10

In the 1920s, elaborate movie palaces sprang up in cities acrossAmerica, creating fantastical architectural wonders to match the fan-tasies of Hollywood. The Alhambra Theater on Polk Street, incor-porating all the excesses of true Islamic design, was one of the city’sfinest examples. Designed by Timothy Pflueger in 1926, the Al-hambra’s iconic “minarets” originally glowed red to beckon viewersin to its 1,500 seats. After Charlie Chaplin had shuffled off, afterGreta Garbo had whispered her final words, the lights would comeup on the dreamy Arabian interior of the auditorium: horseshoearches floating over sapphire-colored niches, a central dome deco-rated with a flower of arabesques and filigree plasterwork trailingover everything.In the 1960s, this neighborhood was the center of gay culture in

San Francisco. The first openly gay business association in Americawas created by bar owners on Polk Street, which is still dominated bysmall storefront shops and cafes. When the gay scene shifted to the Castro District in the late sev-

enties, the street fell on hard times. The Alhambra tried to keep itsdoors open by dividing the theater into two auditoriums, then brieflyreturned to a single screen again in the late eighties, but finally closedin 1998.And yet, in the true spirit of Arabian Nights, or of happy Holly-

wood endings, the story of the Alhambra goes on. Since 2001, thetheater has been home to Crunch Fitness, a popular gym. A carefulrestoration and conversion to workout space has retained most of theinterior detail. The projection room has been reimagined as a yogastudio and the area behind the screen is now a spinning room. A sec-ond tier contains weights and machines, but in the balcony somethirteen original seats from the old theater remain. Best of all, there is still a movie screen to watch as you stretch,

sweat, and tone.

3__The Alhambra TheaterA cinematic workout

Address 2330 Polk Street, San Francisco, CA, 94109, 415-292-5444 | Public transit 12 Busto Pacific Avenue & Polk Street. Walk north on Polk for about 5 minutes. | Hours ForCrunch Fitness: Mon–Thurs 5am–10pm, Fri 5am–9pm, Sat & Sun 7am–8pm | TipThenorth side of Polk Street is perfect for a stroll and exploring little stores and delightful cafes.

10

In the 1920s, elaborate movie palaces sprang up in cities acrossAmerica, creating fantastical architectural wonders to match the fan-tasies of Hollywood. The Alhambra Theater on Polk Street, incor-porating all the excesses of true Islamic design, was one of the city’sfinest examples. Designed by Timothy Pflueger in 1926, the Al-hambra’s iconic “minarets” originally glowed red to beckon viewersin to its 1,500 seats. After Charlie Chaplin had shuffled off, afterGreta Garbo had whispered her final words, the lights would comeup on the dreamy Arabian interior of the auditorium: horseshoearches floating over sapphire-colored niches, a central dome deco-rated with a flower of arabesques and filigree plasterwork trailingover everything.In the 1960s, this neighborhood was the center of gay culture in

San Francisco. The first openly gay business association in Americawas created by bar owners on Polk Street, which is still dominated bysmall storefront shops and cafes. When the gay scene shifted to the Castro District in the late sev-

enties, the street fell on hard times. The Alhambra tried to keep itsdoors open by dividing the theater into two auditoriums, then brieflyreturned to a single screen again in the late eighties, but finally closedin 1998.And yet, in the true spirit of Arabian Nights, or of happy Holly-

wood endings, the story of the Alhambra goes on. Since 2001, thetheater has been home to Crunch Fitness, a popular gym. A carefulrestoration and conversion to workout space has retained most of theinterior detail. The projection room has been reimagined as a yogastudio and the area behind the screen is now a spinning room. A sec-ond tier contains weights and machines, but in the balcony somethirteen original seats from the old theater remain. Best of all, there is still a movie screen to watch as you stretch,

sweat, and tone.

3__The Alhambra TheaterA cinematic workout

Address 2330 Polk Street, San Francisco, CA, 94109, 415-292-5444 | Public transit 12 Busto Pacific Avenue & Polk Street. Walk north on Polk for about 5 minutes. | Hours ForCrunch Fitness: Mon–Thurs 5am–10pm, Fri 5am–9pm, Sat & Sun 7am–8pm | TipThenorth side of Polk Street is perfect for a stroll and exploring little stores and delightful cafes.

