SAN FRANCISCO 
 
 FRANCIS BRUGUIERE 
 
SAN FRANCISCO 
 
SAN FRANCISCO 
 
 BY 
 
 FRANCIS BRUGUIERE 
 
 SAN FRANCISCO 
 THE H' S> CROCKER COMPANY 
 MCMXVIII 
 
Copyright, 1918 
 By Francis Bruguiere 
 San Francisco 
 
 THE GETTY CENTER 
 LIBRARY 
 
SAN FRANCISCO 
 
 You cannot walk the streets of San Francisco or over the hills without 
 feeling that any picture is inadequate to express what is seen. These 
 photographs are suggestions of a few of the beautiful sights, and in no way- 
 pretend to represent the city entirely. 
 
 There is more life on the Bay than there has been for many years. 
 Steamers and ships come and go continually. The war has brought back sail' 
 ing ships, possibly for only a time, but they are a pleasing sight with their new 
 white sails. The ferry boats, no doubt, will always be. They exist on the 
 North and East Rivers in New York in spite of the under-river tubes, and so 
 many that have crossed the ferry from Oakland have received their first im- 
 pression of San Francisco from the deck of one of these boats. They are a 
 great feature in the life of the City, and have been since its beginning. 
 
 Today the focus of the principal business life of the City lies within the 
 blocks surrounding Market and Kearny Streets. Here we find the greatest 
 traffic and two notable architectural features. One is Lotta's Fountain, given 
 by the actress to the City at an early date, commemorative of her gratitude 
 for the people's enthusiastic spirit. It expresses the departed pioneer life. The 
 Call Building is the other notable feature architecturally. It is one of the 
 successfully beautifully tall buildings in the country. The line of its dome and 
 the relation of its width to its height make it a pleasing sight seen from a dis- 
 tance or near by. In this district there is a hurrying and increasing life. It is 
 very different from the deliberation of step and demeanor one sees in the 
 Chinese quarter. 
 
 It is impossible to forget, when thinking of San Francisco, that within a 
 few blocks from the most important business district is found the Chinese 
 Town. There is found that curious mingling of Oriental and Western ideas 
 which we know from experience is superficial. For though this is one of the 
 oldest of the Chinese settlements, or the first in the Western world, these 
 foreigners persist in continuing their lives untouched by American ideas. Only 
 the clothes have been changed. The brilliant Cantonese costumes that were 
 once a distinctive feature of the street life of Chinatown have vanished. The 
 fashions of Canton, like those of Paris, change. Now, when a man or woman 
 
appears in the costume of his country, the brightly relieved embroidery is seen 
 to have been changed to simple silken patterns in flat colors. Chinatown is a 
 charming place to wander in by night or day. There is an attempt at Oriental 
 architecture, an atmosphere of balconies, brilliant lettering and swinging lan' 
 terns, and there is no place in the City in which the fire escape has been made 
 such a feature. One looks at these useful adjuncts of architecture, and feels 
 glad about them on account of the flower pots on the landings and the beauti- 
 ful shadows cast. On a warm night the air is filled with odors unmistakably 
 Chinese and no district of an Occidental city wafts smells so curious. You 
 can hear the plaintive sounds of Chinese tunes blown on a reed. Is there some' 
 thing Slavic about these melodies? Curious squeaks of the stringed instruments 
 played by a bow, and the delicate tinkle of a kind of zither. So closely are 
 the tones divided that our ears are not finely enough attuned to catch the 
 divisions of tone into eighths and sixteenths. The lights of suspended lanterns, 
 the leisurely walk of the men and women, the immobility of the figures that 
 sit in doorways and shops, the calm of the faces in repose, the dreaminess of 
 their eyes, which make you think that in their minds are visions of distant 
 Oriental lands. 
 
 On top of Telegraph Hill are eucalyptus trees and a broken wall. As* 
 cending on its slopes are flatToofed houses that, seen from a distance, seem 
 like those of a Mediterranean town. One looks for courts in the houses or 
 gardens on the roofs. But San Francisco has its own characteristics, and the 
 fluttering clothes put out to dry are one of the live features in any view you 
 may get looking over the roof tops from the hills. There are marvelous 
 views from Telegraph Hill. There are different kinds of views from Twin 
 Peaks, Buena Vista Park, Lincoln Park, the ridges of Pacific Heights and 
 Nob Hill. All are beautiful in their great panoramic sweeps ; but from Tele 
 graph Hill there is intimacy combined with vastness, a contact with different 
 phases of life of the City. The moving ferry boats to Oakland and Sausalito, 
 the distant smoke of the oil refineries near Richmond, and the part of the Bay 
 into which flows the Sacramento, whose waters cause the sweeping tide lines 
 that move so stealthily back and forth. The now busy wharves, the loading 
 and unloading of boats. Gas tanks, lumber yards, fishing boats, manufacturing 
 
