Expect the unexpected in this city of surprises
It is pretty much a cliche: You should not be surprised by anything you see in San Francisco. Yet San Francisco is a city of surprises, something new around nearly every corner.
Aroutine walk at the foot of Bernal Heights will take you alongside Precita Park, which is pretty, but nothing special — until you get to the place where the park meets Alabama Street. Surprise! There is a play area with swings and a garden dedicated to butterflies.
Asign explains that at one time there were 65 species of butterflies in San Francisco. There are still 30 or so, with names like Virginia lady, red admirable, common buckeye and anise swallowtail. They like to hang out at this little park, apparently.
Another park, Garfield Square, is not far away. Here at 25th and Harrison streets is another bit of green in an otherwise urban Mission District. Garfield Square is famous for the city’s annual Day of the Dead ceremonies every Nov. 2. But you might be surprised to know that it is also the site of the old Recreation Grounds, San Francisco’s first baseball park.
Surprise finds
On Nov. 26, 1868, the Eagles of San Francisco defeated the Oakland Wide Awakes, 37-23. The next September, the feared Cincinnati Red Stockings played a San Francisco town team. To no one’s surprise, the Reds won, 35-4. It was the first professional baseball game in California.
There is no baseball diamond in Garfield Park now. Soccer on Sunday is the game.
So forget baseball. Take awalk south, back to Precita Avenue. Between Precita and Mirabel Avenue is a tiny alley, clearly the narrowest alley in the city, a surprise find. There are also small public gardens tended by private citizens on the nearby streets and public stairs.
Sometimes graffiti types trash the gardens, but volunteer gardeners come out every day or so to water the plants and paint out the tags, a surprise gift to the city.
There are unexpected things all around San Francisco — corner stores, still selling milk and groceries at all hours. Former corner stores, now converted to other uses. Some of them still have old signs on the windows: Tree Tea, MJB Coffee.
There are about 25 vintage firehouses in the city, many of them built in the day of horse-drawn fire engines. Keep a sharp eye out for them. The oldest is on Valencia Street near 25th, still standing at the age of 129. One of the best looking is old Engine 21 on Oak Street in the Haight. It has a tall tower used to dry the fire hoses.
November is usually a dreary month in this neck of the woods. The sun goes down early, the rains begin, it gets chilly at night. But there was an unseasonal string of warm weather last week, a farewell, it seemed, to the Bay Area’s version of summer.
The next generation
The sun went down just after 5 on the first Monday of November, but in a glorious red sunset, like something out of the movies. And sailing under the Golden Gate Bridge, just at sunset, the cruise ship Sea Princess, lit up like a white wedding cake.
At dusk, that wondrous time between the end of the day and nightfall, you might stroll through the rotunda of the Palace of Fine Arts, just as the floodlights go on and the palace turns a soft orange color in the twilight. If you are lucky, you might see a bride and groom, she in white, he in black tie, posing for their wedding photographs. No place like it in the world.
Visitors to San Francisco are often amazed to hear that families with kids are scarce in San Francisco. In fact, tour guides will tell you that dogs outnumber children here. But that’s old news.
Check out the neighborhoods, check out the streets and grocery stores and parks on nice afternoons. More kids in strollers, more little kids than there used to be. There’s a baby boom in San Francisco.
Think about it — a whole new generation of native San Franciscans who, in a few years, will inherit this surprising city.