12

The Oakland Bay Bridge, with its double deck, opened in Novem-ber 1936, six months before the Golden Gate Bridge and has alwaysbeen considered the latter’s ugly cousin. Then in 2013, the easternspan, from Treasure Island to Oakland, was recast into a great whiteSwan of a bridge, and the western span – which offers a terrific viewof the city from the top deck as you drive across – became the un-likely canvas for one of the most ambitious light sculptures evermade. The man responsible for this luminescent face-lift is artist Leo

Villareal. His work, which you’ll find in in such venerable institu-tions as the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the NationalGallery in Washington D.C., features LED lights, which are con-trolled through a custom-designed computer program. In 2013, hetransformed the north side of the bridge’s drab countenance with25,000 separate lights, strung 12 inches apart along the vertical sus-pension cables. The lights appear to float up and down the cables as they blink

on and off in randomized patterns. The effect this creates has a mes-merizing musical quality that blends in with the headlights of thebridge traffic and the high rise windows of downtown San Francis-co. It lends the entire waterfront a jewel-like ambience.

Electricity for the installation costs about $30 a day and thelights can be set to different levels of brightness. For safety reasons,the light show cannot be seen by motorists driving on the bridge.The installation has grown so popular that plans are afoot to keepThe Bay Lights burning long past 2015 when they were originallyscheduled to be turned off. A crowd-sourcing campaign is under wayto raise the $11.2 million needed. The lights are visible from manyangles along the waterfront from sunset until 2am, but are especial-ly dazzling when viewed from the public deck behind the FerryBuilding on the Embracadero.

12__The Bay LightsThe Bay Bridge gets its bling

Address Pier 14, San Francisco, CA, 94105, thebaylights.illuminatethearts.org | HoursTheBay Lights are lit from Sunset–2am | Public transit L Muni toward downtown to MetroEmbarcadero Station, then walk south to Pier 14 | Tip Savoring oysters at Water Bar (399Embarcadero) is the perfect touch to the most enjoyable view of the Bay Lights.

12

The Oakland Bay Bridge, with its double deck, opened in Novem-ber 1936, six months before the Golden Gate Bridge and has alwaysbeen considered the latter’s ugly cousin. Then in 2013, the easternspan, from Treasure Island to Oakland, was recast into a great whiteSwan of a bridge, and the western span – which offers a terrific viewof the city from the top deck as you drive across – became the un-likely canvas for one of the most ambitious light sculptures evermade. The man responsible for this luminescent face-lift is artist Leo

Villareal. His work, which you’ll find in in such venerable institu-tions as the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the NationalGallery in Washington D.C., features LED lights, which are con-trolled through a custom-designed computer program. In 2013, hetransformed the north side of the bridge’s drab countenance with25,000 separate lights, strung 12 inches apart along the vertical sus-pension cables. The lights appear to float up and down the cables as they blink

on and off in randomized patterns. The effect this creates has a mes-merizing musical quality that blends in with the headlights of thebridge traffic and the high rise windows of downtown San Francis-co. It lends the entire waterfront a jewel-like ambience.

Electricity for the installation costs about $30 a day and thelights can be set to different levels of brightness. For safety reasons,the light show cannot be seen by motorists driving on the bridge.The installation has grown so popular that plans are afoot to keepThe Bay Lights burning long past 2015 when they were originallyscheduled to be turned off. A crowd-sourcing campaign is under wayto raise the $11.2 million needed. The lights are visible from manyangles along the waterfront from sunset until 2am, but are especial-ly dazzling when viewed from the public deck behind the FerryBuilding on the Embracadero.

12__The Bay LightsThe Bay Bridge gets its bling

Address Pier 14, San Francisco, CA, 94105, thebaylights.illuminatethearts.org | HoursTheBay Lights are lit from Sunset–2am | Public transit L Muni toward downtown to MetroEmbarcadero Station, then walk south to Pier 14 | Tip Savoring oysters at Water Bar (399Embarcadero) is the perfect touch to the most enjoyable view of the Bay Lights.

