Nob Hill, Grace Cathedral & die Viktorianische Architektur von San Francisco
San Francisco's Victorian residential architecture — the 'Painted Ladies' and Queen Anne, Eastlake, Italianate and Stick-style Victorian houses built in enormous numbers between the 1860s and 1906 earthquake (when approximately half the city's building stock was destroyed by the earthquake and subsequent fire) — is the most distinctive and celebrated feature of the city's built environment and the visual element that most immediately distinguishes San Francisco from every other American city.
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Grace Cathedral — The American Gothic Cathedral with a Labyrinth
Grace Cathedral (1100 California Street, Nob Hill, construction 1928–1964, the largest Episcopal cathedral in the US west of the Mississippi, Julian Morgan architect) contains the most diverse cultural program of any cathedral in the US — the outdoor labyrinth (Keith Haring's AIDS Memorial Chapel and a replica of the Chartres Cathedral labyrinth, the most photographed architectural feature) and the indoor labyrinth (terrazzo, installed 1994) are the center of the cathedral's contemplative programming; the Ghiberti Doors (bronze replica of the Baptistery doors in Florence) are at the main entrance.
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Huntington Park and the Top of Nob Hill
Huntington Park (1 Taylor Street, Nob Hill, the park on the former site of the Huntington mansion, the finest small park in San Francisco) is surrounded by the most prestigious addresses in the city — the Fairmont Hotel (950 California Street, 1907, the hotel that reopened 11 days after the 1906 earthquake as a symbol of San Francisco's recovery), the Mark Hopkins Inter-Continental (1 Nob Hill, the Top of the Mark cocktail lounge on the 19th floor, $20–25 cocktails but the best 360° view from an indoor bar in San Francisco), and the Pacific-Union Club (the former James Flood mansion, the only brownstone structure in San Francisco).
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Nob Hill Cable Car Turn-Around — Powell and California
The Powell-California intersection (Nob Hill, where the Powell-Hyde and Powell-Mason lines climb the hill and the California Street line crosses at right angles) is the busiest cable car corner in San Francisco — the manually operated cable car turntables (California Street terminus at Market Street and the Powell Street turntable at Market Street) require the crew and waiting passengers to push the car around the circular track by hand; the turntable waiting queue (at Powell and Market, 60–90 minute wait in summer) is the quintessential San Francisco tourist experience.
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Alamo Square Victorian Row — The Painted Ladies Context
The Painted Ladies (seven Victorian houses at Steiner and Hayes Streets facing Alamo Square Park) are the city's most famous Victorian row — the houses (built by developer Matthew Kavanaugh, 1892–1896, Italianate style, painted in 3+ colours as the Victorian fashion dictated) were used for the opening credits of Full House (1987–1995) and have been photographed more than any other residential block in the US; the surrounding Alamo Square neighbourhood (40-block historic district, 1,400 Victorian houses) is the best preserved large-scale Victorian residential environment in California; the 'Painted Ladies' name was invented by journalist Elizabeth Pomada and Michael Larsen in a 1978 book.
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Pacific Heights — The Wealthiest Neighbourhood's Architecture
Pacific Heights (the residential ridge between Van Ness and Divisadero, the most exclusive neighbourhood in San Francisco) contains the finest concentration of architect-designed Victorian and Edwardian private houses in the US — the Haas-Lilienthal House (2007 Franklin Street, 1886, the only private Victorian house in San Francisco regularly open for tours, $15) and the Spreckels Mansion (2080 Washington Street, the 1913 Beaux-Arts mansion where the sugar magnate Adolph Spreckels lived, now owned by writer Danielle Steel) represent the two eras; the panoramic view of the Bay from the Broadway summit is a daily neighbourhood reward.
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Chinatown to North Beach — The Neighbourhood Boundary Walk
The boundary between Chinatown (south of Broadway) and North Beach (north of Broadway) is one of San Francisco's most culturally charged streets — the 1906 earthquake killed an estimated 3,000 people in the Chinatown district (official records undercounted Chinese victims by design); the subsequent rebuilding of Chinatown in an exoticized 'Oriental' architectural style (pagoda rooflines, lanterns, and decorative gates) was designed by the community to appeal to tourist dollars and prevent relocation by city authorities who wanted the Chinatown land; the Dragon Gate (Grant Avenue at Bush Street, 1970) marks the entrance.