Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
A 90-Minute Walk around Aquatic Park
Side by side on San Francisco's northern waterfront, Aquatic
Park and Fort Mason offer some fascinating glimpses into the
city's past, especially its colorful history as a seaport. There are
no cars here, just walkers, cyclists, and skaters sharing lushly
overgrown paths. The route winds past historic ships moored
in the bay, Depression-era swim clubs, Gold Rush cottages,
and military installations dating from Spanish colonial times
to World War II. You can swim if you don't mind the chilly bay
water, fish for crabs, paddle off a small beach, or just stop to
admire the view and picnic in one of the many grassy spots.
For more details
see pages 74-5 and 80-83.
the Hyde Street cable
car turntable on your
left. In flower-filled
Victorian Park
4
street musicians
perform. There is a
pair of whitewashed
clapboard buildings
5
Marina Green and Fort Mason
on the sandy
beach to your right,
which house the
South End and
Dolphin swimming
and rowing clubs.
Fort Mason
Center
e
Aquatic Park
Continue westward to
the broad Golden Gate
Promenade, popular
with joggers, cyclists,
and skaters. This right-
of-way follows the old
Belt Line railroad,
which once ran along
the Embarcadero from the
wharves and warehouses of
China Basin and Potrero Hill to
Fort Mason and the Presidio.
On the left is a large building
known as the Casino
6
, built in
1939 as a public bathing club.
Since 1951 it has been the West
Coast home of the Maritime
National Historical Park Visitors'
Center
(see p83)
, which has been
renovated and expanded. Look
out for the exhibit showcasing
the city's historic waterfront.
West of the Casino is a topiary
sign spelling out “Aquatic Park.”
Behind this are red-and-white
plastic-roofed
bocce
ball courts.
The old dock and boathouse
7
to your right are used on
weekends by sea scouts
learning seamanship. Continue
along the waterfront to the
Great
Meadow
w
Ships moored in Aquatic Park
Hyde Street Pier
Begin at the seaward end of
Hyde Street Pier
1
. Until 1938,
when the opening of the
Golden Gate Bridge made it
obsolete, this pier was the
center of activity on the city's
northern waterfront. It is now
part of the San Francisco
Maritime National Historical
Park, used as a mooring for a
collection of historic ships
(see
p83)
. Among these is a
handsome steam-powered
ferry boat, the
Eureka
2
, built
in 1890. The ship is full of old
cars and ephemera from 1941,
the last year it was in service.
From the landward end of the
pier, where there is a book-
store
3
operated by the
National Park Service, walk
west along the waterfront past
Boat building in progress on Hyde
Street Pier
1