plants. Sounds of the City's hum arising, engines moving freight cars along 
 the water front. Poor ramshackle houses on the east side, congested tenements 
 on the west. On top eucalyptus trees and distant glimpses of the City through 
 their stems. Russian and Nob Hills to the west, and across the Bay Tamalpais, 
 a dark silhouette at evening against the deepening sky. And the distant 
 Golden Gate, that narrow opening through which come ships from all the 
 seas. It is a steep climb from any side. As you pass through the business dis- 
 trict with its temple-like banks along Kearny Street, which, as it approaches 
 the hill, becomes more and more sordid. There is a breathing space on Ports' 
 mouth Square. Chinese children laugh and play on the lawn, and seated on 
 the wall are types that drift up and down the streets resting on that mysteri- 
 ous journey that leads so indefinitely toward the unforeseen goal which all 
 must enter. 
 
 From Telegraph Hill to Fort Scott, all along the ridge of high hills, the 
 most picturesque feature on the Bay is the island of Alcatraz;. It was once 
 covered with oaks, but since California has been a state belongs to the Gov- 
 ernment. Once a fort and now a barrack, by either chance or intention, it has 
 been built upon in a striking manner. Low white buildings follow the con- 
 tour of the land, and a lighthouse rises from its highest point. Through the 
 drifting fog or emerging from the darkness with its flashing light, it rises or 
 fades away through the mists like a phantom boat. It is pointed toward the 
 Golden Gate and ever-changing sea. 
 
 From Twin Peaks and Buena Vista Park, there are superb views. Looking 
 from their heights at night you can imagine a field of stars has been thrown 
 over the valleys and wavy hills of the City. Holliday's Hill is one of the 
 less important points, but from it are fine views. There is a beautiful grove 
 of eucalyptus on its top through which the never-tiring wind almost 
 always blows, and even on the warmer windless days when you would think 
 there was not a breath stirring, looking up through the clusters of pointed 
 leaves you are conscious that there is air in motion. For the wind is but held 
 in leash in the distant fog bank out on the Pacific. In a little while both will 
 tear away and the fog enveloping the houses and hills will make what is archi- 
 tecturally unbeautiful beautiful by its mystery. 
 
In the district called Cow Hollow years ago, between the then leisurely 
 army posts of the Presidio and Fort Mason, where the land was made practical 
 to hold the Exposition, is the Palace of Fine Arts. Of all art museums it has 
 an architectural fitness, a glamour of romance of the past enhanced by its 
 reflection in the beautiful lagoon. A grove of eucalyptus should surround it 
 through which paths would lead to its lofty colonnade. Its permanency 
 is a thing that should be carried out, for it is an added attraction to the 
 beauty of the City. And it is a known fact that every enhancement to the 
 natural advantages of a city pays. In Paris in the past few years, the boule- 
 vard Raspai was cut diagonally through the center of the populous district 
 on the left bank of the Seine. No traveler will deny that Paris is a beautiful 
 and attractive place. It has been made so by the circular system of boule' 
 vards, the judicious planting of trees and architectural restrictions. The 
 Champs Elysees, the greatest thoroughfare in Paris, is parked and planted 
 with trees in double rows. Something could be done of a similar nature to 
 Van Ness Avenue. The Champs Elysees, too, is the automobile retail street; 
 business and beauty can be combined advantageously. So much blessed by 
 nature as we are, we should realise how beautiful a city could be erected by 
 more judicious architectural regulations, circular boulevards and trees. At 
 least we could have the trees. 
 
 In the Park you are shut off entirely from the City. It has been sum- 
 moned magically from the sand. Stretching out over the rolling dunes with 
 beautiful walks and drives, charming copses of oak, mysterious shady groves 
 of eucalyptus, lovely lawns and shining lakes. Youth is ever present. There 
 are children on the lawns, boys are playing baseball, the tennis courts are 
 filled. On holidays a continual stream of motors rush by. Thousands walk 
 about listening to the band, looking at the animals, walking in that aimless 
 leisurely way toward no particular thing, but with a satisfied look so different 
 from the harried expression of downtown pedestrians. 
 
