Category: Local
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The Emperor Norton plaque is back
Those who visited the old Transbay Terminal before it was demolished may remember the plaque dedicated to Emperor Norton next to the front door. The plaque reads: Pause travelerand be grateful toNorton 1st, Emperor of the United StatesProtector of Mexico, 1859-80,whose prophetic wisdomconceived and decreed thebridging of San Francisco BayAugust 18 1869 Dedicated by E…
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The Central Subway is here… on the web
Hot on the heels of my previous post about subway station plaques, it appears three new San Francisco subway stations are online: well, on the web, anyway. Today I was making my way to Muni Metro and happened to pull up SF Muni Central on my phone to see if I had any chance…
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Every single BART plaque I could find in San Francisco
“Always read the plaque” is the unofficial motto of one of my favorite podcasts, 99% Invisible. Following that advice, over the past months I’ve been tracking down every BART station plaque located within San Francisco as a scavenger hunt of sorts. Conventional wisdom tells us there are eight BART stations in San Francisco, so there…
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A ride on San Francisco’s boat tram
On Wednesday I mistakenly clicked on bookmark to streetcar.live, an online map displaying the current locations of each of San Francisco’s historic streetcars that are currently running. Before I had a chance to close the tab, I noticed something unusual: one of the Blackpool “boat trams” was running! I decided to take a long lunch…
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Fairyland for Grownups
Children’s Fairyland is a small theme park attraction at Oakland’s Lake Merritt, and is normally only open to children accompanied by an adult. However once a year there’s a fundraiser organized by Oaklandish as a benefit for the park: Fairyland for Grownups. On Friday I visited Fairyland for my first time ever — I’d never…
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The murals inside Coit Tower’s first and second floors
First floor murals A couple years ago I visited the top of Coit Tower for the first time. In that blog post I noted: I should point out there is a second activity at Coit Tower that isn’t as well advertised, and I have yet to try it myself: in addition to the Depression era…
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Pony Express plaque on The Embarcadero
Today I stumbled on a plaque on the west side of The Embarcadero. It honors a long forgotten pier that once stood on the other side of the street facing Oakland: the Broadway Wharf. The plaque reads: Pony Express Wharf Nearby was the location of the Broadway Wharf, the wharf extended from Broadway and Davis…
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An oddly-behaved seal and the kindness of strangers
Walking along The Embarcadero this evening I encountered something unexpected. Near Pier 14 a small crowd had gathered. At first I thought a dog had somehow made it over the fence, but as I got closer I realized it wasn’t a dog at all, but a wild animal — a seal. Although wild aquatic mammals…
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Rest in ravioli
Over the weekend I wandered by a brand new mural by local artist Sirron Norris, whose cartoonish illustrative style and bright colors are instantly recognizable. This one’s located on a garage door in the Mission District. The imagery and the text “Soy de aqui” (Spanish for “I’m from here”) make the theme pretty clear: it’s…
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Tara Mechani
About two months ago Patricia’s Green in Hayes Valley became the home of a new temporary sculpture: Tara Mechani from local artist Dana Albany. Originally built for Burning Man 2017, you may have also seen the 17-foot tall sculpture when it was previously on display in San Jose. Tara Mechani’s built out of reclaimed materials,…
About Eric
Travel, movies, comedy, tech, and whatever I find on the streets of San Francisco.
Contact: mrericsir “at” gmail.com
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