As with every segment of this
city, the area that faces the Pacific Ocean is a study in contrasts.
Surprisingly to many, it contains terrains of natural beauty that are
just as untamed and craggy as they always have been, particularly the
rocky, windswept micro-climates that make up the cliffs and hidden
ravines of Land’s End. This has been the scene of innumerable shipwrecks
throughout the city’s history. Yet, just a few blocks away is Sea
Cliff, one of the most exclusive residential neighborhoods in town. All
up and down the area, beside blocks and blocks of tract homes, there are
numerous parks and recreational possibilities, including, of course,
surfing, if you’re skilled and brave enough to face the unpredictable,
freezing waters of the Pacific. Of all San Francisco’s areas, this is
the place where you’re almost certain to encounter the city’s infamous
fog, but if the weather is clear there are great views of the offshore
Seal Rocks and even the Farallon Islands. Further south, more activities
can be enjoyed at Lake Merced.
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Adolph Sutro came to San
Francisco from Prussia in 1851, aged 21 and looking for gold. Instead,
he became the Silver King of the Comstock Lode (Nevada), and brought his
riches back to the city to invest them in land. His projects included
building the first Cliff House, the popular Sutro Baths, and his own
lavish estate. In the process, he transformed the Ocean Beach area into a
recreational gem. The legacy lives on, despite the disappearance of all
three of the famous buildings he constructed.
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SightsCliff House Built
in 1909, the present structure is the third on this site and was
renovated in 2004. Its predecessor, a massively elaborate eight-story
Victorian-Gothic castle that burned down in 1907, was built by the
flamboyant entrepreneur Adolph Sutro (his estate overlooking Cliff House
is now Sutro Heights Park). Cliff House has restaurants on the upper
levels, observation decks overlooking the Pacific Ocean, a new wing
containing two bars, a visitors’ center, and the Camera Obscura. The
Musée Méchanique has moved to Pier 45 at Fisherman’s Wharf.
Cliff House
Ocean Beach Most
of San Francisco’s western boundary is defined by this broad sweep of
sand. Although sublime when viewed from Cliff House or Sutro Heights,
the beach is dangerous for swimming due to its icy waters, rough shore
breakers, and, most of all, rip currents that are powerful enough to
drag even strong swimmers out to sea. Nevertheless, hardy surfers in
thick wetsuits are a common sight, and in fine weather sun-bathers and
picnickers materialize. The Great HwyLegion of Honor The
creation of Alma Bretteville Spreckels, heiress to the Spreckels sugar
fortune, this museum is a replica of the Palais de la Légion d’Honneur
in Paris. The original temporary structure was built for the 1915
Pan-Pacific Exposition to house French art, but Mrs Spreckels wanted to
build a permanent version and employed the same architect she
commissioned to build her mansion in Pacific Heights.
It opened in 1924 and features a collection of medieval to 20th-century
European art, with paintings by Monet, Rubens, and Rembrandt. Also
excellent traveling exhibitions. Lincoln Park34th Ave & Clement St
www.thinker.org
415 863 3330 Open 9:30am–5pm Tue–Sun Adm
Oceanfront Parks Lincoln
Park, Land’s End, and Sutro Heights Park are large green areas that
overlook and hug the coast all along this northwestern corner of the
peninsula. Stupendous Lincoln Park is the work of the indefatigable John
McClaren ,
and features coastal trails affording some of the best views of the
Golden Gate Bridge. Land’s End is a surprisingly rugged and wild stretch
along the coastal cliffs that features a stony, picturesque cove,
stretches of broad sand, and truly spectacular hiking. Gardens,
statuary, and walls of the old Sutro estate still decorate Sutro Heights
Park, dominating the entire coastal scene from its dramatic vantage
point.
Land’s End
Seal Rocks The
westernmost promontory on this tip of the peninsula is Point Lobos, the
projection that forms Land’s End’s rocky cove. Along to the south from
here down to Cliff House is a scattering of small, rocky islands
frequented by seals – hence the name. Bring binoculars to spy on the
seals and birds in their natural habitat. At night, from the beach or
Cliff House promenade, the barking of the sea lions – like the keening
of the foghorns – is both reassuring and eerie, and so very “San
Francisco.” On a clear day, 32 miles (50 km) off the coast, you can see
the Farallon Islands, also inhabited by sea lions and with a
state-protected rookery.
Seal Rocks
San Francisco Zoo San
Francisco Zoo is at the far southwest corner of the city, between the
Pacific Ocean and Lake Merced. The complex is home to more than 1,000
species of birds, mammals, and insects, among which 20 are considered to
be endangered – most notably the snow leopard, Bengal tiger, and
jaguar. Gorilla World, Koala Crossing, and Children’s Zoo are particular
hits, as are the feeding times for the big cats (2pm at the Lion House
Tue–Sun), penguins (3pm Fri–Wed and 2:30pm Thu at Penguin Island), and
the Asian elephants (1:30pm daily).
Koala, San Francisco Zoo
Sigmund Stern Grove This
63-acre ravine in the southern Sunset District is the site of the
nation’s original free summer arts festival, endowed in 1938 and still
in operation. The Sunday programs may include classical music performed
by the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, opera, jazz, popular music, or
productions by the San Francisco Ballet. The natural amphitheater is in a
eucalyptus and redwood grove. Sea Cliff Actor
Robin Williams, a San Francisco native, has a home in this élite
residential enclave, which stands in stark contrast to the natural
coastal area all around it. Most of the luxurious homes are
Mediterranean in style and date from the 1920s. Just below the
neighborhood, China Beach – named after poor Chinese fishermen who used
to camp here – is one of the safest beaches in the city for swimming and
is equipped with showers and other facilities. Baker Beach, just to the north, is another popular beach. Sunset District Like its counterpart, the Richmond District,
this neighborhood was part of the Outer Lands and is purely
residential, consisting of row upon row of neat, look-alike houses. Yet,
like the entire area along the ocean, this district is subject to a
great deal of gray weather. Its one claim to fame is Sutro Tower, the
pronged red-and-white television antenna that resembles something out of
a science fiction movie.
Sunset District
Lake Merced Located
at the beginning of scenic Skyline Boulevard, this attractive lake, set
amid verdant hills, extends across the southern end of the Sunset
District. Relatively undeveloped and certainly under-used, it
nevertheless gets its share of recreation enthusiasts. They come for the
municipal Harding Park 18-hole Golf Course, and the biking and running
trails that circle the lake’s green shoreline.
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