Archive for January, 2009
Spire - Andy Goldsworthy
Still in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, our next stop was Andy Goldsworthy’s new sculpture called ‘The Spire’ in The Presidio. From Crissy Field, we drove up Baker Street and, after a couple of turns, found ourselves on Lyon Street. Opposite Liverpool Lil’s, an English style pub which has been around for over 30 years, is one of the entrances, to the Presidio on Lombard Street. Just inside on the right is the Letterman Digital Arts Center, the new home for LucasFilm. In 2005 George Lucas moved both his Industrial Light and Magic and the LucasArts studios from San Rafael to under one roof in the Presidio. The Letterman Army Medical Center used to be on the site..
The Presidio covers nearly 1500 acres. It was an army post for over 200 years but became part of the National Park Service in 1994. We meandered through the Presidio, passing recently refurbished residential areas. Our destination was Inspiration Point, which is to the south of the park near the golf course. After driving past the Visitors Center, situated in the Officers Club near the main parade square, we turned onto Arguello Drive, past the golf club and eventually came to Inspiration Point. Just before turning left into the car park, we spotted the sculpture to our left.
It was just a short walk from the car park, across Aguello Drive and up a rough track to the new sculpture, which stands on a ridge looking down onto Inspiration Point and out over the bay towards Alcatraz and Angel Island. The site is still raw and the landscaping has not quite been completed. There are still cones and plastic tape preventing entry to several places.
Andy Goldsworthy is a remarkable British sculptor. He uses materials found in the environment – twigs, leaves, ice,
Looking up The Spire in The Presidio, San Francisco
stone, driftwood, etc. Most of his structures are not built to last. In fact some disappear very fast. Two of his more permanent pieces of work can be found in the Bay Area – Drawn Stone outside the De Young Museum in Golden Gate Park and Stone River at Stanford University in Palo Alto. The Spire was constructed last October. It is made up of the trunks of cypress trees which had been felled on the site because they were unhealthy. The structure looks like a branchless tree and is about 100′ tall. The sculpture is surrounded by newly planted cypress trees which are only inches tall at the moment. Eventually they will be as tall as The Spire. At the moment, it stands out like a sore thumb but, as the small trees grow, it will disappear and will eventually rot away or will have to be dismantled if it becomes unsafe.
It was amazing to stand at the base and look up to the top. I felt so small and insignificant. It will be interesting to see how the site changes over time.
January 28 2009 | Special Places | No Comments »
Full Moon over the Golden Gate Bridge
There was not only a full moon last night but it was also the biggest moon in fifteen years. As today promises to be a nice day, and hopefully no fog, we decided to leave really early (we were on the road by 5 a.m.) and drive to Crissy Field in the city to see if we can get some nice shots of the moon and the Golden Gate Bridge. Crissy Field is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and the Presidio of San Francisco
(Click on the image for a larger version)
At 5.55 we were on Geary in the city, waiting outside Peet’s, for it to open. We watched as the chairs were taken off the tables inside and the outside tables and chairs were arranged. But we were not the first customers. As we got out of the car, somebody nipped in front.
We sat for half an hour drinking our coffee – black for Tom with a muffin and a small, light vanilla latte for me. Tom read the New York Times on his Kindle. I, as usual, wrote.
It was still dark when we turned off Park Presidio onto Doyle Drive. The view of the city, Angel Island and Alcatraz, lit up and silhouetted by the moonlight, was amazing but it was insignificant to the sight which was to astound us momentarily.
We parked in the East Beach car park at Crissy Field. If you have never been to Crissy Field, let me tell you about it. It is a large tract of land between the Marina and the Golden Gate Bridge. Originally it was a salt marsh. It was the site of an international exposition in 1915. During World War II it became an army camp and a military airfield. In the late 1990’s, work began to restore the site back to a salt marsh. Today it is a magnet for walkers, joggers and dog walkers. The beach is sandy and the view of the Golden Gate Bridge is unrivaled.
The Palace of Fine Arts is a landmark to the south of Crissy Field. It was built as a ruin for the 1915 exposition and was intended to be demolished afterwards but it is still standing. During World War II the building was used by the army for storage. By the 1960’s it was in ruins and designated as unsafe. In 1964 it was demolished and reconstruction began. It opened as a museum in 1969. Now it house the Exploratorium and a 1,000 seat theater.
Our timing was perfect. It was 6.45 and still dark. The moon was huge and suspended over the bridge. Fog is always a possibility in the morning here but the sky was clear. We jumped out of the car. Tom took his tripod and camera out of the trunk and I grabbed my camera. Immediately we started taking photos and for the next hour we didn’t stop. There were a few other serious photographers around, some with very good cameras and lenses, all intent on getting that perfect shot.
I have never seen since a marvelous sight. There were tears in my eyes. A man, who was walking along the edge of the beach, was on his cell phone. I could hear him telling somebody that they should get down to Crissy Field as quickly as possible. I took shots from lots of different angles as the moon slowly dropped towards the southern tower. At one stage it appeared to be right on top of the tower. As it sank even lower, the sky behind me gradually became lighter. Just before 7.45 it disappeared out of sight behind the Marin Headlands.
Tom and I made our way back to the car. It was now fully light and indeed it is going to be a nice sunny day. I just hope that some of our photos can recapture a few of those moments but we won’t know until we get home.
January 18 2009 | Special Places | No Comments »
Old silos along the San Francisco Bay
Our route from Candlestick Point to the Embarcadero was through some of the least desirable neighborhoods of San Francisco. At one point we stopped and Tom took some photos of an old concrete building.
(Click on the images for larger versions)
In the city, we parked in the Howard Street Car Park. They have a good deal for patrons of the Farmers Market – $5 all day until 6 pm.
