San Francisco - Alison Bing [51]
Streetcar The aboveground F streetcar makes stops at Civic Center and in the Tenderloin, and underground streetcars J, K, L, M and N all stop at Civic Center and Van Ness Ave (along the western edge of Civic Center).
Parking Public parking is available at the garage at 5th and Mission Sts.
* * *
The gold leafing on the dome’s exterior is a reminder of dot-com-era excess. But from the inside, the splendid rotunda has ringing acoustics, and if that dome could talk, it would tell of triumph and tragedy.
Anti-McCarthy sit-in protesters were hosed off the grand staircase in 1960, but finally ran McCarthy out of town; Harvey Milk was assassinated here in 1978; and the cheers heard around the world in 2004 were from families and friends of the 4037 same-sex couples who celebrated their marriages here, thanks to Mayor Newsom’s short-lived challenge to California state marriage law. Take the elevator one flight down to discover intriguing public art exhibits, which range from photographs of senior subcultures to art by the blind.
Free docent tours of City Hall meet at the tour kiosk near the Van Ness entrance, but City Hall is best seen in action. If you want insight into how San Francisco government works – or doesn’t, as the case may be – the Board of Supervisors meets Tuesdays at 2pm in City Hall; check the agenda and minutes online. Theoretically, visitors may be removed for ‘boisterous’ behavior, but this being San Francisco, democracy in action can get pretty rowdy without fazing seen-it-all security guards.
SAN FRANCISCO MAIN LIBRARY Map
415-557-4400; http://sfpl.lib.ca.us; 100 Larkin St; 10am-6pm Mon & Sat, 9am-8pm Tue-Thu, noon-6pm Fri, noon-5pm Sun; admission free; 5, 6, 7, 21, 31, 71, F, J, K, L, M, N; & Civic Center;
In the early 1990s, every bookish citizen in SF was excited about plans to build a new main library, which had previously been located in what is now the Asian Art Museum. The old building had myriad problems keeping up with technology, and the museum needed a new home for its burgeoning collection. Sounds like a perfect fit, right? Wrong. Critics, such as acclaimed author Nicholson Baker, have accused the library of thowing away many books to accommodate the its new architecture. Claims that the library administration contradicts.
Despite the controversy, the project has on many levels been a success the vast skylight dome sheds plenty of light through the building. And this being San Francisco, the library actively appeals to broad audiences – to wit the African American Center, Chinese Center, the James C Hormel Gay & Lesbian Center and the Center for San Francisco History. Besides its eclectic collection of San Franciscans and (some of) their favorite books, the library quietly boasts an excellent high-profile author-reading and lecture series, plus intriguing ephemera exhibits in the 6th-floor Skylight Gallery.
Artistic touches include Alice Aycock’s spiral staircase between the 5th and 6th floors, and artist Ann Chamberlain’s 2nd-floor wallpaper made of cards from the old card catalog, with running commentary provided by 200 San Franciscans. Just don’t go looking for all those books listed on the cards.
LUGGAGE STORE GALLERY Map
415-255-5971; www.luggagestoregallery.org; 1007 Market St; admission free; noon-5pm Wed-Sat; 5, 6, 7, 21, 31, 71, F, J, K, L, M, N; & Civic Center
A dandelion pushing through cracks in the sidewalk, this plucky nonprofit gallery has brought signs of life to one of the toughest blocks in the Tenderloin for more than 20 years. The art that sprawls out across the spacious 2nd-floor gallery rises above the street without losing sight of it – this space was the launching pad for renowned graffiti satirists.
Two Luggage Store regulars you might recognize around town are Rigo, who did the ‘One Tree’ mural that looks like a one-way sign by the 101 Fwy on-ramp in SoMa, and Brazilian duo Ogemeos, who did the mural of a defiant kid holding a lit firecracker atop the gallery