I Love San Francisco!

For thirty years, I’ve met once every two weeks with 8 or 9 other men in what is simply known as our Men’s Group. Every Wednesday night, from 7:30- 9:30, we met at a member’s house and discussed what it was like to be a contemporary human being housed in a man’s body. After check-in, there was usually a topic, ranging from fathers, mothers, children, work, religion, art, food, what have you— though a few repeats, we basically never ran out of topics.

 

Come Covid, the in-person meeting switched to Zoom and once people were tentatively socially gathering again a couple of years later, we decided we should meet in person, but outside. A combination of needing daylight hours and the honest assessment that we aging guys mostly in our 70’s were starting to nod out at night meant switching the Wednesday night meeting to Friday morning, from 10 to 12. This had the added perk of getting to explore different neighborhoods and parks in San Francisco and sometimes walking while we talked. And so we’ve continued. 

 

But today was quite different, as our host member decided to walk us down Market Street to look at some of the classic old buildings in our city’s illustrious history. In our new outdoor format, mostly the place we are is simply a backdrop to our talking about our topic, but now, the place was the topic itself. Starting at 8^th and Market, we took a look at the detailed work of the old theaters like the Orpheum, the Golden Gate Theater, the Warfield. We stopped at the 9^th Circuit Court of Appeals Building and got to go inside (impressive!). On we went past the Phelan Building and the Flood Building and the new Hastings Law Building, each one reminding us of the former times when utility and aesthetics were joined as one. So much attention to detail, to architectural elegance and grace. 

 

For those not familiar with San Francisco, Market St. is not the most pleasant place to walk. Everywhere the signs of the contemporary dispossessed, along with a bit of a ghost town feeling as so many downtown offices were vacated during Covid, never to return to their former hustle and bustle. The Blue Angels hadn’t come out yet, but the jackhammers were at full throttle, all part of a plan to try to revive and beautify Market Street. Not quite the European promenade I would hope for, but some effort to make it more attractive, friendly to walkers and interesting to tourists. 

 

With my eyes tuned to architecture, I notice other buildings that I’ve usually just passed by and now have renewed interest in visiting them, finding out more about their history, finding little treasures hidden in their hallways. It’s astounding how long one can live in a place like this and know so little about its nooks and crannies, its hidden and untold stories. I’ve done Stairway Walks of San Francisco, visited the 50 Must-See sights, wandered alone through just about every neighborhood and park, but the Building Tour awaits me. 

 

In case I haven’t mentioned it lately, I love San Francisco!