USA-SF

SAN FRANCISCO

    San Francisco is an important city on the west coast of the United States of America. It is not a very large city. It is one of the cleanest and most picturesque cities, but it is the victim of frequent earthquakes. The inhabitants of the city call it Frisco for short. Less than one million people live in San Francisco. But San Francisco is the financial center of western America. It is also a center for music and art. And it is a city for tourists. Three and a half million people visit San Francisco every year. San Francisco is an international city and people from many countries live there.

THE SPANISH IN CALIFORNIA

    San Francisco and California are Spanish names. In 1520, the Spanish army took Mexico, in North America. After that, Spanish explorers looked for more land. They sailed north along the western coast of North America. They called the land along the coast California. Many years later, Spanish soldiers and monks went together into California. The monks were religious teachers, or missionaries. Between 1769 and 1823, monks built twenty-one missions along the coast of California. They taught their religion to American Indians at these missions. Near each mission, soldiers built a military post. The soldiers protected the mission and protected the land too.

SAN FRANCISCO AND ITS BAY

    Spanish ships sailed into some beautiful bays on the California coast. These bays made very good harbors. But the sailors didn't find the biggest bay of all. The opening to this bay was very small, and it was often hidden by fog. The Spanish sailors did not see it. In 1769, some Spanish soldiers found the bay. It was separated from the ocean by a peninsula - a long piece of land. The soldiers returned to their post and described the bay. Seven years later, Spanish soldiers and monks came to the bay. They built a military post on the peninsula. They also built the Mission of San Francisco de Asis. San Francisco, or Saint Francis, is a saint in the Roman Catholic religion.

FROM SPAIN TO MEXICO TO AMERICA

    For seventy years, San Francisco was a small village. But many things were changing in North America. In 1776, the United States of America became a free country. In 1821, the Mexicans defeated the Spanish and Mexico became a free country. California was governed by Mexico. From 1846 to 1848, there was a war between the United States and Mexico. After the war, Mexico gave California to the USA. At this time, about 800 people were living in San Francisco. In 1850, California became the thirty-first state of the USA.

THE GOLD RUSH

    In 1848, gold was discovered in the hills near San Francisco. After that, San Francisco changed completely. In 1849, men came to San Francisco from all over the world. They were called "Forty-Niners" and they were looking for gold. Some were from the United States; some came from South America, Australia and China. Many came by land, but others came by sea. More than 500 ships sailed into San Francisco Bay through the narrow entrance - the Golden Gate. The men left the ships in the Bay and hurried into the mountains. About 80,000 men came to California in the Gold Rush. Some of these "Forty-Niners" found gold and became very rich. But most of them found nothing.

THE WILD CITY

    The population of San Francisco grew to 35,000 in two years. All kinds of people lived there. Millionaires built beautiful, big houses on Nob Hill. Other people lived in small, bad houses. There were not many laws. San Francisco was a wild city. People drank a lot of whiskey and smoked opium. They gambled and lost their money. There were dangerous groups of bad men, or "hoodlums". The hoodlums robbed and killed many people. But San Francisco became larger and larger. It became the financial center of western United States. Soon there was a railroad all the way from the eastern United States to San Francisco. The city also had a busy harbor. Ships came across the Pacific Ocean from many countries - especially China.

THE EARTHQUAKE

    Many earthquakes occur in San Francisco each week but the majority of them measure less than three on the Richter scale. On 18 April 1906, San Francisco was shaken by a terrible earthquake - 8.3 Richter scale. Soon large fires were burning all over the city. The fires burned for three days. One third of all buildings were destroyed and hundreds of people were killed. But all the bad parts of the city were gone! The San Franciscans built their city again very quickly. Now San Francisco has old and new buildings. It is bigger and more beautiful. It is also healthier and safer. The second most destructive earthquake (7.1 Richter scale) shocked the city in 1989.

