Unusual places to visit in San Francisco
Created | Updated Apr 10, 2003
San Francisco is full of wonderful, well known, and touristy places to visit. If you are on your very first trip to San Francisco, then, by all means, visit The Golden Gate Bridge, Coit Tower, Fisherman's Wharf (Pier 39), Union Square, Chinatown and Alcatraz. Read other articles (such as A253900, A530641, A587603 or A31294) about do's and don'ts regarding those spots (be sure to read the accompanying conversations to get the latest info).
But if you are adventurous, have some spare time, and would like a less crowded, more interesting San Francisco experience, then try these:
- The Columbarium -- 1 Lorraine Court, behind the corner of Geary and Stanyan. A columbarium, for those without a dictionary handy, is like a mortuary strictly for cremains. This one, owned by the Neptune Society, is one of only 3 places in the city of San Francisco where your remains can stay after you die. If you don't end up here, the smaller (and MUCH more expensive) columbarium in Grace Cathederal, or the Presidio National Cemetary, then it's off to the city of Colma, 10 miles or so south of San Francisco. The San Francisco Columbarium is a spectacularly beautiful building, lovingly cared for and full of fascinating history. Free and worth a visit.
- Fort Point -- Long Ave and Marine Dr. In the Presidio, below the southern anchorage of the Golden Gate Bridge. This is a former coastal defense battery. The view of the bridge is great, and the history behind this battery (and the others in the Presidio) is fascinating.
- Twin Peaks -- Twin Peaks Blvd off of Portola. An AWESOME view of the city. The only place in the city limits where you can see both Ocean beach and the bay.
- The Great Camera -- 1090 Point Lobos Ave. this is a camera obscura, in a building that is shaped like a camera, found at The Cliff House at the northern end of Ocean Beach (on The Great Highway). If you've never experienced a camera obscura before, it is well worth the $1.00 admission price
- The Musee Mechanique -- 1090 Point Lobos Ave.This may be on the Wharf, depending on when you come, but if you are reading this sometime after 2004, then it should be back at it's relatively obscure place in the Cliff House. This is a museum of working "penny arcade" games, peep shows, etc., some dating back almost 100 years. They have, of course, been retooled to accept quarters!
- Lands End and the Palace of the Legion of Honor -- 100 34th Avenue, Lincoln Park. A beautiful spot where, on a pretty spring day, you are BOUND to come across a San Francisco native being married. The Palace is a museum featuring a spectacular sculpture garden, as well as a number of fine paintings. Out front, in the parking lot, you will find the San Francisco Holocaust Memorial.
- Philo Television -- 200 Green Street. This inauspicious building is, depending on who you ask, the birthplace of Television. It was here, in his lab, that Philo Farnsworth had his first successes in transmitting images from a camera to a CRT screen.
- V.C. Morris Gift Shop -- 140 Maiden Lane. The only building in San Francisco designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Tucked away on Maiden Lane, just off San Francisco's Union Square, the V. C. Morris gift shop's distinctive arched brickwork was designed to lure passers-by into the shop's airy interior. The design of the shop clearly has similarities to the Guggenheim Museum, which Wright was designing at the same time. The shape of the curvilinear ramp is repeated in the display cases, tables and other furnishing. It is recognized by the American Institute of Architects as one of the seventeen Wright buildings that are representative of his contribution to American culture. The shop is currently an art gallery. No formal tours are given, but visitors are welcome
- The Buena Vista -- 2765 Hyde St. Herein lies the birthplace of the Irish Coffee. Watching the bartenders make this legendary drink is art itself. They typically make 5-10 at a time, and it is very impressive how a flick of the wrist here, a quick pour of liquids, and ... voila -- hot, sweet, and alchoholic to boot. Visit the tiny gift shop too.
- The Japanese Tea Garden -- Golden Gate Park. Initially constructed for the California Mid-Winter Exposition of 1894, the garden has been lovingly cared for by the family of famed Japanese gardner Makoto Hagiwara for over a century. Lovely and contemplorative, this is a slice of the asian flair that San Francisco holds and should not be missed.
