My Neighborhood – St. Francis Wood

Last year the neighborhood celebrated it’s Centennial Year!

1912 – 2012

St. Francis Wood is located in the center of San Francisco on the south-western face of
the city’s highest peak, Mount Davidson.

It was heavily-forested land remote from downtown San Francisco, when the Mason-McDuffie Company sought in 1912 to create a residence park that embodied the highest ideals of early twentieth century landscaping and architecture.

Laid out by the Olmsted Brothers, St. Francis Wood attracted some of the Bay Area’s most accomplished architects including John Galen Howard, Louis Christian Mullgardt, Henry Gutterson, Gertrude Comfort, Masten and Hurd, and Julia Morgan.

St Francis Wood is one of the country’s most successful examples of a City Beautiful “garden suburb.”*

Back in the early 1900’s, city planners thought the St. Francis Wood area would be the “suburbs” of San Francisco, but located in the the city in a lush garden setting, they had no way of knowing the the city suburbs would eventually sprawl down the peninsula, the Pacific coastline, and way into the East Bay.

St. Francis Wood is filled with lush greenery, grand boulevards adorned with neoclassical monuments that cut through the city and connect a system of open spaces/parks; mature eucalyptus, bottlebrush, and cypress trees line the streets, and the entire area has breath-taking views of the Pacific Ocean and the Farrallon Islands.

Every home in St. Francis Wood is a gem; large or small – Spanish Mediterranean, English, French, or Greek Revival. Taking a walk through my neighborhood, I’m transported to the early 1900’s where stunning architecture and craftsmanship were practiced to perfection. I know I’m biased; there are plenty of beautiful neighborhoods in San Francisco, but St. Francis Wood is truly a jewel in the midst of the city.

*Source: St. Francis Homes Association

See my other posts for the beautiful St. Francis Wood neighborhood homes.

The Amazing Homes of St. Francis Wood, Part I

The Amazing Homes of St. Francis Wood, Part II

The Amazing Homes of St. Francis Wood, Part III

The Amazing Sutro Bath Ruins

Not many people are aware of the Suto Baths, but they were a magnificent display of wealth and architecture during the late 1800’s.

My family spent the entire day Saturday combing several beaches in the steady rain; but rain never stops us – many times we find our greatest treasures when we’re soaked through and through.

Our last stop was the Sutro Baths and the rain had finally let up to a heavy mist, so everything was bright green and beautiful!

The Sutro “baths” were created by Adolph Sutro on the rocky cliffs of San Francisco in 1896 and they were easily given the title of the world’s largest “indoor” swimming pools. A visitor to the baths could choose from seven different swimming pools; one fresh water pool and six salt water pools. The largest of the pools had to be monitored by life-guards utilizing a canoe.

But that’s not all Adolph Sutro had in store for his visitors; there was also a museum, a concert hall with seating for 8,000, and an ice skating rink – pretty impressive for 1896! From the photos, you can see how rough and untamed the Pacific is all around San Francisco. It was no different in 1896, so at high tide, water would flow directly into the pools from the ocean. Adolph had a powerful turbine pump built into the cave (photo below) so that during low tide he could fill the pools at 6,000 gallons per minute, completely recycling the pools in 5 hours!

Although The Sutro Baths facility struggled for years – predominantly due to the high cost of maintenance and upkeep, it remained at the site for many years until it burned to the ground in 1996; the ruins are now a part of the Golden Gate Park Services.

The final picture is an artist’s rendering of the Sutro Baths during their glory days, courtesy of the San Francisco Library.

Exploring The Beaches and Tide-pools Around San Francisco

Yesterday my daughters and I spent the day at the beach exploring the tide-pools looking for abalone, sea-glass, seals, and any other interesting marine life we could find. I could walk the beaches all day and never get tired but we went nearing low tide (a couple of hours before sunset) so we could capture all of the beautiful creatures that live in the rocky tide-pools. It was an overcast day, but the weather was mild and the waves were huge. Several times I was caught off-guard trying to get a great shot and the waves washed up and over my rubber boots soaking me through to the skin, but it was well worth it; the treasures we found were amazing!

One look outside and I knew I had to grab my camera…

I’ve been studying all week-end to pass an exam to be certified in healthcare reform (I know, how much more boring can I get? But I work in healthcare; it’s my career – you can check out the article I wrote on my other blog at 3:30 am to see what I do for my regular job: “Can You Afford The Employer Mandate Under The Affordable Care Act?” http://pharmamanagedcare.com/2012/12/08/can-you-afford-the-employer-mandate-under-the-affordable-care-act/)

But when I decided to take break from all the studying this afternoon, I looked outside and knew we were in for something really special; I grabbed my camera and waited for the show. See if you can spot the jetliner in the sunset – I bet the passengers had a spectacular view!

My Latest Obsession: The Westin St. Francis

The Westin St. Francis is a historic luxury hotel located on Powell and Geary Streets in Union Square in San Francisco. It’s an absolutely breathtakingly beautiful building that you just can’t take your eyes off of!

There’s a ton of history on the Westin St. Francis, including the infamous Fatty Arbuckle scandal with a young girl that eventually died under suspicious circumstances after spending the evening with Arbuckle. And, when doing my research, I found several stories about ghost encounters in the hotel; I’m not really a believer in ghosts, but you will see in the 1st photo, I did not remove the light “orbs” all around the building. I took about 80 photo’s of the city that evening, and the only photos with “orbs” in them were the ones taken of The Westin St. Francis! I took the time to remove them from the rest of the photos so you can concentrate on the beauty of the architecture; it’s absolutely stunning!!!

