San Francisco from the Pacific Ocean to the Mission District: 23 April 2015

I started this adventure about 75 yards east of the Pacific Ocean and a couple of blocks south of Golden Gate Park. I arrived at the starting point by taking an outward bound N Judah Muni Metro light rail to the end of its route. My destination was the 16th & Mission BART Station. All of the photographs are shown in the sequential order of the ramble.

Click on an image to view the full-size photograph. 

The ramble started in the Outer Sunset District at Judah Street and the Great Highway. The Pacific Ocean is about 50 yards west of the sand dune rising behind the middle of the N Judah Muni Metro light rail. 

The approximate distance traveled as tracked by GPS was 10.2 miles. The approximate cumulative elevation gain was 1,381 feet. Mile markers are shown on the route’s track. 

This graph shows the elevation changes encountered during the ramble. 

1587 35th Avenue is located in the Central Sunset District. 

1643 35th Avenue is also located in the Central Sunset District. 


On the left is 1871 35th Avenue, and on the right is 1867 35th Avenue. They are in the Central Sunset District. 

San Francisco Fire Department Station 18, is located in the Central Sunset District at 1935 32nd Avenue. 

A view of the Sunset Reservoir. It is the largest water reservoir in the city; located the Central Sunset District at 24th Avenue between Quintara Street and Ortega Street. The city recently installed 25,000 solar panels on the roof of the reservoir. The solar project opened in December 2010; it is the largest solar installation within the city. The Golden Gate Bridge is visible in the background. 

646 Quintara Street is located in the Inner Sunset District. This section of Quintara Street is quite steep. 

I am standing on 14th Avenue in the Golden Gate Heights neighborhood and am looking south. Visible is Arden Wood a French Chateau style residential care facility built in 1929 as a Christian Science Sanatorium. Also visible is St. Cecelia Catholic Elementary School;  located in the West Portal neighborhood. In the distance is a portion of Daly City, which with a population of approximately 105,000 people, is the largest city in San Mateo County. 

An inviting home entryway located at 101 St Francis Boulevard in the St Francis Wood Neighborhood. 

A lovely late Nineteenth Century duplex located in the Mission District at 1078-80 Dolores Street. 
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"A camera is a tool for learning how to see without a camera.” Dorothea Lange 

"Photography has not changed since its origin except in its technical aspects, which for me are not important." Henri Carter-Bresson

"There are always two people in every picture: the photographer and the viewer." Ansel Adams

"The important thing is not the camera but the eye." Alfred Eisenstaedt

The first volume of the San Francisco Bay Area Photo Blog contains galleries of photographs posted on the Internet between 2002 and 2011. Click Here to view those photos.

Question or comment? I may be reached at neil@mishalov.com.  

San Francisco, from Golden Gate Park to Downtown: 28 March 2015

It was another lovely, sunny, and balmy day in the Bay Area. I must say, however, that I would really like to have some significant rainfall before the rainy season ends. 

Click on an image to view the full-size photograph.

Some of the many birds that are currently residing at Stow Lake, in Golden Gate Park. 

A map of the route. The approximate distance traveled as tracked by GPS was 7.6 miles. The approximate cumulative elevation gain was 546 feet. Mile markers are shown on the track.

This chart shows the elevation changes encountered during the ramble.

You don't see many flying buttresses in the United States. They're common in Europe, especially England, France, and Italy, but not in the US. So, it is always pleasant to view the flying buttresses that are an integral part of the architectural design of St. Dominic's Church. 

The Carnegie Library is located at 351 9th Avenue in the Richmond District of San Francisco. It was opened to the public in 1912 and it was updated in 2009.

A view of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency's Presidio Avenue electric bus maintenance yard. 

No flying buttresses here! This is a detail of the entryway to a duplex located at 2107-09 Pine Street. 

The Tadich Grill has been in business since 1849. It is located on California Street in the Financial District. 