The walk from the car park to the Ferry Building along the Embarcadero was as absorbing as usual. Lots of joggers around plus a few homeless souls. Mostly though the walkers were either going to or coming back heavily laden from the Farmers Market.
We were on the lookout for breakfast of course. At the entrance to the Farmers Market was a stall selling several breakfast items but at $9 for an egg sandwich, served on a paper plate, seemed a bit steep. Tom made his way to Peet’s for coffee while I meandered round a bit trying a few of the free samples. For starters I had a piece of bread dipped in olive oil. At the next stall I tried a few pieces of cheese and then at a third stall I had a piece of juicy Naval orange.
I joined Tom in Peet’s. He had his usual black coffee and I had hot chocolate. We sat outside on a seat overlooking
The Farmer's Market at the Ferry Building in San Francisco
the bay and enjoyed the view and the sunshine. A pigeon and a blackbird were eying the scone Tom was eating and waiting for the crumbs to fall.
We then took a tour of the market, bought a herb slab at Acme Bread and some rather special goat cheese at the Achadinha Cheese Company stall. The cheese was called Capricious and it won Best in Show at the American Cheese Society’s annual contest in 2002. Finally we bought a couple of large Naval oranges. We sat for a while, broke off bits of the bread and goat cheese and watched the world go by. What a wonderful breakfast. The bread was soft and the cheese was delicious and it was half the price of the egg sandwiches we were contemplating earlier. Who would want to be anywhere else on such a perfect day?
Inside the beautifully restored Ferry Building
Afterwards we went into the Ferry Building to check out the shops. We didn’t hang around there long as the place was heaving. What we did do though was to exit the building and climb the stairs outside to the second floor. There it was very quiet and peaceful but we could look down to the crowds below on the ground floor. A good tip for anyone wanting to use the restroom – ladies don’t stand in line for twenty minutes on the ground floor but climb to the second floor where there are two large restrooms which are hardly used.
Back on the Embarcadero we carried on walking north. Just past the Pier 1 building, we turned towards the bay. Tom wandered to the end of the pier to take photos and I found a convenient bench in the sun to catch up with my writing. The promenade has a green, wrought iron railing with a brass rail at the water’s edge and attached to the whole length are plaques with quotes about San Francisco. Tom and I have cycled along here – see this earlier post . Today though I was distracted from my writing by a crew of two men meticulously cleaning the brasswork. It is fascinating to watch people working, when you are sitting in the sunshine with time to spare.
It was time to make our way back to the car park. We crossed the Embarcadero and sauntered through the various craft stalls between the Embarcadero and Market Street. We then turned left and walked down Steuart to the car park on Howard.
January 11 2009 | Special Places | No Comments »
Candlestick Point. Looking east across the bay. Early morning.
After our whirlwind trip to England for Christmas and our few days of recovery over New Year, it was time to leave our warm cocoon, get off the couch and get some fresh air.
We decided to drive to the city and go to the Farmers Market at the Ferry Building, stopping off at Candlestick Point SRA on the way. Last time we drove to the city past Candlestick Point I remarked that I have never visited that area. Of course, Candlestick Park on Candlestick Point is the home of the San Francisco 49nrs. Tom has been here a few times to see the 49ers play and many times to see the Giants before AT&T Park was built. He remembers it as being a very windy place so we went dressed in layers and with scarfs, gloves and hats.
When we set out, it was just getting light. It was a bit hazy and the Coastal Range was completely obliterated. Driving up the peninsula, we could see the hills on the East Bay but still nothing on the right.
We turned off 101 at the Candlestick Point exit and drove towards the stadium. This is no place to come on game days. Then it is wall to wall people and the roads are all one way. But there was not another person or car in sight. All the huge car parks were completely empty.
Candlestick Point SRA is on the right, so we drove until we found an entrance. The car park is huge and there were several other cars parked there. The only other living things there when we arrived were half a dozen huge black crows, Close up they do look rather scary.
We didn’t need the scarfs, hats or gloves because it was not windy at all. In fact, although cold, if was a very pleasant sunny morning. Once out of the car, we made our way towards the water and turned left. We could see a huge crane off to the right in the distance and I thought it was on the point. So we set off to see if we could get close to it.
The park itself is not so impressive. It’s a bit shoddy and run down. There were plenty of picnic tables around and we passed one group BBQ place. There was a frost on the ground and the picnic tables were coated in white.
There are a few sea birds out on the water and the view towards the San Mateo Bridge in the bright sunlight was noteworthy.
We followed a paved path which at one point was fenced off and a new path built higher up. The old path had been partly eroded away in places.
Before long, the path turned and went back the way we had come. There was a
Cement blocks at Candlestick Point
beaten track to the right, so we took it. This was obviously and unofficial trail but looked well used. It crossed scrub land and over a band of stones encased in chicken wire. We walked between stands of fennel and the slightly licorice smell was a welcome relief. Tom said the whole area was landfill and there was a pervasive smell of methane around.
The trail twisted and turned and we had no real idea of where we would land up. At one point we passed a pile of concrete blocks placed carefully on top each other to form a sort of wall and they were covered in graffiti. At the end of the trail we came to a large car park – obviously over flow parking for Candlestick Park. It didn’t look as though it was well used though. We walked around the edge for a while and then found another trail towards what we correctly assumed to be the actual point. We discovered that the crane we had seen earlier was not in fact on the point at all.
Somehow we managed to find our way back to the graffiti covered concrete blocks and thence back to the car.
In all honesty, we cannot recommend Candlestick Point Park for it’s beauty but it is nonetheless interesting.
January 08 2009 | Special Places | No Comments »
