Frommer's San Francisco 2012 - Matthew Poole [151]
A game of mah-jongg in Portsmouth Square.
Once you’ve had your fill of the square, exit to the east at Kearny Street. Directly across the street, at 750 Kearny St., is the Holiday Inn. Cross the street, enter the hotel, and take the elevator to the third floor, where you’ll find the:
20 Chinese Culture Center
This center is oriented toward both the community and tourists, offering interesting display cases of Chinese art and a gallery with rotating exhibits of Asian art and writings. The center is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10am to 4pm.
When you leave the Holiday Inn, take a left on Kearny Street and go 3 short blocks to Commercial Street. Take a left onto Commercial and note that you are standing on the street once known as the site of:
21 Joshua A. Norton’s Home
Norton, the self-proclaimed “Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico,” used to walk around the streets in an old brass-buttoned military uniform, sporting a hat with a “dusty plume.” He lived in a fantasy world, and San Franciscans humored him at every turn.
Norton was born around 1815 in the British Isles and sailed as a young man to South Africa, where he served as a colonial rifleman. He came to San Francisco in 1849 with $40,000 and proceeded to double and triple his fortune in real estate. Unfortunately for him, he next chose to go into the rice business. While Norton was busy cornering the market and forcing prices up, several ships loaded with rice arrived unexpectedly in San Francisco’s harbor. The rice market was suddenly flooded, and Norton was forced into bankruptcy. He left San Francisco for about 3 years and must have experienced a breakdown (or revelation) of some sort, for upon his return, Norton thought he was an emperor.
Instead of ostracizing him, however, San Franciscans embraced him as their own homegrown lunatic and gave him free meals.
When Emperor Norton died in 1880 (while sleeping at the corner of California St. and Grant Ave.), approximately 10,000 people passed by his coffin, which was bought with money raised at the Pacific Union Club, and more than 30,000 people participated in the funeral procession. Today you won’t see a trace of his character, but it’s fun to imagine him cruising the street.
From here, if you’ve still got an appetite, you should go directly to 631 Kearny St. (at Clay St.), home of the R&G Lounge.
22 Take a Break
The R&G Lounge is a sure thing for tasty $5 rice-plate specials, chicken with black-bean sauce, and gorgeously tender and tangy R&G Special Beef.
Otherwise, you might want to backtrack on Commercial Street to Grant Avenue, take a left, and follow Grant back to Bush Street, the entrance to Chinatown. You’ll be at the beginning of the Union Square area, where you can catch any number of buses (especially on Market St.) or cable cars, or do a little shopping. Or you might backtrack to Grant, take a right (north), and follow Grant to the end. You’ll be at Broadway and Columbus, the beginning of North Beach, where you can venture onward for our North Beach tour (see below).
A spicy crab dish at the R&G Lounge.
WALKING TOUR 2: GETTING TO KNOW NORTH BEACH
START: Intersection of Montgomery Street, Columbus Avenue, and Washington Street.
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION: Bus no. 10, 12, 15, 30X, or 41.
FINISH: Washington Square.
TIME: 3 hours, including a stop for lunch.
BEST TIMES: Monday through Saturday between 11am and 4pm.
WORST TIMES: Sunday, when shops are closed.
HILLS THAT COULD KILL: The Montgomery Street hill from Broadway to Vallejo streets; otherwise, this is an easy walk.
Along with Chinatown, North Beach is one of the city’s oldest neighborhoods. Originally the Latin Quarter, it became the city’s Italian district when Italian immigrants moved “uphill” in the early 1870s, crossing Broadway from the Jackson Square area and settling in. They quickly established restaurants, cafes, bakeries, and other businesses familiar to them from their homeland. The “Beat Generation” helped put North Beach on the map, with the likes of Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg holding