Benny Bufano #15 -- February 28, 2012

Benny Bufano produced many Madonna and Child-type sculptures.  People often compare them to missiles.  This one, Peace, stands by Brotherhood Way, on a bit of lawn I have never been able to get to.  The child has four eyes.  It was installed at the airport in1958.  In 1996, because of airport expansion, it got moved to Brotherhood Way. 

I took the photo on 31-January-2011. 

CHS Paint Job -- February 27, 2012

I took this photo on 14-February-2012 when the California Historical Society was covered with scaffolding. It was being painted red and I thought it looked like the color of the Golden Gate Bridge. Sunday's Pink Section had an article about new director Anthea Hartig, who had to get the show about the 75th anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge together in four months. According to the story: "Interim Director Mary Morganti hazarded a calming joke. 'Well, you know you could always paint the building International Orange.'"

Revenue Cutters -- February 26, 2012

This week Admiral Robert Papp, commandant of the Coast Guard, unveiled three new cutters in Alameda. This image, from the 14-April-1895 San Francisco Call, shows two famous Revenue Cutters, the the Rush and the Bear, in San Francisco Bay. The Bear was preparing to sail to patrol the Bering Sea.

William A Coulter did many maritime drawings for the newspaper. Click on the image to see a larger version.

It's Hard Work Being a Cat #56 -- February 25, 2012

I took the photo on 18-February-2012. 

Ghost Sign #4 -- February 24, 2012

The Flag Makers/Emerson Manufacturing Company sign is just off of Natoma, between New Montgomery and Third.  It is in an open space that is going to be destroyed when the Museum of Modern Art expands.  I don't know what is going to happen to the sign.  This has been a favorite of mine since I started working in the neighborhood many years ago.  It used to be easily visible from Third Street after they tore down the old buildings on Third and before they built the museum and the W Hotel. 

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Today at the Petaluma Depot, there was a groundbreaking ceremony for SMART (Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit), which will operate DMUs on the Northwestern Pacific right-of-way. Phase One will go from the Larkspur Ferry Landing to Santa Rosa. Phase Two will extend to Cloverdale:
http://www.sonomamarintrain.org/#

Old Clam House 150 -- February 23, 2012

The Old Clam House on Bayshore Boulevard is celebrating its 150th anniversary tonight.  It is still in its original building, something which the few older restaurants in San Francisco cannot claim.  I haven't eaten there in 20 years.

Happy Birthday, President Washington #4 - February 22, 2012

Our indispensable man.

Today is also Ash Wednesday.  

Happy Mardi Gras #2 -- February 21, 2012

Today is Mardi Gras. In honor of Mardi Gras, here is a photo of New Orleans trumpet king Louis Armstrong. He appeared on the cover of the 21-February-1949 Time Magazine.That year he was chosen as King of Zulu by the Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club of New Orleans, hosts of the Zulu Parade.

Happy Presidents' Day #4 -- February 20, 2012

"For twelve years this nation was afflicted with hear-nothing, see-nothing, do-nothing government. The nation looked to government but the government looked away. Nine mocking years with the golden calf and three long years of the scourge! Nine crazy years at the ticker and three long years in the breadlines! Nine mad years of mirage and three long years of despair! Powerful influences strive today to restore that kind of government with its doctrine that that government is best which is most indifferent.

"For nearly four years you have had an administration which instead of twirling its thumbs has rolled up its sleeves. We will keep our sleeves rolled up.

"We had to struggle with the old enemies of peace: business and financial monopoly, speculation, reckless banking, class antagonism, sectionalism, war profiteering.

"They had begun to consider the Government of the United States as a mere appendage to their own affairs. We know now that government by organized money is just as dangerous as government by organized mob.

"Never before in all our history have these forces been so united against one candidate as they stand today. They are unanimous in their hate for me, and I welcome their hatred."


President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 31-October-1936.  

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Today is also the 50th anniversary of John Glenn's Earth orbit aboard Friendship 7.

Metreon, Yerba Buena Gardens, Cartoon Art Museum -- February 18, 2012

It was cold and windy today.

The cat jumped on the bed to wake us.  We went downstairs and found that Turner Classic Movies was showing M. Hulot's Holiday.  After breakfast, we drove downtown to Fifth and Mission.  We went to the Metreon, which recently reopened after extensive remodeling, which is still going on.  We had lunch at the San Francisco Soup Company.  We went upstairs and took some pictures, like the one above, showing the Museum of Modern Art and Timothy Pflueger's Pacific Telephone Building. We walked around Yerba Buena Gardens and took more photos.

I didn't notice any problems caused by this weekend's Bay Bridge closure. 

We went to the Cartoon Art Museum. They had an exhibit of art related to the Wizard of Oz, from a comic strip that L Frank Baum wrote and a 1930s comic strip, to more recent comic books and graphic novels. My daughter has been enjoying the Marvel graphic novels. They also had an exhibit of contemporary comic strips, including Pearls Before Swine and Lio. 

We went to 5 o'clock mass at Good Shepherd, then had dinner at Guerrero's Taqueria.

