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Greg Abbottĭuring the war years, it became a favorite spot for last drinks before sailors shipped out. How one Texas mom launched the political movement against Gov.Texas TikTok star lands role on George Lopez's new show 'Lopez Vs.Tacos y Más: Eating at this Houston taqueria after mass is a sacred Sunday ritual.Tiger cub found in Texas rapper's home didn't actually escape Dallas Zoo.Brash Brewing reopening delayed because taproom was never permitted.Heavy winds blow semi truck off Houston overpass as severe weather rocks region.New Texas law requires schools to display 'In God We Trust' signs.Smith, converted the 19th-floor penthouse into a cash-generating cocktail lounge with a wraparound view and called it the Top of the Mark. The Mark Hopkins opened in 1926, a combination of French chateau and Spanish Renaissance. For a little reminder of our own recession, check the rates: For a high-end property with a four-diamond rating, lately they have been as low as $144 a night. Ditch the bike, put on something presentable, find your way to the top of Nob Hill and step into the posh InterContinental Mark Hopkins San Francisco.

Navy favored a black bridge with yellow stripes.) It was completed April 19, 1937. Morrow is the one who came up with the color. You pass Fort Mason, the Marina District and the grassy expanse of Crissy Field.Ĭonstruction on the bridge began in 1933 under chief engineer Joseph B. You can rent a bike on Columbus Avenue from Bike and Roll or Blazing Saddles ($7 an hour and up at either spot), make your way a few blocks to Fisherman’s Wharf, then follow the shoreline bike and footpath to the south. Since then, the island has lapsed into a lonely enclave of affordable apartments and toxic cleanup sites.įor years, I had been wanting to bike across the Golden Gate Bridge, or at least bike to it. Unfortunately, the 1939 World’s Fair in New York gave it stiff competition. This was San Francisco’s effort to wow the world with its new bridges and artistic wonders. That’s Treasure Island, created from scratch to house the Golden Gate International Exposition of 1939-40.

LOS ANGELES TIMES NEWSRACK PATCH

Then check out the strange, flat, 400-acre patch of land attached to it by a causeway. That meant retrofitting the place to boost it from minimum to maximum security, and the penitentiary remained in business until 1963, its notoriety spread worldwide by movies.įrom Coit Tower, look east toward the Bay Bridge, then look down to its footings on tiny Yerba Buena Island. And of course, the artists couldn’t resist peppering the imagery with a little political spice - notice the library denizen reaching for a volume by Karl Marx, and the copy of the Daily Worker high on the newsrack display.Īlthough most of its buildings date to earlier years as a military prison, Alcatraz became a federal penitentiary in 1934. About 25 artists were paid about $31 a week, and the walls they left us amount to a portrait of the city 75 years ago: ferry commuters, fedoras, newspapers, high anxiety. The commanding views would have been enough, but Coit Tower gained another dimension in 1934, when its ground floor was covered with murals by artists in the federally funded Public Works of Art Project.

It was 1933 when a $125,000 bequest by local philanthropist Lily Hitchcock Coit paid for a streamlined 210-foot tower on Telegraph Hill. It was finished in 1936, six months before the Golden Gate, and for the armada of ferry boats that used to carry as many as 50,000 commuters daily across the bay, it was the beginning of the end. Most are inexpensive or free.ĭriving in from the Oakland airport, I crossed the Bay Bridge. As a saner, slower traveler, you easily could cover five in a weekend. I made it to nine Depression-era landmarks in 24 hours. In the face of the hard times between 19, all sorts of strange and wonderful creations and transformations emerged here. The remedy is a trip to San Francisco - good not only for plain fun but for some encouraging revelations. But I do feel a little closer to the 1930s, and I know I’m not the only one who has been wondering lately about those years. Even as I stand before the mural, I can’t quite imagine.

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