THE PENINSULA AND THE HILLS

    San Francisco is a special city for several reasons. Here is one: the city has water on three sides. On the west there is the Pacific Ocean. On the east there is San Francisco Bay. On the north, between the Ocean and the Bay, there is the Golden Gate. The Golden Gate is the entrance to the Bay. At one point it is only a mile (1.6 km) wide. Here, the famous Golden Gate Bridge goes from San Francisco to Marin County on the other side.
    San Francisco's other bridge goes across the Bay to Oakland, a smaller city. It is called the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, or "the Bay Bridge". It is the longest steel construction in the world. It was opened in 1936 and 250,000 vehicles cross its eight mile span each day.
    San Francisco is built on many hills. There are forty! Some of the hills are very high and very steep. Most of the streets go north and south, or east and west. The streets go up and down the hills. A few streets go through the hills. At the top of many hills there are wonderful views of the city and the water around it. Lombard Street is the crookedest street in the world. Part of it changes direction ten times to get down Russian Hill.

THE CLIMATE

    San Francisco has a special climate. It is never very hot or very cold. In December, the average temperature is 52.5°F (11.4°C). In July, it is 58.8°F (15°C). The weather can change several times during one day. Often it is foggy, especially in the morning. Then the sun shines. San Franciscans always have jackets with them. Only ten miles (16 km) outside San Francisco, the temperature can go over 100°F (36.6°C) in summer!

GETTING AROUND IN SAN FRANCISCO

    It is easy to see San Francisco. Many of the interesting places are near each other. There is the most important part of San Francisco between Market Street and Van Ness Avenue and the water. Visitors walk along the streets of San Francisco. But they can get around the city in many ways. Buses go all over the city. Each ride - long or short - costs the same. But you must have the right coins. Bus drivers do not make change. You can continue your ride on a different bus. Ask the first bus driver for a transfer. A transfer is a free ticket for the second bus. You can use it any time in the next two hours. San Francisco also has streetcars. They begin on Market Street. Sometimes trains run under Market Street instead of the streetcars. This subway is called the Muni Metro. There are also many taxis in San Francisco.

THE CABLE CARS

    San Francisco is famous for its cable cars. Its first cable car was made in 1873 by Andrew Hallidie, an engineer. At that time, streetcars were pulled up and down the hills by horses. Sometimes a horse fell. Then all the horses and the streetcar rolled down the hill. Hallidie wanted a streetcar without horses. The cable cars are pulled by a heavy wire rope - a cable - under the street. The cable always moves at the same speed: 9.5 miles (15.2 km) per hour. There are three cable car lines in the city. The cable cars are old-fashioned, but everyone loves them. Visitors always ride on them. And San Franciscans often go to work by cable cars.

NEIGHBORHOODS

        The city ranks among the most multicultural cities of the USA. Its Chinatown has the largest Chinese community outside of Asia. Walking along the streets you can see the exotic glamour of the Far East with its customs, architecture, restaurants, skills and products.
    Today there are 82,000 Chinese people in San Francisco. This is the largest group of Chinese outside Asia. Many of these Chinese people live in Chinatown. The first Chinese came to San Francisco in the Gold Rush. Thousands more came between 1860 and 1870. They built the last part of the railroad to San Francisco. The main street of Chinatown is Grant Avenue. Many of the buildings look Chinese. There are excellent restaurants. The shops sell many Chinese things - from vegetables to beautiful Chinese art. There is an interesting Wax Museum on Grant Avenue. It shows the history of Chinatown.
    North Beach begins north of Chinatown. Most of the people in North Beach are Italian. There are many little Italian shops, cafés and restaurants here. Every October there is an Italian celebration in Washington Square. It tells the story of Christopher Columbus. He discovered America in 1492.
    Columbus Avenue and Broadway are in North Beach. But they are very different from the Italian part. Columbus Avenue has interesting bookshops. Artists and writers often sit and talk in cafés nearby. Broadway has nightclubs.
    Japantown is in the west of San Francisco. Many Japanese people live there. The Japan Center was built in Japantown in 1968. It has a modern Japanese hotel, gardens, restaurants, bath-houses and shops.

VICTORIAN HOUSES AND SKYSCRAPERS

    In the mid-19^th century, more than 40,000 Victorian-style homes were built here. Many exist today, colorful and beautifully preserved by their owners, speaking of the unique heritage of this lovely city. The fronts of these houses have a lot of decoration. In San Francisco the Victorian houses are narrow. They have bay windows - with glass on three sides. San Franciscans paint their Victorian houses in bright colors.
    People admire San Francisco's modern buildings too. An example is the Transamerica Building. It was built in 1972 on Montgomery Street, the main street of the financial center. It has the shape of a tall pyramid. You can go to the observation deck on the 27^th floor which is open to the public. Other tall buildings - skyscrapers - are nearby.

