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Published: December 16th 2009
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San Francisco has buses, trolleys, and cable cars so one doesn't need a car in order to get around that city. A car is actually a lot of trouble to drive and park in San Francisco. One way to spend a few hours is to take a tour of Alcatraz. The boat left from one of the piers off of the Embarcadero and took only about twenty minutes to get to the island. Once there, we listened to an indoctrination by one of the park rangers and proceeded to the small theater where we viewed a film about the island's history. It was established as a military base and the army had cannon to guard the harbor. Following that, it became a military prison and, later, a federal prison. Somewhere along the way, a lighthouse was built and still stands. There's also one of the guard towers still standing. Only one of the military cannon still remains. One can check out an audio tape and listen to it while wandering around the island. Imagine walking down the same cellblock where infamous criminals such as Al Capone were housed. The messhall where they ate is available for viewing. The audio tape gives
the tourist a lot of the history of this historic place. As I wandered around the island on a cold, windy December morning, I couldn't help but wander how they coped with the boredom and lonliness. A former inmate, Darwin E. Coon, sits in the gift shop signing copies of his book, Alcatraz: The true end of the line, which is a story about his life and how he came to spend several years on the island. After a couple of hours on the island, we boarded the boat for our ride back to the mainland and, once there, headed for Fishermans Wharf for a seafood meal.
Coit Tower was built in 1933 from funds left by Lillie Hitchcock Coit who was a lifelong resident, and philantrophist, of San Francisco. She love the fire department and would go on calls with the firemen. When she died, she left a huge sum of money to the city and the 210 foot tower was built from some of the funds that she left. An elevator takes one almost to the top. Following that, there are a couple of flights of stairs to climb. Once at the top, the observer has a
great view of the city. You can see the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz island, Fishermans Wharf, and all of the other beautiful areas of the city. The place also has murals around the top which are quite attractive. There is a statue of Christopher Colombus in front. It is easy to get to and a bus lets one off in front.
The next morning we toured the SS Jeremiah O'Brien, a WWII liberty ship, and one of the only two remaining of the 2700 that were built during the war. It even gets underway several times each year. One can tour the vessel on his own from the bridge down to the engine room. It has reciprocating engines which are a rarety these days. The guns are still on board that were manned by the navy crew during the war. The ship is in really good shape, thanks to volunteers, and is a valuable piece of history. Just forward of it is the USS Pampanito which is a WWII submarine that saw action in the Pacific. We went on board this vessel and it was interesting to walk through the cramped quarters in which the officers and crew lived
and worked.
A short walk away sits the Balclutha, a three masted steel-hulled square rigged ship, that was built in Glasgow, Scotland in 1886. It was built to carry general cargo and has carried cargo from the UK to the U.S, Australia to the U.S., and from the west coast of the U.S. to Alaska and back. The vessel has rounded Cape Horn at the tip of South America over a dozen times. It was damaged on a reef off Alaska, was repaired, and sailed again. It took a crew of 26 men and officers to man the ship. There are videos in different places which show a short history of the vessel.
Across the pier from the Balclutha sits the Eureka, a wooden-hulled sidewheel paddle steam ferryboat that was built in 1890. The neat thing about this vessel is that it has a dozen or so old automobiles and trucks on its main deck dating from the 1920s and 1930s. There is one dating from around 1916. There are other vessels in this vicinity but are not available for boarding.
Following this, we headed for the Cable Car Museum and rode one of San Francisco's famous
cable cars along the way. Admission to this museum is free so there's no reason for anyone not to visit this place. One can look down and view the workings of the cable system and the machine shop with the tools to keep it operating. There's photos of cable cars dating back a century or so as well as parts of the cars for the visitor to observe. The place has an interesting video which shows how the cars are operated by those on board. It's a very educational place to learn about the workings of the cable cars and cable system.
After this we made a quick stop at the railway museum which doesn't have much to offer. We then went to the Wells Fargo Museum which has a model of an actual stagecoach. It also contains a lot of information about Wells Fargo"s part in the history of the West and the California gold rush. There's a section about women and the company has a long history, dating back to the nineteenth century, of employing women in its operations.
If you like art, then a stop at the Asian Art Museum is a must. The museum
is housed in an impressive building in the Civic Center area and has quite an extensive collection of art from Japan, China, India, Thailand, and other parts of Asia. It contains paintings, sculptures, tapestries, and other art. There's vases, statues of Buddah, Indian deities, and various other art made from stone, wood, terra-cotta, bronze, jade, and other substances. It's well worth a couple hours of one's time to tour this impressive museum. The Civic Center area is another quite impressive part of San Francisco. City Hall is a huge majestic building and sits across the street from the Asian Art Museum. Located in the area is a circle with all types of imposing statues in it. Near there is a statue of Simon Bolivar, liberator of serveral countries in South America.
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