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"A camera is a tool for learning how to see without a camera.” Dorothea Lange 

"Photography has not changed since its origin except in its technical aspects, which for me are not important." Henri Carter-Bresson

"There are always two people in every picture: the photographer and the viewer." Ansel Adams

"The important thing is not the camera but the eye." Alfred Eisenstaedt

The first volume of the San Francisco Bay Area Photo Blog contains galleries of photographs that were posted on the Internet between 2002 and 2011. Click Here to view those photos.

Question or comment? I may be reached at neil@mishalov.com  

A ramble from the North Berkeley BART Station to the Orinda BART Station: 26 March 2015

It was a glorious day in the Bay Area. The temperature in Berkeley was in the low 80s, and the sky was clear. Donna joined me on this ramble. We walked through the University of California campus. It is now Spring Break, and there were few people on campus. We then cranked up the Berkeley Hills, and after catching our breath, we dropped down the east side of the Berkeley Hills concluding the ramble at the Orinda BART Station... lovely.

The route of the 26 March ramble. The approximate distance traveled as tracked by GPS was 9.6 miles. The approximate cumulative elevation gain was 1,951 feet. Mile markers are shown on the route’s track.



This graph shows the elevation changes encountered during the ramble.

The University of California Life Sciences Building was built in 1930.

The east side of the Berkeley Hills.

Two Cal students, both from South Korea, joined us on this ramble.

“A camera is a tool for learning how to see without a camera.”-Dorothea Lange

You are welcome to visit my primary website  www.mishalov.com

A Caltrain ride from San Francisco to Palo Alto: 14 March 2015

I boarded Caltrain and traveled 30 miles south, from its northern terminus at 4th Street in San Francisco to the Palo Alto Caltrain Station. 

This is a photograph taken from the San Francisco 4th and King Street Caltrain Station. Click on the image to see the full-size photograph.

The distance traveled on Caltrain was approximately 30 miles. Mile markers are displayed on the GPS generated track. Click on the image to see the full-size map.

This picture was taken as the train was traveling south, towards Palo Alto. The Cow Palace, located in Daly City, has had an interesting and eclectic history. In 1956 it was the site of the Republican Party National Convention. The Republicans nominated Dwight David Eisenhower to be President for a second term. In 1964, the Republican Party again held their National Convention at the Cow Palace; at that time they nominated Barry Goldwater to be President. This view is looking west. Click on the image to see the full-size photograph.

This picture was taken from the train as we were passing through South San Francisco. The hill is San Bruno Mountain and the view is looking northwest. Click on the image to see the full-size photograph.

This is the Palo Alto Train Station. Palo Alto, located in San Mateo County, has a population of approximately 66,000 people. Stanford University is adjacent to, and west of Palo Alto. Click on the image to see the full-size photo.

Steve Jobs, a co-founder of Apple, lived in Palo Alto for the last twenty years of his life. His Palo Alto home is located approximately 1.5 miles from this Apple store, which is sited on University Avenue in Palo Alto. Click on the image to see the full-size photograph.

If you are a serious Bay Area bicyclist, then you have probably heard of Palo Alto Bicycles. Click on the image to see the full-size photo.

Ah yes, the Stanford Theater. The Stanford Theater first opened its doors to movie-goers in 1925. In 1987 David Woodley Packard, the son of David Packard a co-founder of Hewlett-Packard, purchased the theater and restored it to its original grandeur. This is a great theater in which to view high-quality versions of movies made between the 1930s and the 1970s. Click on the image to see the full-size photograph.

This is one of many humorous murals painted by the late Greg Brown throughout the downtown area of Palo Alto. Mr. Brown started this project in the late 1970s, and most of his murals still remain. Go Here to see more of his amusing work. Click on the image to see the full-size photo.

A train traveling to San Francisco is entering the Palo Alto Station. This view is looking southeast. Click on the image to see the full-size photograph.

One of the nicest walks in San Francisco is from the Caltrain Station along the Embarcadero to the Ferry Building. This is a view of the western span of the Bay Bridge as seen from the Embarcadero, the view is looking north. Click on the image to see the full-size photo.