 Beyond the windmills at the western edge of the Park is the beach. It 
 begins at the base of the rocky cliffs overshadowed by Sutro Heights. It is 
 fortunately approached through the Park or by walking around the north 
 shore. From Lincoln Park and along the cliffs are great views looking to 
 
the Golden Gate and north to the Marin Mountains and the distant Point 
 Reyes. The Cliff House, at the end of the journey, is the third of its gene- 
 ration. From its terraces the beach stretches through the sunny mists to the 
 San Bruno Mountains. Thousands of little black figures lie motionless on 
 the sand. The white clothes of women make shining spots of light. The 
 great arms of the windmills turn in the distance small and far away. The 
 Park stretches in toward the City a green river at the foot of the rolling sand 
 dunes. The continuing sound of the breakers, the long Pacific swells, the suns 
 that dance in miniature on the waves, ships moving to the west, south and 
 north, incoming fishing boats. The freshening, vigorous western wind, domi' 
 nating by its persistency, so coolly continuous, carrying the fog whose misty 
 mantle envelops the City at night, but is scattered in the morning by the sun. 
 
FERRY BOATS ARE CONTINUOUSLY 
 CROSSING THE BAY ' OFTEN FROM 
 THEIR DECKS THE TRAVELER RE- 
 CEIVES THE FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF SAN 
 FRANCISCO' 
 
THE SKY LINE OF CITIES IS ONE OF 
 THEIR UNFORGETTABLE CHARACTER- 
 ISTICS ' THE HIGH HILLS ARE NOW 
 WELL BACK OF THE WATER FRONT - IN 
 THE EARLY DAYS THE WATER CAME 
 UP TO MONTGOMERY STREET' 
 
THE FERRY TOWER FROM COMMERCIAL 
 STREET < IN THE EARLY DAYS OF THE 
 CITY A VERY IMPORTANT STREET, IT 
 IS SHORT AND NARROW, BUT LOOK- 
 ING DOWN IT THE FERRY TOWER IS 
 MOST SATISFACTORILY SEEN- 
 
AT MARKET AND THIRD STREETS' 
 THE LIGHTS CARRIED BY THE STAND- 
 ARDS MAKE MARKET STREET "THE 
 PATH OF GOLD" BY NIGHT ' BUT REAL 
 GOLD IS TO BE FOUND IN THE RELIEFS 
 AROUND THE BASE OF THE STAND- 
 ARDS, DESIGNED BY ARTHUR PUTNAM- 
 
KEARNY STREET FROM TELEGRAPH 
 HILL ' THE DOME OF THE CALL BUILD- 
 ING AND THE HILLS OF SOUTH SAN 
 FRANCISCO ARE IN THE DISTANCE- 
 
AT GRANT AVENUE AND MARKET 
 STREET ' THE IMPORTANT RETAIL 
 SHOPS ARE WITHIN A RADIUS OF 
 TWO OR THREE BLOCKS OF THIS COR- 
 NER * 
 
THE TOWERS OF THE CHURCH OF 
 NUESTRA SENORA DEL GUADALOUPE 
 RISE ON THE SLOPE OF RUSSIAN HILL' 
 IN THE DISTANCE IS THE FINANCIAL 
 DISTRICT, WITH ITS TALL BUILDINGS. 
 
THE CHINA TELEPHONE EXCHANGE IS 
 A PRETTY BUILDING < IT IS THE ONLY 
 COMPLETE ATTEMPT AT ORIENTAL 
 ARCHITECTURE IN SAN FRANCISCO- 
 
THE CALIFORNIA STREET HILL RISES 
 OVER FIVE BLOCKS ' CABLE CARS CLIMB 
 ITS SLOPE ' AT ITS BASE IS AN IMPOR- 
 TANT SECTION OF THE FINANCIAL 
 DISTRICT' 
 
PORTSMOUTH SQUARE IS THE OLDEST 
 PARK IN THE CITY < IN THE EARLY 
 DAYS, AROUND IT CENTERED THE 
 MOST IMPORTANT SOCIAL AND BUSI- 
 NESS LIFE ' IT IS NOW USED BY CHI- 
 NESE CHILDREN AND ON ITS LOW 
 WALL, EITHER BY NIGHT OR DAY, ARE 
 SEEN INTERESTING TYPES THAT COME 
 UP FROM THE WATERFRONT' 
 
A CHINESE WAITER < AT ALL HOURS 
 WAITERS CARRYING TRAYS ON THEIR 
 HEADS PASS THROUGH THE STREETS- 
 THEY ARE A PICTURESQUE FEATURE 
 OF CHINESE LIFE- 
 