FISHERMAN'S WHARF

    Every morning, more than 150 fishing boats go out from San Francisco. They leave from a pier on the waterfront. This part of the waterfront - from Hyde Street to Powell Street - is called Fisherman's Wharf. Visitors walk beside the water there. They watch street artists and they buy many things in the shops. They visit an old sailing ship, the Balclutha, at one of the piers. On Jefferson Street there are many seafood restaurants. But visitors can also eat crabs from the stalls on the sidewalk. The crabs are cooked in big pots and visitors eat them with some of San Francisco's famous white bread.

ALCATRAZ

    "You are entitled to food, clothing, shelter, and medical attention. Anything else you get is a privilege."
    Those were the Alcatraz prison rules and regulations, in 1934. These rules were one of the realities of the life inside the walls of the U.S. Federal Penitentiary, Alcatraz Island. A privilege was an allowance to work, to go into the library, to exercise or to go in the backyard for 30 minutes. The truth of Alcatraz has often been overlooked, lost in the fog of its myths. Just the stories of prisoners who lived in a cell tell how miserable and hard was life on this island. One of them said: "We had a wonderful view, we saw life, but we couldn't join it. On New Year's Eve we could hear talk, laughter, see fireworks from San Francisco. Every New Year we were in deep depression."
    The subject of many movies and books, Alcatraz has become a symbol of America's dark side. There were many movies filmed about it. One of the most famous was "Escape from Alcatraz" with Clint Eastwood.
    Of the 1,545 men who were convicted of theft, kidnapping, murder, and assault (přepadení), who spent years of their life on Alcatraz, only a few were notorious. Among them was Al "Scarface" Capone. He spent four and half years there in a hospital isolation cell.
    There were no female correctional officers or prisoners on Alcatraz. Women prisoners could not be declared "incorrigible" until 1969, six years after the closure of Alcatraz. The only females on the island were visitors and correctional officers' wives and children. They lived on this island; children attended a school here. The families who lived there rarely locked their doors. And they felt very safe, because they were sure where the "bad guys" lived.
    Of the 14 attempted prison escapes, the best known occurred in June 1962, when Frank Morris and brothers John and Clarence Anglin slipped into the water. They used raincoats as flotation devices and wanted to get to San Francisco. Although their bodies were never found, they are assumed to have drowned. The currents (proudy) surrounding Alcatraz are very strong. They are so powerful that Olympic swimmers are not able to swim there. Also the water is cold and humans cannot survive long in such temperatures. Another danger is sharks. Even though they don't like such cold water they sometimes appear in that area.
    The costs of Alcatraz were extremely high. The island had to be supplied with fresh water and food from the mainland. It was not only for the prisoners, but also for the correctional officers and their families. Increasing maintenance and operating cost led U.S. Attorney General Robert. F. Kennedy to close Alcatraz in 1963. Prisoners were transferred to other correctional facilities. Alcatraz is now a part of the Golden Gate National Recreational Area and a goal for many visitors from all over the world. Guides take people through the prison. Visitors can go inside one of the small rooms - or cells. The boats for Alcatraz leave from Fisherman's Wharf. Three other boat rides take visitors around San Francisco Bay. The boats go under both bridges and very close to Alcatraz.

TELEGRAPH HILL AND NOB HILL

    One of the best views of the city and the Bay is from Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill. As a girl, Lillie Coit liked firemen. She rode to fires on their fire engines. After her death, the city was given some of her money. Coit Tower was built in 1933.
    Most of the millionaires' homes on Nob Hill were destroyed in the earthquake of 1906. But there are expensive buildings on Nob Hill today. Four of the best hotels are also there.
    The Cable Car Barn is on Washington Square on Nob Hill. Visitors can watch the big wheels in the barn. The wheels turn and move the cables for the cable cars.