14

Ask longtime residents what makes San Francisco great, and oftenthey’ll tell you about the wild places along the coastal edges. Localsknow the city is only a veneer; behind it, a tenuous outpost of civi-lization on a craggy peninsula, forever battered by wind and water.Nowhere is this wild aspect more tangible than at Fort Funston, atop200-foot-high bluffs overlooking the Pacific across from theOlympic Club golf course. The fort was an army defense installation during WWI and WW

II; during the Cold War, it was a Nike missile launch site. Now, trailsscatter in every direction, winding down through dense trees, iceplants, and coastal scrub, and through tunneled fortifications oncefilled with artillery. The bluffs have become one of California’s premier departure

points for hang gliders, popular year-round but especially in Marchand October, when the offshore breezes pick up. The hang-glidinglaunch spot is at the western edge of the parking lot. An observationdeck with benches provides a great vantage point to observe giant-winged humans as they run off the cliff and take flight. Some after-noons a dozen or more gliders fill the sky, set out in a row above thebluffs as though in formation, or else carving slow-motion arcs be-tween the blue of sea and sky. A long stairway with cable railings leads down to the beach,

where at low tide, visitors can walk in either direction for quite a dis-tance. Bird enthusiasts will note the hundreds of nests built into thecliffside by Bank Swallows, once a common coastal species, now en-dangered. This is also a hugely popular place for horseback riders;and it is a dog walker’s paradise, because it’s one of the few places inthe city where dogs can be off leash. The surf is treacherous, withpowerful undertows. Also, keep in mind that the stairway is a long, strenuous climb –

and if you go down, you must come up!

35__Fort FunstonWhere humans take to the sky

Address 206 Fort Funston Road, San Francisco, 94132,www.nps.gov/goga/planyourvisit/fortfunston.htm | Public Transit 18 Bus toward Rich-mond District to John Muir Dr. & Skyline Blvd., then walk about half a mile west to FortFunston | Tip It’s almost always windy there, so a windbreaker is a must. For a stunningvista, stop at the wooden viewing platform just next to the parking lot.

14

Ask longtime residents what makes San Francisco great, and oftenthey’ll tell you about the wild places along the coastal edges. Localsknow the city is only a veneer; behind it, a tenuous outpost of civi-lization on a craggy peninsula, forever battered by wind and water.Nowhere is this wild aspect more tangible than at Fort Funston, atop200-foot-high bluffs overlooking the Pacific across from theOlympic Club golf course. The fort was an army defense installation during WWI and WW

II; during the Cold War, it was a Nike missile launch site. Now, trailsscatter in every direction, winding down through dense trees, iceplants, and coastal scrub, and through tunneled fortifications oncefilled with artillery. The bluffs have become one of California’s premier departure

points for hang gliders, popular year-round but especially in Marchand October, when the offshore breezes pick up. The hang-glidinglaunch spot is at the western edge of the parking lot. An observationdeck with benches provides a great vantage point to observe giant-winged humans as they run off the cliff and take flight. Some after-noons a dozen or more gliders fill the sky, set out in a row above thebluffs as though in formation, or else carving slow-motion arcs be-tween the blue of sea and sky. A long stairway with cable railings leads down to the beach,

where at low tide, visitors can walk in either direction for quite a dis-tance. Bird enthusiasts will note the hundreds of nests built into thecliffside by Bank Swallows, once a common coastal species, now en-dangered. This is also a hugely popular place for horseback riders;and it is a dog walker’s paradise, because it’s one of the few places inthe city where dogs can be off leash. The surf is treacherous, withpowerful undertows. Also, keep in mind that the stairway is a long, strenuous climb –

and if you go down, you must come up!

35__Fort FunstonWhere humans take to the sky

Address 206 Fort Funston Road, San Francisco, 94132,www.nps.gov/goga/planyourvisit/fortfunston.htm | Public Transit 18 Bus toward Rich-mond District to John Muir Dr. & Skyline Blvd., then walk about half a mile west to FortFunston | Tip It’s almost always windy there, so a windbreaker is a must. For a stunningvista, stop at the wooden viewing platform just next to the parking lot.

