SAN FRANCISCO
Tea Garden was established in 1894 for the California Midwinter International Exposition, aka the World’s Fair. Since remodeled, it features a series of paths, ponds and plants as well as a fivestory pagoda, a moon bridge and, of course, a
tea house. The oldest Japanese garden in the United States is serene and relaxing even when it’s overrun with tourists.
What’s a Roman-like ruin doing in the middle of a San Francisco neighborhood? The Palace of Fine Arts was built for the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition. What’s left after renovations is an open-air rotunda around a lagoon. Designed as a restful place between the expo’s exhibits, it remains tranquil and picturesque, a spot where locals take photos to commemorate graduation or quinceañera.
Bennett also recommended visiting:
Coit Tower, which affords a 360-degree view of the city as well as historic social realism murals along the climb (the elevator hasn’t worked since 2022 so you have to negotiate 234 steps).
Alcatraz, the former federal prison that is a considerable time commitment (no pun intended) because it’s on an island accessible by ferry.
Oracle Park, the baseball stadium by San Francisco Bay where, after the Giants win, a recording of Bennett singing “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” is proudly played.
No visit to Bennett’s San Francisco would be complete, his widow says, without having a drink in the Tonga Room, the anomaly in the opulent Fairmont hotel. Opened in 1945 to welcome World War II servicemen back from the Pacific, this basement tiki bar is hopelessly kitschy, from its thatched roofs over tables to a live band playing on a boat floating in a swimmingpool-turned-lagoon. It thunders and rains into the pool while the band in un-matching Hawaiian shirts plays “Uptown Funk,” “Friends in Low Places” and other hits, Wednesday through Saturday.
The vibe is festive, whether it’s 20-somethings celebrating a birthday or a wedding party doing a conga line. The crowd is lots of locals and tourists willing to pop $20 for fruity cocktails garnished with flowers.
“This place is a cross between the Rainforest Cafe and Disneyland,” Natalie Dameron, 24, a local movie production assistant, told me on her first visit. “It’s an experience.”
The music stops at
10:45 p.m. on weekends, and the Tonga Room shuts down 15 minutes later. It’s out of respect for hotel guests, who, like Tony Bennett, might prefer a more sedate lifestyle.