Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Realist, New Deal lobby frescoes, can be admired for free; buy a brochure if you'd
like a description of each artwork—the admission fee is only necessary for the ele-
vator to the top. Probably the easiest way to reach the base, if you can call climbs
of 115 steps easy, is to approach along Filbert Street from Washington Square in
North Beach. Ultimately, it's just an observation deck, even if the view is of one
of the prettiest cities in the world—both major bridges are in full view. For me,
the real satisfaction is the effort it takes to ascend. While you're in the area (and
up those grueling stairs), you might want to try your luck in spotting the Wild
Parrots of Telegraph Hill (see below).
On paper, it sounds awfully dull, but in reality, the Wells Fargo Museum 5
(420 Montgomery St., at California; % 415/396 - 2619; free admission; Mon-Fri
9am-5pm) paints a vivid portrait of early California life by using the company's
once-vital stagecoaches as a centerpiece. For generations, the Wells Fargo wagon
was the West Coast's primary lifeline; if you didn't want to or couldn't afford to
use it (a ticket from Omaha to Sacramento was $300), then you'd be forced to
take a long boat trip around Cape Horn. The curators have done a good job
bringing the past to life by including biographies of some of the grizzled drivers
of the 1800s, posting plenty of old ads, allowing visitors to climb aboard a nine-
seat wagon, furnishing a reproduction of a “mug book” of highway robbers from
the 1870s, and even putting together a sort of CSI: Stagecoach re-created investi-
gation revealing how they'd catch thieves after the fact. Wells Fargo has lost a lot
of its cache in American culture; the Western theme fascinated kids in the 1950s
but faded soon after. This well-assembled, two-story museum (budget about 45
min.) helps restore some of that imagination again. There's a free audio tour, too,
although everything is so well-signed you won't need it.
If Asian art is an interest for you, the grandiosely named Pacific Heritage
Museum (608 Commercial St., at Montgomery; % 415/399 - 1124; www.ibank
united.com/phm; free admission; Tues-Sat 10am-4pm) may have something mod-
est to offer. Its several hushed rooms mount displays of artworks by Asian-descended
The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill
Like the sea lions of Fisherman's Wharf (p. 103), there's another group of
animals nearby that nobody can account for. They're the Wild Parrots of
Telegraph Hill, cherry-headed and blue-crowned conures that, despite
being nonnative species, thrive in a feral flock. No one knows how the
colony began, or exactly when, but if you're lucky enough to spot these
bright green squawkers, consider yourself lucky. They seems to congregate
most often on the northern slope of Telegraph Hill, and to glimpse them,
you'll have to climb the steep steps around there. Those who don't want
to break a sweat can try Washington Square Park, too, since they some-
times hang out there. They certainly require a little more luck and a lot
more work than seeing the see lions does, mostly because they like to keep
their distance from human hands.
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