What a cute little reminder of what's important in life. You find them all around the city.read more

Fun to explore the city and find these hearts. I've never specifically looked for them rather I've…read morestumbled over them. A scavenger hunt of sorts. I remember 20 years ago as a college student bumming around the city with friends doing nonsense like this. Looking back that is the life. The city is so beautiful and likely if your reading this you live in or near it... so jump in the car. Hop on Bart... take a ferry over the bay - visit more often... Remember people travel half way across the earth to see your neighboring city - your just an $8 bridge toll away. San Francisco in general is an unusual place. Growing up around here in the general area what I've seen is my local friends immediately leave when they have a kid. They are displaced by people from all over the USA and even world. Those that come for a job here. Residents of the city are mostly economic immigrants. It is rare to find those that grew up in the area.

Found this on Altas Obscura and I wanted to check it out. Part of San Francisco history, a hidden…read moregem. The first poster did a great job taking photos and making it an entry in Yelp. The sculpture titled "The Taster" by Spero Anargyro located in a small plaza called Hill Plaza that people don't normally frequent unless you work here. Currently Google and Mozilla aka Firefox works out of this building. The former site of the restaurant Palomino used to be here. You can just chill here or take a break and eat lunch and enjoy the views by the statue. The statue used to be on top of the building when it was an active coffee company, but people saved it and put it in the plaza below which I think is nice. I went on a walking tour that ended at this spot which is part of the East Cut neighborhood at this time. The East Cut CBD created a series of neighborhood tours based on four different themes: public art, hidden places, Salesforce Park horticulture, and architecture. Apparently this is a relatively new neighborhood district about 7 years and trying to build a neighborhood district from scratch is hard to raise money to create community dog parks and gardens. We have to thank the East Cut neighborhood volunteers to upkeep daily the nearby parks and sculptures that we see, such as The Giant bow and arrow sculpture on the Embarcadero. You would think the City would clean some of these famous landmarks more frequently. https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/hills-bros-coffee-sculpture

In the book The Monk of Mokha, Dave Eggers tells the true story of Mokhtar Alkhanshali and his…read moredesire for reintroducing Yemeni Coffee to coffee lovers. One of the inspirations that initiated Mokhtar on his coffee odyssey was this statue of this Yemeni man dressed in a thawb (a type of robe worn by men in Arabia) drinking coffee. This statue is recognizable because it was found on Hills Brothers coffee cans. According to book The Monk of Mokha, Hills Brothers Coffee was one of the original importers and refiners that discovered a way to vacuum pack the coffee packages, which kept the dried bean fresh and tasty. An essential innovation which helped Hills Brothers excel in popularizing coffee across the North America. Its headquarters was in the buildings on both sides of this statue, which is set in a simple and attractive plaza. This plaza is unique by all the tech workers on their migration routes to and from work and cafes. Hills Brothers sold its company years ago. Yet the statue remains. A artful testament to the impact of the magical bean originally on the culture of the USA. A bean whose properties are commonly believed to have been found in Ethiopia and was first cultivated into a drink similar to today's coffee in the port city of Mokha, Yemen by Ali Ibn Omar al-Shadhili.

Such a cute doggie sign. I visited SF from LA and took my two dogs to take pics here…read more You can park on street with meter or a bit drive side streets to park for free.

PRAISE DOGGIE! ...PRAISE DOGGIE!…read more We've come a long long way together Through the hard times and the good I have to celebrate you baby I have to praise you like I should I have to praise you I have to praise you I have to praise you I have to praise you I have to praise you I have to praise you I have to praise you... His beet red skin proves he's been under the tanning machine too long, and he's also had some botox injections from what I can tell. But the Doggie Diner Head looks good...all shiny and revitalized especially after the chin lift. He lets me call him DD because we go back...way, way, way back. Doggie Diner was my dining destination of choice when I was six and still full of youthful optimism. Now I'm more cynical...and not six...but my memories of Doggie Diner remain unblemished (...and don't you dare mention the so-called Doggie Diner at AT&T Park...a fraud, I tell ya!). DD would look down upon me with that unique stare of guarded enthusiasm, and I knew the world would be safe. DD has had a rough life. Cholesterol. Chapter 11. He toppled over onto Sloat in 2001 and broke his snout (see archival photos). They reported it was the 45 mph winds, but I know better. It's because he felt suicidal after the diner closed and became the Carousel restaurant. He had no choice but to throw himself into traffic. But he bounced back and went through extensive physical therapy with the guy who trained Oprah but doesn't want anyone to know since she gained all that weight back. Now DD's in fighting trim on the median strip on Sloat at the old entrance of the San Francisco Zoo. Come visit him in all his shiny glory. Bring offerings like a Kibbles n' Bits quiche or a Milk-Bone casserole. Let us praise him as you should.

I love the Fillmore district in San Francisco. It's a pretty safe area compared to some other areas…read more(Tenderloin and Lower Knob Hill, for example). It is beautiful and the streets are less full of trash, poop, and homeless folks. It is also more quiet here. A famous place to see here is the Painted Ladies homes.