STEPS ARE A NECESSITY ON SEVERAL 
 OF THE HILLS OF THE CITY - AT THE 
 END OF KEARNY STREET THEY RISE 
 TOWARD TELEGRAPH HILL' 
 
ALMOST EVERY BUILDING IN CHINA- 
 TOWN HAS BALCONIES ' SUCH FEA- 
 TURES ARE MISSED IN THE TYPE OF 
 HOUSES NOW BEING BUILT HERE < A 
 PARISIAN APARTMENT HOUSE ALMOST 
 ALWAYS HAS BALCONIES' 
 
KEARNY STREET AND ITS JUNCTION 
 WITH MARKET AND GEARY STREETS 
 IS THE NEWSPAPER CENTER OF THE 
 CITY, AS WELL AS THE POINT WHERE 
 THERE IS THE GREATEST TRAFFIC < 
 
WAREHOUSES, SHACKS AND DOCKS 
 ON THE EAST SLOPE OF TELEGRAPH 
 HILL ' IT IS UNFORTUNATE THAT 
 THERE IS NOT A ROAD BY WHICH 
 THE TOP MAY BE REACHED- 
 
THE NEW CITY HALL REPLACES IN 
 SHINING GRANITE THE SOMBER, BUT 
 PICTURESQUE OLD CITY HALL ' CLAS- 
 SIC BUILDINGS DEVOTED TO CIVIC PUR- 
 POSES SURROUND THE SQUARE' 
 
ALCATRAZ FROM TELEGRAPH HILL' 
 THE FIRE OF 1906 SWEPT OVER PARTS 
 OF THE HILL < A FEW OF THE TREES RE- 
 MAIN AS WELL AS THE OLD HOUSES 
 ON THE EASTERN SLOPE- 
 
A CHINATOWN ALLEY < UNINTEN- 
 TIONAL ARCHITECTURAL BEAUTY IS 
 IN THE NARROW ALLEYS OF CHINA- 
 TOWN ' DISTINCTIVE SPOTS OF LIGHT 
 AND SHADE ARE MADE BY THE WIN- 
 DOWS, FIRE ESCAPES AND OVERHANG- 
 ING ROOFS- 
 
HOLLIDAY'S HILL IS THE HIGHEST 
 POINT IN THE WESTERN ADDITION < IT 
 IS A GREAT SAND DUNE ' SAN FRAN- 
 CISCO IS BUILT LARGELY ON STEEP 
 ROLLING DUNES- 
 
CHINESE BULLETIN BOARD , DURING 
 THE DAY INTERESTED GROUPS CAN BE 
 SEEN, INTENTLY SCANNING THE RED 
 AND YELLOW NEWS BULLETINS' 
 
COLONNADE OF THE PALACE OF FINE 
 ARTS ' FOG IS COMING IN, AND THE 
 SETTING SUN IS ILLUMINATING THE 
 HIGHER CLOUD BANKS - 
 
THE BAY AND SEA SURROUND THE 
 CITY, THE PACIFIC OCEAN BREAKS ON 
 ITS WESTERN SHORE < ONLY AT NIGHT 
 IS THE BEACH DESERTED < ON A WARM 
 DAY THERE ARE THOUSANDS LYING 
 ON THE SANDS < THE PARK AND THE 
 BEACH ARE THE MOST POPULAR PLACES 
 IN SAN FRANCISCO ON HOLIDAYS' 
 
THE JAPANESE GATE IN GOLDEN GATE 
 PARK ' BROUGHT HERE AT THE TIME 
 OF THE MIDWINTER FAIR, IT FORTU- 
 NATELY HAS REMAINED, AND IS THE 
 MOST COMPLETELY BEAUTIFUL ARCHI- 
 TECTURAL FEATURE IN SAN FRAN- 
 CISCO' 
 
NORTH OVER THE BAY FROM TELE- 
 GRAPH HILL THE ISLANDS, DISTANT 
 SHORES AND MOUNTAINS ARE LIKE 
 THOSE OF GREECE' 
 
EVERYWHERE IN GOLDEN GATE PARK 
 ARE LOVELY PICTURES ' IN THE PAN- 
 HANDLE ARE BEAUTIFUL OLD EUCA- 
 LYPTUS TREES t THIS SECTION OF THE 
 PARK IS LITTLE USED, AS IT IS CLOSED 
 TO MOTORS- 
 
ALMOST EVERY NIGHT THE SUN GOES 
 DOWN THROUGH THE MISTS AND IS 
 FINALLY LOST IN THE FOG BANK THAT 
 RESTS SO CONSTANTLY OUT ON THE 
 PACIFIC '