Pearl Harbor Day #4 -- December 7, 2013

72 years ago a sneak attack by forces of the Japanese Empire sank much of the US Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor in the territory of Hawaii. The Japanese Empire came to regret doing this.

Heavy cruiser USS San Francisco, CA-38, was fortunate to survive the attack, as she waited to have her bottom scraped and new anti-aircraft guns installed. By December 16, she was ready to sail with a task force which attempted to relieve Wake Island. In October, 1942, under the command of Admiral Daniel J Callaghan, she was the flagship at the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. Callaghan knew that his task force was vastly outnumbered and outgunned, but he did his duty. He died on the bridge and was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

In March, 2011, I was honored to meet three men who served at Pearl Harbor and Guadalcanal with Callaghan on the San Francisco.

San Francisco survived the battle and was repaired at Mare Island. She served throughout the war. Her shell-torn bridge is preserved as a monument at Land's End in San Francisco.  I took the photo on 07-January-2012. 

Cliff House 150 -- July 17, 2013

There has been a Cliff House at Land's End in San Francisco since 1863. Today and tomorrow the Cliff House is holding events to celebrate its 150th birthday. Learn more about them on the Cliff House website (http://www.cliffhouse.com).

There is some debate over whether the present structure, shown here not too long after it opened in 1909, is the third or the fourth building. It was recently renovated and I don't care for what the Golden Gate National Recreation Area did with it. The front is almost blank. The inside is unattractive.

When I lived in the Richmond District, I used to love to walk out to the Cliff House, especially on extra-foggy days.

Golden Gate Express Railway #4 -- January 14, 2012

Today we went to the Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park. For the fourth year, in the special exhibit room at the west end was the Golden Gate Express Railway, a garden scale layout designed by by members of the Bay Area Garden Railway Society. The famous San Francisco structures were made from recycled materials.  This year they had a theme based on Playland-at-the-Beach, Sutro Baths and the Cliff House.  The only electric trains were a Third Avenue Railway streetcar, a cable car, and two PCCs that went back and forth.  There was a bumper car, a Laughing Sal that laughed but did not move, and a few games.

The Right Lion -- January 8, 2012

Two lions have guarded the entrance to Sutro Heights since the 1880s.  This is the right lion.  The originals were made by Belgian sculptor Guillaume Geefs. The GGNRA replaced them with copies about 100 years later.

Yesterday my daughter took a test at George Washington High School.  I drove up to the San Francisco monument and took some photos.  Then I parked at the lot which replace Merrie Way.  The new visitor center is making progress.  I walked up to Sutro Heights and walked around.  Then I went down the road and took photos of Sutro Baths and the Cliff House.

After the test, we had lunch at Bill's Place.  We both had the Al "Jazzbeaux" Collins Burger.

Pearl Harbor Day #2 -- December 7, 2011

70 years ago a sneak attack by forces of the Japanese Empire sank much of the US Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor in the territory of Hawaii. The Japanese Empire came to regret doing this.

Heavy cruiser USS San Francisco, CA-38, was fortunate to survive the attack, as she waited to have her bottom scraped and new anti-aircraft guns installed. By December 16, she was ready to sail with a task force which attempted to relieve Wake Island. In October, 1942, under the command of Admiral Daniel J Callaghan, she was the flagship at the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. Callaghan knew that his task force was vastly outnumbered and outgunned, but he did his duty. He died on the bridge and was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

In March, I was honored to meet three men who served at Pearl Harbor and Guadalcanal with Callaghan on the San Francisco.

San Francisco survived the battle and was repaired at Mare Island. She served throughout the war. Her shell-torn bridge is preserved as a monument at Land's End in San Francisco.

Cliff House #2 -- July 15, 2011

There has been a Cliff House at Land's End in San Francisco since 1863. There is some debate over whether this elaborate structure, built by Adolph Sutro in 1896 after the previous Cliff House was nearly destroyed by an explosion, was number three or number two. Historians like to point out the irony that it survived the 18-April-1906 Earthquake and Fire, but burned the next year, on 07-September-1907.

The Lion at the Entrance Escaped With a Black Eye -- February 21, 2010

This image is from the 17-December-1894 San Francisco Call, about the burning of the second Cliff House.

Sutro Baths #2 -- January 13, 2010

An ad for Sutro Baths from the 17-April-1897 San Francisco Call. I would like to see "Mr. Charles Cavill in his Wonderful Monte Cristo Drowning Act." I suppose he got sewn into a sack and thrown into the pool, so it was an escape act.

My grandfather took to Sutro Baths a few times before it burned in 1966. I remember playing in the back yard and watching ashes blow overhead.

