At the end of June, I retired from Architectural practice. It has been 40 years since I started my first job as an intern in Colorado. I moved to San Francisco in 1989, and the time since has been split equally between San Francisco and Berkeley/Oakland. But San Francisco was why I came to the … More 35 Years In San Francisco
Growing up in Upstate New York meant enduring hard, tough winters. Initially, it didn’t bother me. Well, maybe my hair freezing on my walk home after swim practice did, but it was all I knew. My grandmother lived with us back then. At some point, she announced she was going to spend part of the … More Snowbirds
Downtown San Francisco, we are told, is in a “doom loop”. You probably have heard. Everyday, the San Francisco Chronicle, publishes the latest report on employers leaving downtown, retailers closing their doors, wasted public money on poorly managed programs (2 million dollar toilets!), the latest staggering statistics on homelessness, and so on. And if you … More “The Doom Loop “- Walking Through Downtown San Francisco
This is an update to a post from last year We live on the backside Nob Hill. When you stand up at the top , near Grace Cathedral, and look south, your eye follows the canyon of the street down towards Market and the Tenderloin. Between the Tenderloin and Nob Hill, is the Tendernob. The … More The Tiny Shops of The Tendernob
During the past year, I have described travels down a single street, and the changes one encounters along the way. We traveled from the bottom of Market Street to the top, and journeyed up Polk Street from one end to the other. I took that up again last week, getting out for a trek along … More The Taylor and Jones Shimmee
Next weekend is the Bay To Breakers. For those not from these parts, that is the 7 or so mile race from , you guessed it, the bay to the ocean. I am not participating in the race, but in tribute, Hike #12 finds us heading from the Bay to the Ocean. I chose not … More Bay To Breakers
A new condo building went up in the neighborhood recently. Here it is: I like this building’s reinterpretation of a two apartment wide block of flats with bays. I think its interest lies in its tweaking of the massing, angled center section with bays rising to the top, rather than contained within, the main box … More Those Damn Residents, If They Would Only Listen
The ambling has been continuing lately, its just the writing about it that has been absent. A busy and immensely distracted summer. But ‘Ambles carries on, with an eye towards a book deal. “Stairway Walks Of San Francisco- 6th edition”…..give me a break. We live on the west-facing side of Nob Hill. And as this … More Walking Into The Fog- A Trip To Ocean Beach
A few days ago, I was at a cafe late in the afternoon, sipping a coffee and reading. I glanced over at a table nearby, and saw a vaguely familiar face. A dignified looking older man, sitting by himself , a suitcase next to him, sipping a glass of wine. But I couldn’t place him. … More The Glass Of Wine
Last week, Urban Ambles wandered down to the Transbay terminal for one last time. The terminal has been , for years, the terminus of transit to and from the East Bay, and the terminal is slated for demolition. In its place is planned a spectacular new station that is hoped to be a nexus for … More Last Call For The TransBay Terminal
urban ambles 