San Francisco - Alison Bing [90]
SUTRO BATHS Map
sunrise-sunset; 5, 18, 31, 38
All good things must come to an end, but the Sutro Baths make a particularly splendid ruin. In its heyday, Victorian dandies and working stiffs converged here for a bracing bath and workout in itchy wool rental swimsuits. Mining magnate and populist mayor Adolph Sutro built hot and cold indoor pools to accommodate 25,000 frolicking unwashed masses in 1896, but the masses apparently preferred dirt, and the place was finally closed in 1952. Follow the path through the sea-cave archway at low tide for an end-of-the-world view of Marin.
CLIFF HOUSE Map
415-386-3330; www.cliffhouse.com; 1090 Point Lobos Ave; admission free; 18
Populist millionaire Adolph Sutro imagined this place as a working-man’s paradise, and in 1863 it already provided a much-needed escape from the tenements and tawdriness of Downtown. But by 1869 Sutro’s dream had expanded the Cliff House to an elegant eight-story resort with art galleries, dining rooms and an observation deck. It miraculously survived the 1906 earthquake, only to be destroyed by fire the following year. The 1909 replacement didn’t match the original, and was mostly popular for its bar and restaurant.
The latest attempt to reclaim former glory was in 2004, when a $19 million facelift turned the Cliff House into an upscale (read: overpriced) restaurant with all the charm of a fast-food outlet. Sutro would not be pleased, though two of the area’s popular attractions remain: views of sea lions blithely frolicking among the seagull guano on Seal Rock, and the Camera Obscura ( 415-750-0415; www.giantcamera.com; 1090 Point Lobos Ave; admission $3; 11am-sunset), a Victorian invention that projects the sea view outside onto a parabolic screen inside a small building.
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TRANSPORTATION: GOLDEN GATE PARK & THE AVENUES
Bus Numbers 1 and 38 run from Downtown to the Richmond. Buses 5 and 21 head from Downtown along the north edge of Golden Gate Park. Bus 71 hooks around Golden Gate Park on the Sunset side, while number 2 runs the length of Clement St from Arguello Blvd past the Legion of Honor.
Streetcar The N train runs from Downtown, through the Sunset to Ocean Beach.
Parking There’s a small lot near the MH de Young Memorial Museum in Golden Gate Park; otherwise, curb-side parking is available in the park.
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COLUMBARIUM Map
415-771-0717; www.neptune-society.com; 1 Loraine Ct btwn Stanyan St & Arguello Blvd (off Anza St); 8am-5pm Mon-Fri, 9:30am-3pm Sat & Sun; 5, 21, 31, 33, 38
The ancient Roman innovation of memorial buildings for cremated remains came in handy in San Francisco in 1898, when real estate was already hitting a premium on the seven-by-seven peninsula. The neoclassical Columbarium was abandoned to raccoons and mushrooms from 1934 until 1979, when it was rescued by the Neptune Society, a cremation advocacy group. The restored, resplendent domed Columbarium is lined with Art Nouveau stained-glass windows and more than 5000 niches, honoring dearly beloved friends, dogs and rabbits.
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THE SUNSET
The area south of the park down to Sloat Blvd (which runs past Stern Grove) and west from Stanyan St to the ocean is known as the Sunset District, a mostly residential area filled with pastel-colored stucco homes built between the 1930s and the 1950s. Since those days, the Sunset has earned a reputation for its ethnic eateries and surf hangouts. Ocean Beach bounds the district on the west, and Lake Merced and Fort Funston await exploration to the south.
OCEAN BEACH Map
415-556-8371; sunrise-sunset; 5, 23, 31, 38, 48, 71, N
Bikinis, Elvis sing-alongs and clambakes are not the scene here – think more along the lines of wetsuits, pagan rituals and s’mores (toasted marshmallow treats). Bonfires are permitted in the artist-designed fire pits, but be