San Francisco

Synopsis

This guide contains an encyclopaedic section on San Francisco, itineraries and a practical section, including addresses and telephone numbers, opening times of museums and details on hotels, bars, restaurants, nightlife, theatres and shopping. The encyclopaedic section takes a look at the natural history and geology of the area, including the San Andreas fault and the San Francisco bay, the countryside, flora and fauna, tree species and migrants such as whales; history - early history, the gold rush, the 1906 earthquake and fire, the arrival of the railroad; architecture - from Mexican village to the arrival of the skyscrapers of the Financial District, a city that has kept both its Mediterranean and Victorian European roots; lifestyle - ethnic cuisines, fiestas, art and music; San Francisco as seen by writers and by artists - Richard Dana, Mark Twain, Rudyard Kipling, Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg and Jack London. The book also includes 17 detailed itineraries through the city and immediate surroundings including Oakland and Berkeley, Jackson Square (formerly Barbary Coast), Chinatown, North Beach, Little Italy, Fisherman's Wharf, Alcatraz, Nob Hill, Russian Hill, Pacific Heights, Financial District, Union Square, Civic Centre, Golden Gate Promenade and Park, Haight-Asbury, SoMa, Mission and Castro. Thematic spreads present the principal museums, the Beat Generation, the Bohemian Club, historic ships, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Modern Art Museum, the Avery Brundage collection, the Palace of Fine Arts, the Panama Pacific Exhibition and the life-style of Haight-Asbury.