Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
and Albert Einstein . @ 25 min. 1100
California St. (at Taylor St.) www.
gracecathedral.org. y 415/749-
6300. Free admission. Mon-Fri 7am-
6pm, Sat 8am-6pm, Sun 7am-7pm.
Bus: 1. Cable car: All lines.
8 = Huntington Park. David
Colton, who also participated in
building the Southern Pacific Rail-
road, had his mansion here until he
sold it to Collis Huntington in 1892.
The mansion burned following the
1906 quake, and the lot lay empty
for 9 years until Huntington donated
it to the city. Framed by the granite
walls that were once part of the
Colton estate, the park is a lovely
oasis in a very urban section of
town. @ 15 min. Taylor & California
sts. Bus: 1. Cable car: All lines.
9 Nob Hill. This famous hillcrest
neighborhood is named for its once
wealthy residents, or “nabobs” as
the elite of San Francisco were
known. The “Big Four” railroad
barons of the Southern Pacific
Railroad—Leland Stanford, Mark
Hopkins, Charles Crocker, and Collis
Huntington—built their ostenta-
tious mansions here in the late
1870s. They were all destroyed in
the fire following the 1906 quake.
Today some of the city's most
prestigious hotels occupy Nob Hill.
@ 20 min. Taylor & Sacramento sts.
Bus: 1 from Clement St. & 33rd Ave.
to Taylor & Sacramento sts. Visit any
day during daylight hours, although
the view from the Top of the Mark
(see p 124), a fancy penthouse-level
lounge, can also be appreciated at
night.
A view of the Transamerica building from
the top of Nob Hill.
www.cablecarmuseum.com. Free
admission. Daily 10am-5pm; until
6pm Apr-Oct. Closed major holi-
days. Cable car: Powell lines.
7 Grace Cathedral. Following
the destruction of the Crocker man-
sion, Crocker's family donated the
land to the Episcopal Church to
build Grace Cathedral. Completed in
1964, Grace Cathedral is built from
reinforced concrete beaten to
achieve a stonelike effect. Some fea-
tures to look for include the main
doors (stunning replicas of Ghiberti's
bronze Doors of Paradise in the
Baptistry of Florence) and the
Singing Tower to the right of the
main entrance, which has a 44-bell
carillon. Inside, note the organ dat-
ing from 1840 and the impressive
stained-glass windows, some of
which depict such modern figures
as Justice Thurgood Marshall, San
Francisco native poet Robert Frost,
Learn how a cable car
actually works at the
Cable Car Museum.
Search WWH ::




Custom Search