16

In one of the city’s golden ages, in the late 1890s, Lands End wasa Coney Island-like paradise of baths, booths, rinks, parks, a mu-seum – and a seven-story chateau known as the Cliff Houseperched precariously on the basalt bluffs above the ocean. Everyweekend, people came to see the attractions, driving horse-drawnwagons over the sand dunes, or arriving on the nickel-a-ticketsteam train that ran from California Street out through the SeaCliff District, below what is now the VA Hospital.It was all the brainchild of Adolph Sutro, the charismatic Ger-

man who made his fortune with a state-of-the-art drainage tunnelthat allowed miners deeper access to the Comstock Lode in the Sier-ras. Eventually, Sutro sold out and settled in San Francisco, where hebuilt his estate above the Cliff House (see p. XX). There’s a magnificent stroll through Lands End that begins

across from Sutro Park, above the ruins of the baths and also the“Octagon” house, which for years served as a lookout station. Usinga system of telescopes and flags to indicate the kind of ship that wasapproaching, word was relayed from Lands End to the Presidio toTelegraph Hill, to the stevedores and taxi drivers waiting at thedocks.This walk, with its unforgettable views of the Marin Headlands

and the Golden Gate Bridge, follows the route below the hospitaland ends beneath the Legion of Honor. Halfway along you’ll noticea sign for Eagle’s Point, and a stairway winding down through the cy-press trees to the beach. Partway down the stairs, there’s a path lead-ing to a wide precipice with a stone labyrinth. It was built in 2004 bylocal artist Eduardo Aguilera, whose work is tied to the theme of"peace, love and enlightenment." The site is particularly popular dur-ing equinoxes and solstices, which is in keeping with the fact thatLands End is partly a mystical place, and was once home to the in-digenous Yelamu Ohlone people.

44__Lands EndA mystical walk through history

Address 608 Point Lobos Ave., San Francisco, CA, 94121, www.nps.gov/goga/planyourvisit/landsend.htm | Public transit 38L Bus toward 48th Ave.,then a short walk north to Point Lobos Ave. | Tip For a longer hike, start from Sea Cliff,just below the Legion of Honors.

16

In one of the city’s golden ages, in the late 1890s, Lands End wasa Coney Island-like paradise of baths, booths, rinks, parks, a mu-seum – and a seven-story chateau known as the Cliff Houseperched precariously on the basalt bluffs above the ocean. Everyweekend, people came to see the attractions, driving horse-drawnwagons over the sand dunes, or arriving on the nickel-a-ticketsteam train that ran from California Street out through the SeaCliff District, below what is now the VA Hospital.It was all the brainchild of Adolph Sutro, the charismatic Ger-

man who made his fortune with a state-of-the-art drainage tunnelthat allowed miners deeper access to the Comstock Lode in the Sier-ras. Eventually, Sutro sold out and settled in San Francisco, where hebuilt his estate above the Cliff House (see p. XX). There’s a magnificent stroll through Lands End that begins

across from Sutro Park, above the ruins of the baths and also the“Octagon” house, which for years served as a lookout station. Usinga system of telescopes and flags to indicate the kind of ship that wasapproaching, word was relayed from Lands End to the Presidio toTelegraph Hill, to the stevedores and taxi drivers waiting at thedocks.This walk, with its unforgettable views of the Marin Headlands

and the Golden Gate Bridge, follows the route below the hospitaland ends beneath the Legion of Honor. Halfway along you’ll noticea sign for Eagle’s Point, and a stairway winding down through the cy-press trees to the beach. Partway down the stairs, there’s a path lead-ing to a wide precipice with a stone labyrinth. It was built in 2004 bylocal artist Eduardo Aguilera, whose work is tied to the theme of"peace, love and enlightenment." The site is particularly popular dur-ing equinoxes and solstices, which is in keeping with the fact thatLands End is partly a mystical place, and was once home to the in-digenous Yelamu Ohlone people.

44__Lands EndA mystical walk through history

Address 608 Point Lobos Ave., San Francisco, CA, 94121, www.nps.gov/goga/planyourvisit/landsend.htm | Public transit 38L Bus toward 48th Ave.,then a short walk north to Point Lobos Ave. | Tip For a longer hike, start from Sea Cliff,just below the Legion of Honors.