The Highest Priced Picture Ever Shown in Corpus Christi! -- February 17, 2012

This week at the AMUSU (think about it) Theater in Corpus Christi, TX, Charlie Chaplin in The Kid, supported by Jack Coogan, also a Snub Pollard comedy and Literary Digest Topics of the Day.  Wow, what a show.  Chaplin's young costar was usually called Jackie Coogan; his dad was billed as Jack Coogan.   I wonder if The Kid was really "The Highest Priced Picture Ever Shown in Corpus Christi!"

From the 04-July-1921 Corpus Christi Caller.Be sure to click on the image to see a larger version.

Door #19 -- February 15, 2012

Architect Julia Morgan redesigned the doorway of the Hearst Building at Third and Market Streets in San Francisco. 

Happy Saint Valentine's Day #5 -- February 14, 2012

Happy Saint Valentine's Day, everyone.

Singer and actress Marie McDonald posts a Defense Bond.  These were issued before the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor.  Then they were called War Bonds.  Marie McDonald sang with Tommy Dorsey's band, then went into the movies.

Nickname #11 -- February 13, 2012

Theodore Roosevelt, the Trust Buster, the Hero of San Juan Hill, TR. One of my favorite Presidents.

From the Theodore Roosevelt Association's wonderful website: http://www.theodoreroosevelt.org/

Happy Birthday, President Lincoln #5 -- February 12, 2012

Today is Abraham Lincoln's 203rd birthday. My favorite president.

"There is no honorable way to kill, no gentle way to destroy. There is nothing good in war. Except its ending." 

I took this photo of a poster by Eddie Colla on 13-January-2010.

Gung Hay Fat Choy #5 -- February 11, 2012

Gum Lung,  the Golden Dragon, sits in an empty storefront on Market near Kearny, patiently waiting for the parade to begin.  This is his year.  The reflections in the store windows make it a hard spot to take a photo.  I took this one on 03-February-2012.

This morning we went to Stanford Shopping Center.  We had lunch at Melt, a restaurant that serves only grilled cheese sandwiches and soup.  The food was good.  

After 5 o'clock mass, we went to Kay Heung #2 and got some Chinese food. Then we went home and watched the Chinese New Year parade.

Alley #28 -- February 10, 2012

Sproule Lane runs from Sacramento Street to Clay Street, between Mason and Taylor streets. On the other side of Sacramento, Cushman Street runs towards California Street:
http://cablecarguy.blogspot.com/2011/12/alley-26-december-12-2011.html

I don't know why the two parts of what is apparently the same street have different names.  I wonder if it started out as one street and part of it got renamed after a famous resident. 

I took this photo from Sacramento Street on 14-September-2011.

Booker T Washington -- February 9, 2012

Educator Booker T Washington was very influential in the African American community and in the wider culture in the early 20th Century.

Doctor Peter Henri Van Der Weyde wrote the series of articles which gave this blog its name. Among his many accomplishments was taking some of the first Daguerreotypes in the United States. PH's grandson, William Manley Van der Weyde, took this photo of Booker T Washington, which was published in Putnam's Monthly Magazine, October, 1907.

Charles Dickens 200 -- February 7, 2012

Happy 200th birthday, Boz (pronounced like "nose").  Some years ago I decided to read or reread all of Charles Dickens' novels, even Barnaby Rudge and Martin Chuzzlewit, during my commute.  I don't remember how long it took, but it was worthwhile.  I still have to read some short stories and Christmas stories.

Firehouse #52 -- February 6, 2012

Enigine 22 is a modern station at 16th Avenue and Irving. I took the photo on 10-January-2011.

Train Station #43 -- February 5, 2012

The Reno Amtrak station was built next to the 1926 Southern Pacific station as part of the ReTRAC project, which put the tracks underground through downtown Reno.

Sunset in Pacifica -- February 4, 2012

I didn't get to take a photo tonight after we left 5 o'clock mass at Good Shepherd, but I took this one last week, 28-January-2012.  I used my camera phone so it is a little fuzzy.

The Fantastic Soirées of Robert-Houdin - February 3, 2012

Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin is often called the father of modern magic.  He introduced the practice of performing in evening wear.  He trained as a watchmaker and developed an interest in conjuring.  He built many famous automata and created many famous mechanical illusions, like the orange tree.

This program, from Robert-Houdin's 03-July-1845, the first show at his Théâtre Robert-Houdin in Paris, was reproduced in The Old and the New Magic by Henry Ridgely Evans, 1906.  According to Robert-Houdin's memoir, this show was a flop. Georges Méliès later managed the Théâtre Robert-Houdin.  Harry Houdini derived his stage name from Robert-Houdin.

Happy Groundhog Day #3 -- February 2, 2012

Happy Groundhog Day to all. This groundhog doesn't look too happy.

First Flight Across the Bay -- February 1, 2012

James Radley made the first flight across San Francisco Bay, from the city to Oakland.  He flew in a Blériot monoplane.  The lower photo shows him flying past the cruiser Pennsylvania.  Eugene Ely would land on a platform erected on the bow of the ship a few days later.  From the 16-January-1911 San Francisco Call.