Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Bay Bridge
San Francisco's other landmark bridge was inspired by a madman. Joshua Norton lost his
shirt and his mind in the Gold Rush before proclaiming himself 'Emperor of these United
States and Protector of Mexico,' and ordering construction of a trans-bay bridge in 1872.
Taxpayers took some convincing: the Bay Bridge was completed in 1936. But the eastern
span collapsed in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, taking 12 years and $6.4 billion to re-
pair.
Emperor Norton's idea seemed not quite so bright anymore - until artist Leo Villareal
installed 25,000 LED lights along the western span, mesmerizing commuters with a
1.8-mile-long light show that shimmers and pulses in never-repeating patterns. The show
runs from dusk until 2am nightly until March 2015 - but a crowdfunding campaign may
keep the lights twinkling through 2026. For more, see thebaylights.org.
Don''t Mis
t Miss…
Saloons The Barbary Coast is roaring back to life with historically researched whiskey
cocktails and staggering gin concoctions in San Francisco's great Western saloon reviv-
al ( Click here ) .
Rooftop-garden cuisine SF chefs are raising the roof on hyperlocal fare with ingredi-
ents raised right upstairs: city-bee honey at Jardinière , edible pansies at Coi , herbs at
farm:table , and salad greens to feed the homeless at Glide Memorial .
Green everything Recent reports rank San Francisco as the greenest city in North
America, with its pioneering parklets, citywide composting laws and America's biggest
stretch of urban greenery: Golden Gate Park .
SF's Best Free…
Music Golden Gate Park hosts free concerts summer through fall, from opera and reg-
gae to Hardly Strictly Bluegrass.
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