PARKS AND MUSEUMS

    Golden Gate Park is San Francisco's most important park. In 1868, it was only sand. Now it has over a million trees. It has a golf course. It has a Japanese tea Garden with small bridges over pools of water. There are two important art museums in Golden Gate Park. The M. H. De Young Memorial Museum often has famous exhibitions.
    The Asian Art Museum has over 10,000 pieces of Oriental art. The California Academy of Sciences is in the same part of the park. This well-known science museum has an aquarium with unusual fish.
    Lincoln Park is north of Golden Gate Park. It is on the ocean. From the cliffs you can see Seal Rock. Seals and sealions live there. Lincoln Park also has an art museum, the California Palace of the Legion of Honor.
    The west coast of the San Franciscan peninsula is called Ocean Beach. At the south end of Ocean Beach is the San Francisco ZOO. It is famous for its very small hippopotamuses. Another art museum in San Francisco is the Museum of Modern Art on Van Ness Avenue.
    A visit to the Mission San Francisco de Asis is interesting too. This old church is also called Mission Dolores. It is south of Market Street on Dolores Street. Visitors can see the beautiful Indian designs on the ceiling.

GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE

    Visitors admire the Golden Gate Bridge which has become a symbol of San Francisco. It is instantly recognizable seven-mile long bridge with its unique blend of orange and black and two towers as high as a 48-storey building. When it was first opened in 1937, 200,000 pedestrians walked over the bridge. This engineering marvel is used by more than 10,000 cars each day. Unfortunately, it has become famous for suicides. Many people have jumped to their death from the bridge and many others have been rescued. There is a very good view of it from the Golden Gate Promenade. The walk begins under the Golden Gate Bridge at Fort Point. It goes along the water to Fisherman's Wharf.

SHOPPING

    Shopping in San Francisco is exciting. The most important shopping area is around Union Square. All the large department stores are there. I. Magnin and Macy's are examples. Post Street has shops for china, silver and glass. One of these is Gump's, a famous old store. The flower stalls in this area are famous too. There is one on every street corner. The Victorian houses on Union Street are now unusual shops. Many of them sell antiques. There is good shopping on Fisherman's Wharf. At Ghirardelli Square and The Cannery you can buy many things. Years ago, Ghirardelli Square was a chocolate factory and The Cannery was a fruit canning factory. Pier 39 nearby has over a hundred good shops.

RESTAURANTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

    The first San Franciscans ate Spanish food. Today, San Franciscans can eat food from more than fifty countries. There is an American restaurant with thirty-eight different kinds of hamburgers. One hamburger has chocolate sauce on it! There is an excellent entertainment in San Francisco. For example, the famous Opera Company and Ballet Company perform at the Opera House on Van Ness Avenue. The Symphony Orchestra gives concerts at the Davies Symphony Hall. There are both small and large theaters in San Francisco. A well-known group of actors - the American Conservatory Theater - is at Geary Theater on Geary Street.

THE WINE COUNTRY

    Spanish monks planted the first grape vines in California. They made wine for their churches from the grapes. Today, California wine is very well-known. The most famous area for wine in California is the Napa Valley. It is 55 miles (88.5 km) north of San Francisco. About sixty wineries - wine companies - grow grapes in the Napa Valley. Visitors can see the grape vines from the road. Visitors are welcome at the wineries. Guides take the visitors through the buildings. They explain about winemaking. They describe the different kinds of wine. Afterwards, visitors can taste some of the wine.

THE BAY AREA

    The land around San Francisco Bay is called the Bay Area. There is a lot to see in this area. Marin County is across the Golden Gate Bridge. Some people live in Marin County and work in San Francisco. They like the sunshine in Marin County and they want to live on the Bay. Their favorite villages are Tiburon and Sausalito. Artists and fishermen live on Sausalito too.
    Not everyone goes from San Francisco to Marin County by car. Many people go by ferry across the Bay. Another ferry takes visitors to Angel Island in the Bay. The island is a large park. Many deer and other animals live there. Visitors fish and have picnics on this quiet island.
    Berkeley and Oakland are small cities on the east side of the Bay. Berkeley is famous for its University of California. 30,000 student campus is typical for its great spiritual and very liberal atmosphere, full of students' idealism. Oakland's waterfront is now the busiest port in the Bay Area. The BART underground train connects the city with Berkeley and Oakland.
    Muir Woods is another lovely park in Marin County. It is a forest of California redwood trees. Some are 1,200 years old. They are more than 300 feet (91 m) high. California redwood trees are the tallest trees in the world.