San Francisco - Alison Bing [86]
HUNTER S THOMPSON CRASH PAD Map
318 Parnassus Ave; 6, 37, 43, 71, N
How this building survived Hunter S Thompson’s tenancy here in the mid-’60s is anyone’s guess. On the otherwise unremarkable bay-windowed facade, you might notice the odd bullet hole – mementos of parties that invariably degenerated into Hell’s Angels orgies and shoot-outs. Gonzo journalism was born when the inimitable Thompson narrowly survived to tell the tale in his book Hell’s Angels: The Strange and Terrible Saga of the Outlaw Motorcycle Gang, and state his motto: ‘When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.’
Return to beginning of chapter
NOPA & DIVISADERO
Between the Upper and Lower Haight is a buffer zone along Divisadero St. This neighborhood is caught between Cole Valley financial aspirations and a Lower Haight respect for street cred. NoPa restaurants and bars seem conflicted: wanting to attract both a cool, young crowd as well as customers who can afford to leave a decent tip. The main reasons to come here are an odd streak of shops along Divisadero between Fell and Haight Sts, plus some tasty (if not exactly cheap) eats from Ziryab, Bar Crudo and Little Star Pizza.
Return to beginning of chapter
WESTERN ADDITION & ALAMO SQUARE
Aim your camera at Alamo Square Park and the picturesque Victorians lining streets nearby, and your camera trigger-finger is bound to get overworked by all the quaint photo ops. For the obligatory touch of San Francisco eccentricity, walk to the crest of the hill by the public bathrooms to see flowers planted in stray shoes. Western Addition doesn’t have much more to recommend it to visitors, beyond more Victorians and offbeat cafes.
ALAMO SQUARE Map
Hayes & Scott Sts; 21, 22, 24
The finest restaurants in town can’t provide views as spectacular as the picnic tables atop Alamo Square Park facing Steiner St’s Postcard Row, a row of pastel Victorian ‘Painted Lady’ houses with gingerbread detailing and frosting flourishes that may leave you craving dessert. The city skyline looms in the background, and from the corner of Steiner and Fulton Sts you can glimpse City Hall. On the crest of the hill, check out the old shoes creatively reused as planters. On foggy days, you may want to wear a parka – as you can guess from the wind-sculpted pines, it can get a tad blustery up here.
Return to beginning of chapter
HAIGHT FLASHBACK
Walking Tour
1 Buena Vista Park Start your trip back in time with panoramic city views that inspired Victorians to make scandalously bold romantic moves c 1867, and moved surviving San Franciscans to tears after the fire of 1906.
2 Richard Spreckels Mansion The most impressive spot on Buena Vista Ave West, number 731 has a reputation for celebrity that goes back a century. Jack London lived here while writing White Fang; San Francisco’s resident cynic Ambrose Bierce spent his last years here (Click here); Graham Nash took up residence here in the ’70s; most recently, the place was bought by actor Danny Glover.
3 Magnolia Brewpub Heading west on Haight St, you can’t miss this corner microbrewery and organic eatery named after a Grateful Dead song, which hippies may dimly recognize as the site of the infamous Drogstore Café. Pull up a seat at the communal table for a bite and/or a sampler of beer – with any luck, Arrogant Bastard will be on tap.
4 Bound Together Anarchist Book Collective Across Haight St, you may recognize Emma Goldman and Sacco and Vanzetti in the Anarchists of Americas mural – if you don’t, staff can provide you with some scholarly treatises or biographical comics by way of introduction.
5 1235 Masonic Ave At this address, you might once have glimpsed the Simbionese Liberation Army. This was once a safehouse where the SLA is believed to have held Patty Hearst, the kidnapped heiress turned revolutionary bank robber.
* * *
WALK FACTS
Start Buena Vista Park
End Golden Pate Park
Distance 1.3 miles
Time 1½ hours
Exertion Moderate
Fuel stop Magnolia Brewpub