August 6, San Francisco and Half Moon Bay

Today, Maureen and I left at about 11:00 for the Montgomery and Sansome Street sections of downtown SF, taking BART to the Montgomery Station.  Our first stop was the Palace Hotel, 2 New Montgomery.  It was originally built in 1875 and was a symbol of SF wealth and its position as the premier American city in the West.  Upon opening, the Rococo structure had antique furniture and lavish facilities.  However, it was ravaged by the 1906 fire.  What we saw was the wonderful Pied Piper Bar, where we had lunch (Maureen and I shared plates of encrusted potatoes and chicken wings), and then the magnificent Garden Court dining room, the only indoor space on the National Register of Historic Places.  Adorning the room was an original 1875 Austrian chandelier, suspended from the glass ceiling, which itself dates back to the post-fire refit of 1909.  After that, we went to find the Museum of Craft and Folk Art on Yerba Buena L ane, but it no longer exists, so we had to give up on that.  Our next venue was 1 Montgomery Roof Garden, the space of which was created when the top of its building was topped off in the 1980s.  There is a variety of seasonal plants, a fountain and a medieval astrolabe in the SE corner of the plaza, all overlooking the confluence of Market, Montgomery, Post and Second Streets.  Our next venue was the rooftop garden of 343 Sansome Sun Terrace, Sansome and California.  Fleeting views of Treasure Island and Marin County appear through the forest of high rises surrounding it.  The patio sports foliage, seating, and a colorful, obelisk-shaped sculpture by SF artist Joan Brown.  From there we were off to our next venue, which would not open until 3:00, so we bought a creme brulee from a stand, and mine had a fruit compote on the top, while Maureen had a chocolate creme brulee.  Fabulous, and we sat in a lovely park next to an office building to eat it.  From there we strolled back to the City Club, 155 Sansome at Pine.  Here we took the elevator to the 10th and 11th floors for a look at Diego Rivera's 1931 mural "Riches of California," his first in the US.  Depression-era columnists were amused at the selection of the anti-capitalist Rivera to decorate the staircase ceiling of what was then the Pacific Stock Exchange Lunch Club.  Themes of agriculture and industry are major elements of his work.  The City Club building was designed by SF architect Timothy Pflueger, the same man who designed the Castro Theatre.  It showcases the finest in Art Deco tendencies, from the City Club ground floor lobby to the bronze-framed elevator doors.  After visiting the City Club, we took the subway back to our car, and then we set off to pick up Brian and Lizz Klammer (she a former colleague of mine at St. John's who will start a new teaching job this next year in SF).  She and Brian are in an apartment in Colma, outside SF.  We took them to Half Moon Bay, on the Pacific Ocean, where we found a wonderful restaurant serving predominantly seafood.  Brian and Lizz had fish tacos, while Maureen had a hamburger and I indulged in crab cakes.  The restaurant, The Flying Fish, was full of flying clippers memorabilia, so of special interest to me.  Afterwards, we drove them home as the fog was settling in over the mountains, after which we drove back to SF and Maureen's apartment.  We paid a visit to Randy and Shu as well as Isaac, Isabelle, and Irei, and Shu's parents.  We caught up with each other, played games, and enjoyed ourselves immensely.  Now I am finishing this blog entry while Maureen is working on a document.  It has been a grand day!  Off to Martinez and John Muir country tomorrow!