There are a significant number of residential and commercial high-rise buildings under construction in the Rincon Hill area of San Francisco. The San Francisco Giants Baseball Stadium which was constructed in the SoMa area of San Francisco became operational in 2000. Since that time there has been an exceptional amount of construction in the area. This view is looking west. Click on the image to see the full-size photograph.

Cupid's Span was installed along the Embarcadero in 2002. The view is looking west. Click on the image to see the full-size photo.

This picture was taken from the Ferry Building. The streetcars are lined up, ready to transport passengers along the Embarcadero to Fisherman's Wharf. There are six streetcars visible in this picture; included are Streetcar #1010, Streetcar #1052 and Streetcar #1053. Click on the image to see the full-size photograph.

Streetcar #1011 is now traveling to Fisherman's Wharf. Click on the image to see the full-size photo.

Although the cable car number is not visible in this picture, this is cable car #56. It was built in 1913 by Cal Cable. It is now loaded with passengers, and it will shortly travel up California Street. Click on the image to see the full-size photograph.

“A camera is a tool for learning how to see without a camera.” -Dorothea Lange

The first volume of the San Francisco Bay Area Photo Blog contains galleries of photographs that were posted on the Internet between 2002 and 2011. Click Here to view those photo galleries.

A Sony RX-100 camera was used to take these photographs.

Question or comment? I may be reached at neil@mishalov.com

San Francisco's Mission District and Potrero Hill: 7 March 2015

I took BART to the Mission and 24th Street station and entered the heart of the Mission District. I first walked west, to Noe Valley, and had a cup of java at La Boulange de Noe. Suitably energized, I walked east, through The Mission to Potrero Hill. After visiting Potrero Hill, I headed to the intersection of Dolores Street and Market Street where I boarded the old F-Line streetcar #1052, and took it inbound, disembarking in downtown San Francisco.

Click on an image to view the full-size photograph.

The original Mission Delores Church. It is an adobe structure, and construction was completed in 1791. It is the oldest standing building in San Francisco. 

The Mission has many paintings on buildings, fences; actually, any surface can be used as a place to paint! These examples are on 25th Street between Mission Street and Osage Street.

The approximate distance traveled as tracked by GPS was 6.5 miles. The approximate cumulative elevation gain was 709 feet. Mile markers are on the track. 

This graph shows the elevation changes encountered during the ramble. 

A lovely duplex that is located on Guerrero Street in the Mission. The cross street is 24th Street. 

A building that is located on the northwest corner of the intersection of 25th Street and Bryant Street. 

A basketball game played on a court located within the Potrero Hill Recreation Center. 

This view is looking northeast. The eastern span of the Bay Bridge is visible. A new span was recently built and opened for traffic. The old span is being disassembled, removed, and recycled. The Berkeley Hills are in the background. This picture was taken from the Potrero Hill Recreation Center.

This view is looking northwest. Mount Tamalpais, the Marin Headlands, and both towers of the Golden Gate Bridge are visible in the distance. The photo was taken from the Potrero Hill Community Garden. 

This view is looking west. 20th Street is straight ahead. Eureka Valley, The Castro, Noe Valley, The Mission, Twin Peaks, Mount Sutro, and Sutro Tower are just some of the locations visible in this photograph. The photo was taken from the Potrero Hill Community Garden. 

A picture of San Francisco General Hospital. It is the primary public hospital in San Francisco; it is on Potrero Avenue. The photo was taken from the Potrero Hill Community Garden. 

Walking on a pedestrian walkway that crosses over the 101 Freeway. 

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"A camera is a tool for learning how to see without a camera.” Dorothea Lang 

"Photography has not changed since its origin except in its technical aspects, which for me are not important." Henri Carter-Bresson

"There are always two people in every picture: the photographer and the viewer." Ansel Adams

"The important thing is not the camera but the eye." Alfred Eisenstaedt

The first volume of the San Francisco Bay Area Photo Blog contains galleries of photographs that were posted on the Internet between 2002 and 2011. Click Here to view those photos.

Question or comment? I may be reached at neil@mishalov.com