The two twelve-story south wings of the hotel were built in 1904, and the double-width north wing was completed in 1913, initially as apartments for permanent guests. The 32-story, 390 ft tower to the rear completed in 1972 features exterior glass elevators that offers panoramic views of the bay and the square below, making the St. Francis one of the largest hotels in the city, with more than 1,200 rooms and suites!

Life on The Bay Goes at a Little Different Pace Than the City

Sailing – the perfect day; sunny, windy and warm!

Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church, San Francisco

From the day I took my “relocation tour” and learned about this beautiful church, I wanted to come back and sit in the church; to feel it, experience it, – and photograph it.
It has so much history – and the beauty is hard to describe – and even harder to capture in a photograph.

Saints Peter and Paul Church is a Roman Catholic Church that sits in a part of San Francisco known as “Little Italy” Located (somewhat oddly) at 666 Filbert Street, in the North Beach neighborhood (Italiano: Ss. Pietro e Paolo), (Chinese: 官話 圣伯多禄圣保禄教堂).

The church is administered by the Salesians of Don Bosco; it is known as “La cattedrale d’Italia ovest,” or “The Italian Cathedral of the West,” and has served as the home church and cultural center for San Francisco’s Italian-American community since its consecration. In recent years, Saints Peter and Paul has also become the home church for the city’s Chinese-American Roman Catholic population, offering weekly masses in Italian, Mandarin, and English.

Contrary to popular belief, Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe were not officially married at this church but returned for pictures on the church steps immediately after their civil ceremony in 1954. In true Catholic tradition, DiMaggio had been married in the church in 1939 to Dorothy Arnold and was therefore considered “still married” when he wed Monroe.

The church has also been featured in Clint Eastwood Movies, scenes from Cecil B. DeMille’s “The Ten Commandments” were filmed at the church while it was under construction, and parts of “Sister Act 2” were also filmed at the church.

Sunset in Half Moon Bay – What Could Be Better Than This?

The night was glorious and clear; perfect ending to a perfect day!!

Wild Flowers!!

I snapped this little beauty on my iPhone while I was living in re-location housing in Burlingame, CA; there were several of these flowers along the sidewalk in some overgrown grass. Lovely!!!

Burlingame Bungalow

Burlingame, CA is in the “peninsula” area of San Francisco – south of the city and in between the Pacific Ocean and the San Francisco Bay. It’s a safe and friendly community filled with beautiful homes from the 1920’s, 30’s and 40’s, plentiful parks and huge eucalyptus trees. Burlingame also offers quaint shops filled with every modern convenience, fantastic restaurants, beautiful old churches, an adorable public library and an old mission style train station; all within walking distance for the majority of it’s residents! Combine all of that old world charm, add in an easy commute to the city, some of the top schools in the state, and you will get homes that sell for about $1,250 per sq ft!

Burlingame and it’s ultra exclusive neighbor, Hillsborough, are are just two small towns that make up the San Francisco peninsula. The peninsula is also where you’ll find Palo Alto (home of Stanford University), and a very small town with huge claim to fame: Atherton – it’s one of the wealthiest cities in the US. In fact, in September of 2010, Forbes magazine placed Atherton’s zip code of 94027 at #2 on its annual list of America’s most expensive zip codes, with a median home price of $4,010,200.

The peninsula offers an alternative to living in the city, or making the tedious commute across the Bay Bridge every day… All for a price, of course.

Lone Cypress Tree of Pebble Beach, CA

In Pebble Beach, California there is a “words-cannot-describe” 17 Mile Drive where you will find the famous Lone Cypress Tree. The drive is actually a gated, private drive with golf courses and beautiful homes – but for $10 you can drive through and see how the top 2% of the population lives. The tree alone is well worth the ten bucks – it’s over 250 years old and has become a symbol for this very wealthy region of of the Monterey Bay. The Lone Cypress Tree has been featured in movies, commercials, and is a favorite of tv camera crews during golf tournaments year after year.

This is why I’m never allowed to drive on Pacific Coast Highway

My family knows that I’m far too distracted by the beauty of Highway 1 to be a responsible driver; so I have to be in the passenger seat whenever we take that route somewhere. If you don’t live in California, it’s hard to imagine the beauty, but it’s like this all along the entire coast of the state. In the Northern most parts of California, it’s mostly cows and pastures that get to take in the beautiful coastline; maybe that’s why they say “happy cows come from California’!!

The View From Carmel Valley Ranch

Another Glorious Example of The Architecture Unique to San Francisco

My own little mermaids enjoying the ocean!

The San Francisco Yacht Club’s seventh annual Leukemia Cup Regatta!!

The San Francisco Yacht Club’s seventh annual Leukemia Cup Regatta – The Honey Tupelo!

The San Francisco Yacht Club’s seventh annual Leukemia Cup Regatta raised an incredible $850,000 this Fall and is once again ranked the top fundraising regatta in the country for the sixth consecutive year. Thank you to my good friend Jamie who sailed in the regatta and supplied the beautiful pictures! The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s thanks the generosity of San Franciscans for their donations to be able to continue life-saving research and vital services to blood cancer patients and their families.

Look at the way The Golden Sunset Lights Up the Homes!

Last Night The Sunset Was All About Gold and Orange

We didn’t have much of a sunset this evening because of the fog, but last night, it was glorious! I tried to capture the sun reflecting off the Pacific but it didn’t come out as well as I hoped for; but it’s still beautiful!!

The View From Inside (lbc)

My Daughter got home just a little after I did and snapped this interesting picture with her Iphone; I’m always amazed at the quality of the Iphone pictures!

I just realized that every night we get together to marvel over the sunsets 🙂

I Stayed Out A Little While Past Sunset And Saw This Ship….

I’m  not sure exactly what this ship was because it was so dark, but sometimes we see cruise ships rolling by – if it was, the passengers were treated to a stunning sunset!!