It rained lightly while I took my lunchtime walk, but I didn't get very wet.

Umpire -- March 28, 2009

Tuesday I was a little early for the bus going home so I walked up to Market. A guy who plays the saxophone said I looked like an umpire. Thursday a receptionist told me I looked like an umpire. Next week I'll wear khaki pants.

Today relatives came from out of town. We met at the Cliff House for lunch. It was bright and sunny out to about 45th Avenue. Then there was fog. It was comfortable sitting outside waiting for a table.

Good Shepherd had a Lenten reconcilliation service at 3:30. There were a lot of people, so it barely finished before 5 o'cl0ck mass. We were eucharistic ministers. At the end, Father Vince announced that he had received an obedience letter from the Franciscans, so he's off to Los Angeles in August. After mass there was a ministry fair. My wife worked the table for the school.

Visitors -- December 7, 2008

Yesterday family visited from out of town. We went to the Cliff House for breakfast/lunch. I think this is the first time I have eaten there since the remodeling. We were upstairs. The food was good. It was windy and cold outside.

We took two young ones downtown. They enjoyed looking at the painted Victorians in the Western Addition. Fifth and Mission was very crowded, but we found a space. We went across the street to the San Francisco Center. Under the Emporium dome, we told them about the Roof Rides. Then we walked up Powell. They were interested in the guy with the "Jesus Saves" signs and the other guy who preaches with the loudspeaker. We watched a cable car turn around.

We looked at the animals in the windows at Macys. We went in and looked at the Christmas stuff on the first floor. Then we visited the FAO Schwarz stuff on five.

We went to Union Square and took a photo with a guy dressed as the Grinch, then went to See's Candy.

Everyone got together for dinner at the Outback Steak House near Serramonte.

I was sad to read that Forrest J Ackerman, creator of Famous Monsters of Filmland

had passed away. I enjoyed reading it when I was in grammar school.

Pacquiao beat De La Hoya. The pay-per-view people are probably very unhappy.

Golden Gate Park News -- November 5, 2007

Here is an old postcard of the Dutch Windmill, near the beach in Golden Gate Park, to illustrate a pair of interesting items.

-- Northbound traffic on the Great Highway was always backed up from the end of JFK Drive during times of heavy traffic because the city had installed a stop sign there, very close between Fulton Street and the exit from Beach Chalet. I was very happy a couple of weeks ago to see that they had activated stop lights at JFK. Traffic has been smooth for the last two weeks.

-- The Richmond (District) Review had a story about a proposal by the San Francisco-Shanghai Sister City Committee to build a traditional walled Chinese garden along Fulton Street from about 31st Avenue to Spreckels Lake. Neighbors are worried about the wall, and that traffic will increase and parking become even worse than it is now. I have mixed feelings on the subject. I like a nice garden, but I worry that the city won't be able to maintain it, and that the wall will be ugly on the outside. I wonder if there is some other place in the city where it would be more appropriate. We need to keep the open spaces we still have in Golden Gate Park.

The Dutch and Muphy windmills were built to pump water from a freshwater acquifer near the beach. The Murphy windmill has been completely taken apart. I hope they will be able to rebuild it.

Cliff House #1 - September 5, 2007

There has been a Cliff House at Land's End in San Francisco since 1863. There is some debate over whether the present structure, shown here not too long after it opened in 1909, is the third or the fourth building. It was recently renovated and I don't care for what the Golden Gate National Recreation Area did with it. The front is almost blank. The inside is unattractive.

When I lived in the city, I used to love to walk out to the Cliff House, especially on extra-foggy days.

Sutro Baths #1 -- June 29, 2007

Sutro Baths was built by Adolph Sutro, San Francisco philanthropist, at the western edge of the city, near Sutro Heights, his home, and the third Cliff House (depending on how you count them), which he built. Both are visible behind the Baths in this postcard.

My grandfather took me to Sutro Baths several times when I was little. The pools had been converted into ice skating rinks. I remember the Egyptian mummies, the Tucker automobile, and Tom Thumb's carriage. Some years before, in 1958, the Baths had appeared in the movie version of The Lineup, directed by Don Siegel.

I was playing in my backyard one day in 1966 when the sky grew dark and ashes started flying overhead. Sutro Baths, which was being demolished to make way for apartments, had caught fire. The mummies and the Tucker and Tom Thumb's carriage had already been removed.

The developer went bankrupt, and the cove where the baths stood is a nice place to hike.

The western edge of San Francisco, around Land's End, has always been one of my favorite places. I will return there in this blog.