18

The Moraga Street Steps are an inspired example of site-specific artthat “elevates” its surroundings into something magical, yet intense-ly local at the same time. Part of this chemistry comes from the viewof the Pacific Ocean that glitters in the distance, and then seems tobegin crawling up the flight of 116 steps. A tile mosaic begins at the base of the stairs with scenes deep un-

der the ocean, progresses upward to the water’s surface, climbs ontoland, into the air, and just as one nears the top of the steps and theactual sky appears, the scene changes to outer space and finally thesun. It’s a powerful commingling of form and content. Climbing the

stairs, one ascends from submarine to the heavenly heights, bothvisually and physically. Along the way the polished colors of thetiles vibrate with life in the bright western light. Beautiful gardensalong the slope add to the riot of living forms. The mosaic was created by local artists Aileen Barr and Co-

lette Crucher, who collaborated on both its design and fabrication.Unique in this mosaic are 2,000 handmade tiles in the shape offish, animals, flowers, birds and stars, many inscribed with thenames of neighborhood sponsors and volunteers. Each of thesebrilliantly hued tiles is an artwork in itself. And every one of the163 panels on the vertical step risers is intricate enough to standon its own. The stairs, which ascend from16th Avenue to 15th Avenue,

have been in place since the 1920s but originally had no decora-tion. The mosaic was completed in 2005 with the city’s blessingand the help of more than 300 area volunteers, including a localtile company that provided the final installation. The creators were inspired in part by the Escaderia Selarón in

Rio de Janeiro, and have now brought their work to several otherpublic stairway projects in the city.

65__The Moraga Street StepsStairway to Heaven

Address 1700 16th Ave., San Francisco, CA, 94122, www.tiledsteps.org | Public transit66 Bus toward Vincente to 16th Ave. & Moraga Street | Tip At the top of the steps, turnright onto 15th Avenue and you’ll find a smaller wooden staircase that will take you up to ahilltop park, aptly named Grandview. The panoramic vista of the Outer Sunset avenuesmarching to the beach, with the great green rectangle of Golden Gate Park along the edge,is particularly nice at dusk.

18

The Moraga Street Steps are an inspired example of site-specific artthat “elevates” its surroundings into something magical, yet intense-ly local at the same time. Part of this chemistry comes from the viewof the Pacific Ocean that glitters in the distance, and then seems tobegin crawling up the flight of 116 steps. A tile mosaic begins at the base of the stairs with scenes deep un-

der the ocean, progresses upward to the water’s surface, climbs ontoland, into the air, and just as one nears the top of the steps and theactual sky appears, the scene changes to outer space and finally thesun. It’s a powerful commingling of form and content. Climbing the

stairs, one ascends from submarine to the heavenly heights, bothvisually and physically. Along the way the polished colors of thetiles vibrate with life in the bright western light. Beautiful gardensalong the slope add to the riot of living forms. The mosaic was created by local artists Aileen Barr and Co-

lette Crucher, who collaborated on both its design and fabrication.Unique in this mosaic are 2,000 handmade tiles in the shape offish, animals, flowers, birds and stars, many inscribed with thenames of neighborhood sponsors and volunteers. Each of thesebrilliantly hued tiles is an artwork in itself. And every one of the163 panels on the vertical step risers is intricate enough to standon its own. The stairs, which ascend from16th Avenue to 15th Avenue,

have been in place since the 1920s but originally had no decora-tion. The mosaic was completed in 2005 with the city’s blessingand the help of more than 300 area volunteers, including a localtile company that provided the final installation. The creators were inspired in part by the Escaderia Selarón in

Rio de Janeiro, and have now brought their work to several otherpublic stairway projects in the city.

65__The Moraga Street StepsStairway to Heaven

Address 1700 16th Ave., San Francisco, CA, 94122, www.tiledsteps.org | Public transit66 Bus toward Vincente to 16th Ave. & Moraga Street | Tip At the top of the steps, turnright onto 15th Avenue and you’ll find a smaller wooden staircase that will take you up to ahilltop park, aptly named Grandview. The panoramic vista of the Outer Sunset avenuesmarching to the beach, with the great green rectangle of Golden Gate Park along the edge,is particularly nice at dusk.