Great area to pass the day away and enjoy everything. The Fillmore district has to offer in our big…read morebeautiful city. Lots of great shopping, lots of great eating and lots of great fun

What a cool history!…read more A little confused how this fire hydrant became a landmark and why it is painted gold. We had quite a little adventure looking for it in the streets of San Francisco but eventually, lo and behold, we found it. It is located next to the MUNI line across the street from Dolores Park at the southwest corner in the Mission District. There is a plaque next to it. The memorial plaque read: "Though the water mains were broken and dry on April 18, 1906 yet from this Greenberg hydrant on the following night there came a stream of water allowing the firemen to save the Mission District." The history behind it is interesting and cool. This fire hydrant once saved the Mission District in 1906 when San Francisco burst into flames after the great 1906 earthquake, many of the city's fire hydrants failed... except for this one when it was discovered that this was the only hydrant up the hill on Church St. that was working. The fire hydrant has since been nicknamed "little giant." And ever since then, every year during its anniversary, descendants of survivors of that great fire give this little giant a fresh coat of gold paint which means it's going to get one in a couple of months :) How about that :) Review #1677

So this site is not a business. It's an historical fire hydrant that dates back to before the…read moregreat 1906 earthquake. It was the only hydrant in the whole neighborhood that worked after the earthquake. It was used to provide water for firefighting. It's credited with saving the whole neighborhood.

The facade is really the only thing left but the old bricks catch one's eyes while walking up…read moreCommercial Street. This is the site of S.F.'s first mint, opened on April 3, 1854 to deal with all the gold coming in from the foothills of the Sierra. The mint moved to the more famous one on 5th and Mission in 1875 and this building was turned into a subtreasury. In the early days, the mint sat just a few feet from the wharfs of the Bay and Commercial street bustled with activity. The fire and quake of '06 destroyed it and it now is only one story, incorporated into the Pacific Heritage Museum (closed for remodeling)

I want to write about moderately good impressions of Bostonian classmates with distinctive accents…read moreand their shaken-down girlfriends, and plentiful sokh as well as other hidden delectables and gardens and garden boxes and run-down neighborhoods that remind me of non-run-down neighborhoods back when they were more run down. And Joe. And proud old men and this loving community that mourns them and their senseless deaths with renamed streets. And the Kaiser hospital, which I really don't like and try to avoid even though it's much closer to me than the brand-spanking-new one in Mission Bay. But mostly paper streets and walkway streets and stair streets and exotically named streets all laid out in a surprisingly confusing grid, but I solved the puzzle and cracked the case, and I know how to pop out right by Blood Centers of the Pacific, but it closed! And that has made me sad for years even though I hadn't donated blood there since 2010, not long before I had my appendix removed. I forgot about the former forlorn Walgreens (RIP, really?) and its promising but surprisingly dangerous little parking lot. And pimple parking even before the neighborhood parking permit went into effect in 2015. Has it really been ten years? There's a straight-up red or black '80s toilet in an apartment here. I know because I saw photos of it when we were looking for a new place to live after the fire. I didn't think I'd live in Anza Vista then, nor do I now. But that toilet? Not quite chef's kiss, but it was amazing in a way I can't explain. And I would gladly write letters to my uncle and my childhood friend's parents, but they wouldn't understand. It has a view of more than Anza Street, which ironically starts right outside the neighborhood's borders. (Anza begins where O'Farrell ends.) Be sure to visit the Orthodox church and St. Joseph's Avenue. It goes all the way through to Geary!

In the way back machine in the early 2000s, my co-worker moved to a new apartment with two of his…read morefriends and no one could place his address or recognize his neighborhood. "What's Anza Vista?" we probed with a bit of a Mean Girls sneer. Now keep in mind, we sounded haughty while we ourselves lived in a slightly crappy neighborhood known for providing morning crack deals to some of its denizens and 40-caliber nightly entertainment. It's now Hayes Valley. So it was known as "Anza Vista Heights" (and "Divisadero Depths"). Anza Vista is still a little tattered, sitting right above busy workhorse boulevards of Geary and Divisadero yet boasting real estate as expensive as any around town. Most of Anza Vista has rickety '60s architecture but knockout skyline views.

Did store visits today all over SF with my new job. Sorry folks, can't name my company publicly,…read morebecause they are secretive. Super secretive. Anyhow, I am so glad they brought me back to this neighborhood. It's always been one of my favorites, not because of the Mrs. Doubtfire house... but I LOVE the vibe, and the mom and pop shops. There is this SUPER cute little cafe called Rose's down the street on Union, and a wonderful flower shop I like to stroll by.

The Marina encompasses a lot of tony shops, restaurants & beautiful waterfront. Stroll along Crissy…read moreField to get a stunning view of Golden Gate Bridge & buff young men working out on The Green. I love checking out the OCD landscaped trees & marveling at the cleanliness & unique architecture. If you are a blonde woman who wears a ponytail & Lululemon, while you hold your Starbucks cup in one hand, cell phone in another, you are home. Bonus points for a cute small dog. The place feels pretty safe, so add this location to your scared visiting relatives tour guide. A big however, if you're looking to relocate, the district was literally built on sand with a shallow water table. All this explains why the Marina was heavily impacted by the 1989 quake. Many buildings collapsed because the first floors were built on stilts with parking underneath. During "flood season", cars parked along Marina Bld have water covering their wheels. But back to happy thoughts. It's real pretty here.