Monday, June 19, 2017

Historical Prints San Francisco Visitors Take Home Depict Its Colorful Past

By Susan King


Millions of tourists visit Northern California every year. Most of them buy mementos of their time in its City By the Bay to take home with them. It is not unusual for these visitors to purchase affordable artwork of some iconic landmarks that distinguish the city. Many choose views depicting the Golden Gate Bridge while others opt for the more unusual, but equally distinctive historical prints San Francisco collectors prefer.

One things a lot of visitors want to do is eat at the famous Cliff House. There a number of photos depicting the structure, that seems to teeter precariously above Ocean Beach. Adolph Sutro's renovation, which turned it into something reminiscent of a gingerbread house, is arguably the most famous. It would make a great memento of your time in this city.

The same Adolph Sutro is also famous for his ambitious plans to construct a massive public bathhouse that would be affordable, entertaining, instructive, and healthy. What he came up with were the Sutro Baths, the largest indoor swimming facility in the world. It boasted seven different pools, museum quality artwork, natural history exhibits, and an Egyptian mummy or two. The Baths are gone, but the photos are testament to its grandeur.

Market Street is a favorite of tourists and residents as well. If you enjoyed your time strolling among the stalls located in the amazing Farmer's Market, you might want to take home a print showing the way the street appeared at the beginning of the twentieth century. Most depict a busy intersection bustling with trolleys and horse drawn carriages.

Nob Hill was the height of sophistication and conspicuous wealth and nothing epitomized that as much as the Hopkins Mansion. San Franciscans of the time either loved it or hated it, and when it burned to the ground as a result of one of the fires created by the 1906 earthquake, people were said to have stood on the beach and applauded. Today it is a luxury hotel and a great reminder of past grandeur. It is a popular print in local shops.

Emperor Norton was one of this city's most colorful characters, and people still seem fascinated with him today. Upon proclaiming himself the Emperor of the United States, this beloved character ate at the finest restaurants and enjoyed the best theater seats all for free. He issued curious decrees and proclamations throughout his twenty-one year reign.

There are numerous prints depicting the aftermath of the horrific earthquake of 1906 and the many fires that raged through the streets afterward. It may not be what San Franciscans want tourists to take away with them, but the photos are interesting and sobering. The Call Building and City Hall scenes are particularly striking.

There is no city quite like San Francisco. Instead of burying and denying its past, it has embraced it and made it part of the culture. This is one of the reasons people love to visit the City By the Bay and return again and again.




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