20

The gravestones include such names as Heidi, Willie, Trouble, andMr. Iguana. Heidi was a 10-year-old collie. Willie was a hamster.Trouble was nine years of “no trouble,” but what species we’ll neverknow. And Mr. Iguana? It seems the name speaks for itself. These are just a few of the hundreds of interred animals in the

city’s most notable pet cemetery, which you’ll find in the Presidio,directly under the new and ‘reimagined’ Doyle Drive, that loomingviaduct leading to and from the Golden Gate Bridge. In the last few years the causeway has been seismically retrofit-

ted and these days the pet cemetery is best seen in passing. Entry isforbidden – at least until the highway reconstruction is complete, nolater than 2016.The cemetery grounds, about the size of a small soccer field, have

long been negelected and left to ruin. At one time, it was all quiteelaborate and treasured, but now many of the gravestones havecracked or collapsed. The delapidated white picket fence is no longerwhite and is doubled with a chain-link enclosure. Even the jadeplants have turned black. Only two palm trees enliven the landscape.Still, the fading headstones provide endearing tidbits about the

pets buried there, most of whom came from military families in the1950s and 60s. There is the stone that simply reads, “Sarge,” and an-other that’s inscribed, “ A G.I. Pet, he did his time.” There’s the para-keet referred to as “Our Knucklehead,” and the dog named “Sheesa-nut.” On one grave, the epitaph states, “George accepted us people.”

There are some stones with big red hearts to mark the unknown.And then there’s the grave of “Bali Boring,” a toy poodle belongingto “Major and Mrs. Boring.” The most exciting thing in the cemetery these days is a black cat,

clearly feral, a squatter, itching and licking, and no doubt at home inthis gopher heaven.

86__The Presidio Pet CemeteryFinal resting place for the furry and feathered

Address 667 Mcdowell Ave., San Francisco, CA, 94129,www.presidio.gov/explore/Pages/presidio-pet-cemetery.aspx | Public transit Bus 4 north toGolden Gate Bridge Toll Plaza, walk back to the intersection of McDowell Ave and CrissyField Ave. | Tip It’s a short walk down to The Warming Hut cafe on the west side of CrissyField for a comforting bowl of clam chowder and a great view of the Golden Gate Bridge.

20

The gravestones include such names as Heidi, Willie, Trouble, andMr. Iguana. Heidi was a 10-year-old collie. Willie was a hamster.Trouble was nine years of “no trouble,” but what species we’ll neverknow. And Mr. Iguana? It seems the name speaks for itself. These are just a few of the hundreds of interred animals in the

city’s most notable pet cemetery, which you’ll find in the Presidio,directly under the new and ‘reimagined’ Doyle Drive, that loomingviaduct leading to and from the Golden Gate Bridge. In the last few years the causeway has been seismically retrofit-

ted and these days the pet cemetery is best seen in passing. Entry isforbidden – at least until the highway reconstruction is complete, nolater than 2016.The cemetery grounds, about the size of a small soccer field, have

long been negelected and left to ruin. At one time, it was all quiteelaborate and treasured, but now many of the gravestones havecracked or collapsed. The delapidated white picket fence is no longerwhite and is doubled with a chain-link enclosure. Even the jadeplants have turned black. Only two palm trees enliven the landscape.Still, the fading headstones provide endearing tidbits about the

pets buried there, most of whom came from military families in the1950s and 60s. There is the stone that simply reads, “Sarge,” and an-other that’s inscribed, “ A G.I. Pet, he did his time.” There’s the para-keet referred to as “Our Knucklehead,” and the dog named “Sheesa-nut.” On one grave, the epitaph states, “George accepted us people.”

There are some stones with big red hearts to mark the unknown.And then there’s the grave of “Bali Boring,” a toy poodle belongingto “Major and Mrs. Boring.” The most exciting thing in the cemetery these days is a black cat,

clearly feral, a squatter, itching and licking, and no doubt at home inthis gopher heaven.

86__The Presidio Pet CemeteryFinal resting place for the furry and feathered

Address 667 Mcdowell Ave., San Francisco, CA, 94129,www.presidio.gov/explore/Pages/presidio-pet-cemetery.aspx | Public transit Bus 4 north toGolden Gate Bridge Toll Plaza, walk back to the intersection of McDowell Ave and CrissyField Ave. | Tip It’s a short walk down to The Warming Hut cafe on the west side of CrissyField for a comforting bowl of clam chowder and a great view of the Golden Gate Bridge.

