SAN FRANCISCO
(Last updated 11/12/03)
At the cable car turn-around at Bay
and Taylor (left), the end of the Powell/Mason line - built in
1888 by the F&CH (Ferries and Cliff House) Railway Company,
the P/M was one of the last to be added to the SF system; the
first, the Clay Street line servicing Nob Hill, was opened to
the public by Andrew Hallidie, its designer, in September of 1873.
An ornately carved Chinese Gate (1970) on Bush Street marks the
entrance to Grant Street and SF's famed Chinatown (right)
Views from Russian Hill of SF Bay and
Alcatraz Island (left), and of the 210-ft Coit Tower (1933) on
Telegraph Hill (right)
The Grace Cathedral (1930-1964; left)
occupies the top of Nob Hill - its Gothic design was inspired
by Notre Dame. Its spire rises 255 feet above the street, and
its gigantic nave, larger than those of most English cathedrals,
is 168 ft long by 47 ft wide by 91 ft tall; the Singing Tower
(on the right) holds a 44-bell carillon; and its rose window (by
Gabriel Loire; 1970), called the Canticle of Brother Sun, contains
nearly 3800 pieces of inch-thick glass. The 48-story, 853-foot
high Transamerica Pyramid (1972) is topped by a 212-foot needle-shaped
spire added above the 48th floor, with wings that rise from the
29th - the tallest building in SF, it defines the city's skyline
(right)
The fleet of fishing boats along Fisherman's
Wharf (left); a Blue & Gold Ferry leaves Pier 39 just east
of the Wharf, with Alcatraz in background at left (right)
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