lundi 19 juin 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.

Adolph Sutro, a mining engineer, who bought Cliff House and restored it to its most famous incarnation was also the force behind the famed Sutro Baths located just north of Cliff House. He began with a ocean pool aquarium that he expanded into the largest indoor bathhouse in the world. At one time Sutro Baths included seven pools, natural history exhibits, paintings, sculptures, and even Egyptian mummies. No longer in existence, the Baths can only be enjoyed in photographs.

Food is one thing this city is rightly famous for. If you spent time at the local markets, you could purchase a print of Market Street bustling with trolley cars and horse drawn carriages circa 1900. The famous Flat Iron Building is front and center in many of these pictures.

Mark Hopkins' Mansion is now a luxury hotel, and if you were fortunate enough to spend the night there, you couldn't help but notice the photos of its time as a private residence. It was controversial in its day with many citizens repulsed by its gaudy vulgarity, but others admired its impressive size. Although fire gutted it in 1906, it lives on in black and white photography.

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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