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| Doggie Diner Statues |
1) Peephole Cinema: A Hole in the Wall (280 Orange Alley)
Only a tiny sign with an eyeball dangling from it lets you know when you've arrived at the Peephole Cinema. It plays continuous short silent films for anyone willing to look into this hole in the wall. You can see another early motion picture device, the Mutoscope, at the Musee Mecanique at Fisherman's Wharf.
2) Secret Stairs
San Francisco is certainly a vertical city, but it's also a great one to explore on foot. To conquer some of our famous hills, your best bet is to take the stairs. All throughout San Francisco's many unique neighborhoods, there are staircases that make for spectacular shortcuts. Some are well-known, favorite photo spots, like the Lincoln Steps or the stairs to Macondray Lane. Others are a bit more of a closely guarded local secret, like the aptly-named Hidden Steps at 16th Street. How many can you find?
San Francisco is certainly a vertical city, but it's also a great one to explore on foot. To conquer some of our famous hills, your best bet is to take the stairs. All throughout San Francisco's many unique neighborhoods, there are staircases that make for spectacular shortcuts. Some are well-known, favorite photo spots, like the Lincoln Steps or the stairs to Macondray Lane. Others are a bit more of a closely guarded local secret, like the aptly-named Hidden Steps at 16th Street. How many can you find?
3) A True Sense-ation: Audium (1616 Bush St.)
Created by a team of classically trained musicians, Audium is a "theater of sculptured sound." Visitors sit in complete darkness and are treated to a symphony created from everyday noises like wind gusts, horns, and whispers, played through 176 speakers hidden in the walls, ceilings, and floors. It's a surprising and popular way to disconnect in the digital age and let your imagination take hold.
4) Squeezebox City: San Francisco's Surprising Official Instrument
San Francisco's icons are all a bit unusual—an orange bridge, a crooked street—but there might be nothing more unusual than the City's official instrument: the piano accordion. As stated in the City's proclamation on the matter, the first piano accordion was manufactured here in San Francisco in 1907. Originally, accordions had buttons until a pianist suggested replacing them with piano keys. This new accordion was showcased at San Francisco's Panama-Pacific Exhibition in 1915. The Chicken Dance would never be the same!
To get your hands on a genuine Bay Area piano accordion, visit Smythe's Accordion Center in Oakland. It's free to peruse the instruments, but Smythe's takes no responsibility for how your roommates may react should you bring an accordion home as your souvenir.
5) Hot Dog!: Larger-Than-Life Doggie Diner Statues (Treasure Island)
Mannie, Moe and Jack are fiberglass statues that live on Treasure Island, the last turnoff on the Bay Bridge before you leave San Francisco. Born in 1948, these dogs grew up working and rotating on poles in front of Doggie Diner, a hot dog chain in San Francisco and Oakland.
When the restaurants closed in 1986, there were about 30 of the dog heads left, most of which were thrown away. San Francisco resident John Law rescued three of the smiling dogs, who are now enjoying retirement posing for Instagram and occasionally appearing at non-profit events.
6) How the Bay was Saved: The Bay Model Visitors Center (2100 Bridgeway, Sausalito)
In the 1950s, actor John Reber came up with the idea of damming San Francisco Bay to form a series of freshwater lakes. Congress took Reber's plan so seriously that it gave the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers millions of dollars to investigate its feasibility.
The Army created the Bay Model to simulate the region's watersheds in various conditions. Tests proved that the Reber Plan was a disastrous idea and the bay was saved. The Army keeps the Bay Model as a museum and as an educational tool. It now lives in a warehouse that is open to visitors along Sausalito's stunning waterfront.
At age 17, Ruth Wertzberger Carlson moved to the Bay Area and has been in love with the city ever since. In her book, "Secret San Francisco: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure", Ruth uncovers stories and secrets that even San Francisco natives might not know.
LEARN MORE ABOUT RUTH CARLSON
SAN FRANCISCO VISITOR INFORMATION CENTER
749 Howard St.
San Francisco, CA 94103
Phone: (415) 391‑2000
Fax: (415) 362‑7323
749 Howard St.
San Francisco, CA 94103
Phone: (415) 391‑2000
Fax: (415) 362‑7323
The Holiday and Travel Magazine
https://theholidayandtravelmagazine.blogspot.com.au
https://theholidayandtravelmagazine.blogspot.com.au
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