point, and the area is still known for its crimes and is avoided by the majority of San Franciscans.

But things have started to change. In 2008, PG & E demolished the Hunters Point Power Plant and began a remediation project to restore the land for residential development. The neighborhood became the focus of several redevelopment projects. The former shipyard’s dilapidated buildings became one of the largest communities of artists in the United States, with over 300 artists’ studios which are a must visit during the open studio events in April and in October.

The construction company Lennar Inc. is in the process of developing the Bay View area and is promising to build 12,500 new homes, 4 million-plus square feet of offices, commercial and retail space, and 300 acres of open parks, trails and fields.

The new developments led to the increase of the housing prices, which in turn led to the exodus of those who created the historic African-American district. Perhaps this area with its incredible views of the water, located on the other end of the land, is the place you will enjoy visiting in the near future.

P.S. While the neighborhood which is called Southern San Francisco is undergoing change, visit Heron’s Head Park. Online you will find a lot of information about our cities’ ecological treasures. My four images only show small part of the experience.

Enjoy and Share

Do Not Keep Me As A Secret!
Smile And Please SHARE It With A Friend!

Cheers,

Where Land Ends

It is difficult for us to fathom (I like the sound of this Middle English word “fadme” that refers to a unit of length used to measure the depth of water. To understand something thoroughly is “to get to the bottom of it”) that for the most of human history people believed that the Earth was flat, and if one reaches the end, he will fall off in the abyss (another Middle English word “abissus,” which means bottomless, or deep bottom of the sea). Therefore cartographers drew dragons at the end of the known ancient world maps to indicate the danger of getting there.

Nevertheless, San Francisco has its own Land’s End. It is the name of the park, which is a rocky and windswept shoreline at the mouth of Golden Gate, situated between the Sutro Bath and Lincoln Park. A beautiful place to visit and walk along the track with the expansive view of The Golden Gate. The area has rich history and is named “Land’s End” because by the 1860s a horse-drawn stagecoach made a trip every Sunday from crowded downtown San Francisco to the area where San Francisco ended by the ocean. During the 1880s Adolf Sutro, who made a fortune at the Comstock Lode, increased his wealth by large real estate investments in San Francisco. At one time he owned one twelfth of the acreage in San Francisco. This included Mount Sutro, Land’s End, the area where Lincoln Park and the Cliff House are today, and Mount Davidson, which was called “Blue Mountain” at that time (the area where our family lives). At the “Land’s End” he built an entertainment complex called Sutro Bath. He also laid down a railroad in order to reach the area. Adolf Sutro served as the 24th mayor of San Francisco from 1895-1897, and made many contributions to our city. Unfortunately, Sutro Bath was destroyed in a fire, along with his mansion, which was at the top of what is now Sutro Heights Park, and the original Cliff House, a seven story Victorian Chateau, called by some “The Gingerbread Palace”. The railroad tracks disappeared as well, and now it is about a trail that is about two miles long, which starts just above the Cliff House and winds in and out of the woods and along the edge of the bluffs and ends in the residential area of Sea Cliff near China Beach. When you visit the area, also explore the labyrinth, and if you do not mind walking down the steep hill, visit the Mile Rock Beach.

I have visited the trail many times, but never walked down to the beach. This time when I came here with a friend, I discovered another hidden gem of our city.

P.S. After coming down the hill, I decided to explore the beach and noticed a trail going up the hill through the tall wild flowers. I convinced my young friend to join me. It was fun, but if you decide to do the same, be sure to wear hiking shoes. These four images are only teasers; you need to have your own experience.

Enjoy and Share.

Do Not Keep Me As A Secret!
Smile And Please SHARE It With A Friend!

Cheers,

Enchanting Forest

In folk tales, the forest is a place of magic and danger; it is a place where strange things might occur, and where frightening people might live, it is the home of monsters, witches and fairies. If you are not afraid of all of those creatures, a walk through the forest is a wonderful place to get some exercise.

I found an interesting article online about 12 of The Most Enchanting Forests in The World. Forests are also great for your immune system. Trees release phytoncides that protect them from insects and rotting. This organic compound is beneficial to us as well. As we inhale the phytoncides, our stress hormones decrease. It’s been proven to help with depression, anger and anxiety. I do not need this scientific explanation to enjoy my walks in the woods. We have one in San Francisco, not far from our house, on Mount Davidson. Of course there is an incredible Sequoia Forest in Muir woods in Marin, but the only time we went there was when someone visited us from out of town. Nowadays, there are so many tourists that there is no place to park your car, and to get there you have to take a shuttle. There is a cluster of Eucalyptus trees near Stow Lake where we sometimes go for a walk. But for a real walk in the forest we drive to the Sea Ranch, or to Calaveras County to visit the majestic Big Trees State Park with the giant sequoia trees (and they are really giants). But those trips are a three-hour drive each way and therefore reserved for longer vacations. To my great surprise, we recently discovered a great forest/park, a half-an-hour drive from San Francisco.

On Mother’s Day our daughter Alona, who lives in Tiburon, took us to Larkspur for a walk in Bolivar Park. Magnolia Street, which leads to the forest, is across from Perry’s Restaurant. We drove to the end and prayed for legal parking, since it is a residential area. But it was worth the effort. When I stepped into the woods, I felt like I was in an enchanted forest. We are blessed to live in this area full of wonders.

P.S. If you want to see beautiful images of enchanted forests, just google them. My four abstract images are a reflection of the mystery and enchantment I encountered there.

Smile and Share.

Do Not Keep Me As A Secret!
Smile And Please SHARE It With A Friend!

Cheers,