Neighborhood Walks Month
Despite the hills, San Francisco remains an eminently walkable city if for no other reason than because of its rich history.
Take advantage of the non-profit San Francisco City Guides, a group founded by volunteers in 1978 that gives over 60 different free walking tours with most of them year-round.
But there are a selection of tours that only take place a few times a year – and thankfully, most of these rare tours take place during the month of May – when the weather is nicer – for Neighborhood Walks Month. These are the hidden treasures or less well-known sections of the city. Don’t miss the “sacred places in SF” walk or the “tastes & tales of North Beach” walk.
San Francisco City Guides
Neighborhood Walks Month – May 2011
All walking tours are free (donations accepted)
Event details
Diego Rivera Mural at City College (May 16 at 10:30am)
— “Pan American Unity” (1940) is the last and largest of the murals created by Diego Rivers in the U.S. Meet in the lobby of the Diego Rivers Theatre, City College of San Francisco. Where Gennessee St. meets Judson Avenue, follow the path past the bungalows to the theater.Embarcadero Skyway (May 6, 18, 30 at 2pm) — Take flight (sort of)! Most of the tour is above the ground. View “Rockefeller Center West” from a different angle and discover a hidden urban oasis. Tread on buried ships that once housed saloons, jails, stores and brothels. Meet in front of 400 Sansome Street (at Sacramento). Lots of stairs
Excelsior Stroll (Saturday, May 28 at 10am) — This “urban village” was once a Mexican land grant. Then came the land speculators followed by Ligurian and Tuscan truck farmers. Meet at the Excelsior Library, 4400 Mission St. at Cotter.
Financial District (Tuesdays, May 10, 24 at 2pm) — Take a walk through the commercial neighborhood that was transformed in the 1960s
and 1970s. View architectural contrasts. Learn how the Wall St. of the West was built, who pulled the strings, and Who’s Who today. Follow the money! Meet at Sidney Walston Square by the old Colombo Market arch on Front St. Between Jackson & Pacific.Glen Park Neighborhood (May 15 at 11am) — Visit San Francisco’s “Little Switzerland.” See one of the city’s first suburban recreational areas, now grown up from farms and pastureland to a cozy neighborhood. Meet at the Glen Park Library, 2825 Diamond St.
Inner Richmond — The district’s rich history goes back to the 19th century and includes robber’s roosts and racetracks,
squatters and roadhouses, a saloon district and a red light district, as well as charming Victorian row houses and beautiful Craftsmans, the 1902 and 1903 Big Games, an earthquake shack camp, Wyatt Earp’s house, and what may be the city’s oldest Chinese laundry business.
– (Sunday, May 15 at 10am; meet at the corner of 6th Ave. and Geary Blvd.)Old South Park (Thursday, May 26 at 1:30 pm) — Tour San Francisco’s first planned community – its ups and downs, fortune, romance, and the infamous “2nd Street Cut.” Meet at the Shell station on 3rd St. between Bryant & Brannan Sts.
Sacred Places in San Francisco (Thursdays, May 5, 26 at 1pm) — San Francisco’s diversity is reflected in its places of worship. Visit churches, a temple, a cathedral, and a synagogue. View the symbols and architecture and hear the history of the city’s religious institutions. Meet in Alta Plaza Park, atop the stairs at Pierce and Clay.
Sutro Forest Hike (Sunday, May 8, Saturday, May 21, & Monday, May 30 at 10am) –Explore the legacy of Adolph Sutro’s Arbor Day celebrations (and discover the remain’s of Ishi’s “cave”), stroll a city reservoir, and more. A steep, long, strenuous walk, but taken at an easy pace and rewarded with spectacular views! Meet at the northwest corner of Stanyan and Frederick. Bring a jacket, tour can be cold!
Tastes and Tales of North Beach (Wednesdays, May 4, 18 at 11am) — In North Beach, one gust of wind can carry the sound of sea lions, the salty mist of fog, and the smells of this village’s basic food groups — coffee, chocolate, wine, and focaccia. Meet our local purveyors on this charming walk and find our why the American Association of City Planners rates San Francisco’s Little Italy one of the ten best neighborhoods in the country. Meet at 666 Filbert St., on the steps of Sts. Peter and Paul Church.
Tenderloin Neighborhood – I & II — Explore the Tenderloin’s isolated rural village beginnings and its years as a quiet residential and small business neighborhoos. Find out how it morphed into San Francisco’s hotel and silk stocking entertainment and vice district, how it became part of the mean streets in the last half of the 20th century, and how it is trying to reinvents itself as the entertainment and restaurant district it used to be. Learn about the days of the Uptown Tenderloin, San Francisco’s bootlegger wars, the start of the San Francisco movie industry, famous madams, neighborhood gambling and jazz clubs, and Little Saigon.
– (Part I: Sunday, May 22 at 9am; meet at Powell and Market Sts.)
– (Part II: Sunday, May 29 at 9am; meet at McAllister & Leavenworth Sts.)Visitacion Valley – I & II (Saturday, May 28) — Explore Visitacion Valley, named by 18th-century Spaniards lost in the fog and part of the only local land grant deeded to an Anglo. Both tours begin at the branch library, 45 Leland. Part I (10am): The morning’s focus is on the valley’s commerce, transportation, and planned developments, including Little Hollywood and ending at Silvestri’s statuary showroom. Part II (2pm): The afternoon tour concentrates on community life – including Eichler housing, a Julia Morgan church, landscaped greenways, and more – in the “Valley of the Windmills.” Somewhat strenuous walking.
West Portal (Sunday, May 1 & Saturday, May 28 at 10am) — From a sleepy ranch owned by Adolph Sutro in 1880, West Portal rapidly grew into a shopping and transit hub after the Twin Peaks tunnel opened in 1918. See buildings designed by architects who later gained fame for the Golden Gate Bridge and Art Deco apartments around the city. Meet in courtyard of the West Portal Library at Lennox and Ulloa (next to the Muni station)
Schedule of Special May 2011 Walking Tours
Schedule of all upcoming walking tours