22

The Presidio was San Francisco’s original military fort; in 1776 itwas the northernmost outpost of the Spanish Empire in NorthAmerica. Legend has it that soldiers in the Presidio would walk in-land to the Mission District to visit their sweethearts along a me-andering trail that became known as Lovers’ Lane. This famous trailwas one of the inspirations for environmental artist AndyGoldsworthy’s sculpture, Wood Line, a long winding string of treetrunks that snakes through a nearby clearing in an aging eucalyptusforest. The beautifully matched trunks and branches used byGoldsworthy were sourced from various tree removal projects with-in the Presidio. When the U.S. Army took over the Presidio in the 1840s, they

began an intensive campaign to create a dense forest on the coastalscrubland of the base’s bluffs and hillsides. Eucalyptus trees wereimported from abroad and planted, with native Monterey cypresssometimes placed in between them. The eucalyptus flourished, whilethe interspersed cypress died out, leaving long “hallways” of emptyspace. Wood Line occupies one of these barren gaps. According toGoldsworthy, the artwork “draws this space.” The story of the Presidio’s forest, like Goldsworthy’s work, re-

flects the constant interplay of man and nature along the continent’sedge. Installed in 2011, Wood Line has already undergone trans-formation: the eucalyptus trunks are cracking and weathering intonew patterns and textures.A wonderful side effect of Wood Line are the many spontaneous

Goldsworthy projects that have popped up along its path, rangingfrom “mini” wood lines to abstract arrangements of eucalyptusleaves. The area has become an outdoor studio where artsy types of all

ages are showcasing their natural creativity, crafting ephemeral won-ders out of sticks and stones.

106__Wood LineThe art of sticks and stones

Address 15 Lovers Lane (in the Presidio), San Francisco, CA 94129 | Public transit 3 Bustoward Pacific Heights to Jackson St. & Presidio St., and walk a short distance north | TipGoldsworthy has two other sculptures in the Presidio worth seeking out: Spire (2008) andTree Fall (2013). A two-mile hike connects all three pieces. If you are there on Thursday orSunday, stop off for a picnic lunch at the Off the Grid food truck market on the Presidio’sMain Post Lawn.

22

The Presidio was San Francisco’s original military fort; in 1776 itwas the northernmost outpost of the Spanish Empire in NorthAmerica. Legend has it that soldiers in the Presidio would walk in-land to the Mission District to visit their sweethearts along a me-andering trail that became known as Lovers’ Lane. This famous trailwas one of the inspirations for environmental artist AndyGoldsworthy’s sculpture, Wood Line, a long winding string of treetrunks that snakes through a nearby clearing in an aging eucalyptusforest. The beautifully matched trunks and branches used byGoldsworthy were sourced from various tree removal projects with-in the Presidio. When the U.S. Army took over the Presidio in the 1840s, they

began an intensive campaign to create a dense forest on the coastalscrubland of the base’s bluffs and hillsides. Eucalyptus trees wereimported from abroad and planted, with native Monterey cypresssometimes placed in between them. The eucalyptus flourished, whilethe interspersed cypress died out, leaving long “hallways” of emptyspace. Wood Line occupies one of these barren gaps. According toGoldsworthy, the artwork “draws this space.” The story of the Presidio’s forest, like Goldsworthy’s work, re-

flects the constant interplay of man and nature along the continent’sedge. Installed in 2011, Wood Line has already undergone trans-formation: the eucalyptus trunks are cracking and weathering intonew patterns and textures.A wonderful side effect of Wood Line are the many spontaneous

Goldsworthy projects that have popped up along its path, rangingfrom “mini” wood lines to abstract arrangements of eucalyptusleaves. The area has become an outdoor studio where artsy types of all

ages are showcasing their natural creativity, crafting ephemeral won-ders out of sticks and stones.

106__Wood LineThe art of sticks and stones

Address 15 Lovers Lane (in the Presidio), San Francisco, CA 94129 | Public transit 3 Bustoward Pacific Heights to Jackson St. & Presidio St., and walk a short distance north | TipGoldsworthy has two other sculptures in the Presidio worth seeking out: Spire (2008) andTree Fall (2013). A two-mile hike connects all three pieces. If you are there on Thursday orSunday, stop off for a picnic lunch at the Off the Grid food truck market on the Presidio’sMain Post Lawn.