San Francisco - Alison Bing [42]
415-346-2000; www.museemechanique.org; Shed A, Pier 45; admission free; 10am-7pm Mon-Fri, to 8pm Sat, Sun & holidays; 47, F; Powell-Mason, Powell-Hyde;
Sinister, freckle-faced Laughing Sal has creeped out kiddies for over a hundred years, but don’t let this manic mannequin deter you from what is the best arcade west of Coney Island. A few quarters lets you start bar brawls in coin-operated Wild West saloons, peep at belly dancers through a vintage Mutoscope, feed the insatiable Ms Pac-Man and get your fortune told by an eerily lifelike wooden swami.
USS PAMPANITO Map
415-775-1943; www.maritime.org/pamphome.htm; Pier 45; adult/child under 6yr/child over 6yr/senior/family (2 adults, 4 children) $9/free/4/5/20; 9am-6pm Sun-Thu, to 8pm Fri & Sat Oct 14-May 23, 9am-8pm Thu-Tue, to 6pm Wed May 24-Oct 13; 19, 32, F; Powell-Hyde
Talk about a survivor: this WWII-era US Navy submarine completed six wartime patrols, sunk six Japanese ships (including two carrying British and Australian POWs), battled three others and lived to tell the tale. Submariners’ stories of tense moments in underwater stealth mode will have you holding your breath – caution claustrophobics – and all those cool brass knobs and mysterious hydraulic valves make 21st-century technology seem way overrated.
AQUARIUM OF THE BAY Map
415-623-5300, 888-732-3483; www.aquariumofthebay.com; Pier 39; adult/senior & child $15.95/8; 9am-8pm daily summer, 10am-6pm Mon-Fri, to 7pm Sat & Sun rest of year; 49, F;
Watch sharks circle overhead, manta rays skate shyly by and seaweed sway all around, as conveyer belts guide you through glass tubes right into the bay. Not for the claustrophobic, perhaps, but the thrilling fish-eye view of San Francisco leaves kids and parents wide-eyed and humming Little Mermaid tunes.
HYDE STREET PIER HISTORIC SHIPS COLLECTION Map
415-561-7100; www.nps.gov/safr; Pier 45, 499 Jefferson St at Hyde St; adult/child under 16yr $5/free; 9:30am-5pm Oct-May, to 7pm Jun-Sep; 19, 32, F; Powell-Hyde
‘Aye, she’s a beauty,’ you’ll growl like a true salty dog once you’ve visited any of the four historic Bay Area boats currently open as museums along Hyde St Pier – especially elegant 1891 schooner Alma and the steamboat Eureka, the world’s largest ferry c 1890. For more mariner action, check out the toylike, steam-powered paddlewheel tugboat Eppleton Hall and the magnificent triple-masted, iron-hulled Balclutha, an 1886 British vessel that brought coal to San Francisco and took grain back to Europe via the dreaded Cape Horn.
SS JEREMIAH O’BRIEN Map
415-544-0100; www.ssjeremiahobrien.com; Pier 45; adult/child under 6yr/child 6-14yr/senior $8/free/4/5; 9am-4pm; 19, F; Powell-Hyde
Hard to believe this 10,000-ton beauty was turned out by San Francisco’s ship workers in under eight weeks, and harder still to imagine how she dodged U-boats on a mission delivering supplies to Allied forces on D-Day. Of 2,710 Liberty Ships launched during WWII, this is the only one still fully operational. For steamy piston-on-piston, 2700HP action, visit during ‘steaming weekends’ (usually the third weekend of each month) or check the website for upcoming four-hour cruises.
SAN FRANCISCO CAROUSEL Map
California Welcome Center 415-981-1280; www.pier39.com; Pier 39, Beach St & the Embarcadero; admission $3; 11am-7pm; F;
Your chariot awaits to whisk you and the kiddies past the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz and other SF landmarks hand-painted on this Italian carousel twinkling with 1800 lights at the bayside end of Pier 39. The old-timey organ carnival music is loud enough to drown out the inevitable tiny tot clinging for dear life to a high-stepping horsey.
SAN FRANCISCO NATIONAL MARITIME MUSEUM Map
415-561-7000; www.maritime.org; 900 Beach St; 19, 49; Powell-Hyde
This quirky museum shaped like a streamlined art deco luxury liner was initially a casino and public bathhouse when built by the Depression-era Works Project Administration (WPA) in 1939. The museum is currently closed while its interior is restored to ship-shape, but you can still appreciate the exterior decor: