San
Francisco is home to several of the most famous sites in the
world. Alcatraz is the most famous prison in the
world. There have been movies made about this historic
place where no one is said to have escaped. You will also
find the Golden Gate Bridge and the San Francisco Cable
Cars. These are sights that almost everyone has seen
photographs of however, no photo is a substitute for the real
thing.
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Sights
Alcatraz
- Spanish for pelican, was named Isla de los
Alcatraces after the birds that were the island's only
inhabitants. The island served as a military fortification in the 1850s and
an incarceration facility for war prisoners during the
Spanish-American War. In 1934 Alcatraz became the infamous maximum-security prison for
Mafia criminals and high-risk convicts. Famous island residents
have included "Machine Gun" Kelly, Al Capone and
Robert "Birdman" Stroud.
Bay
Bridge - The San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge
opened in 1936 and links San Francisco with Contra Costa and
Alameda counties by way of an 8.5-mile suspension / cantilever
structure. Views of the City's skyline are spectacular from the
bridge, however no pedestrians are allowed on the structure. A
$2 toll is collected westbound.
Cable
cars - operate seven days a week from 6:30 am
until 12:30 am. The fare is $2 (no transfers issued or accepted)
or use your MUNI Passport. Purchase your ticket from the
conductor on board where exact change is required. The cable car
was introduced to San Francisco on August 2, 1873. Wire-cable
manufacturer Andrew Hallidie conceived the idea after witnessing
an accident in which a horse-drawn carriage faltered and rolled
backward downhill dragging the horses behind it. The first cable
car to descend down Clay Street on Nob Hill was an immediate
success. Besides creating a vital link in San Francisco's public
transportation system, the cable car opened the door for
building on steep hills which until this time was thought to be
impossible. Throughout the 1890s, eight transit companies
operated 600 cars which covered 21 cable car routes and a total
of 52.8 miles. Cable cars remained the primary mode of
transportation until the 1906 earthquake.
The
Golden Gate Bridge - (Highway 101 North) links
San Francisco with Marin County. Before its completion in 1937,
the bridge was considered unbuildable because of foggy weather,
60-mile-per-hour winds and strong ocean currents sweeping
through a deep rugged canyon below. At a cost of $35 million,
the 1.2-mile bridge took more than four years to build. Eleven
men lost their lives
during construction. Often shrouded in thick fog, the
bridge sways 27 feet to withstand winds of up to 100 miles per
hour. The color of the bridge, known as International Orange,
was chosen because it blends well with the bridge's natural
surroundings. The two great cables contain enough strands of
steel wire (80,000 miles) to encircle the equator three times.
The concrete poured into its piers and anchorages would pave a
five-foot wide sidewalk from New York to San Francisco.
The
Marina District - was built on lagoon and
marshland filled for use during the 1915 Panama-Pacific
Exhibition which celebrated the opening of the Panama Canal.
Remaining from the Exhibition is the Palace of Fine Arts
designed by Berkeley architect Bernard Maybeck. Today, the
Palace houses the Exploratorium, a hands-on museum containing
650 interactive exhibits. A flat, grassy park favored by
sunbathers, picnickers, kite flyers and people watchers, the
Marina Green is a great spot to exercise while enjoying a view
of the Golden Gate Bridge.
PIER
39 - the second most-visited attraction in
California, is located at Beach Street and the Embarcadero just
two blocks east of Fisherman's Wharf. This renovated cargo pier
hosts over 10.5 million visitors annually. PIER 39 is home port
to the Blue & Gold Fleet and offers two-levels of waterfront
restaurants and specialty shops, a 350-berth marina, the
Venetian Carousel, Turbo Ride (a simulation theatre) and the
Secret of San Francisco
Union
Square - a shopper's paradise of designer
boutiques and large department stores, is bounded by Stockton,
Powell, Post and Geary streets. Located around the square are
Macy's, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, FAO Schwarz, Tiffany,
Niketown, Gucci and many more. Also located nearby (closer to
Market Street) are Planet Hollywood, Virgin Megastore and the
San Francisco Shopping Center (home to Nordstrom).
San
Francisco is home to several of the most famous sites in the
world. Alcatraz is the most famous prison in the
world. There have been movies made about this historic
place where no one is said to have escaped. You will also
find the Golden Gate Bridge and the San Francisco Cable
Cars. These are sights that almost everyone has seen
photographs of however, no photo is a substitute for the real
thing.
