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Walk On the Historical Side

San Francisco is a city that's been beloved by writers, artists and filmmakers for years. Yet there's more to the city than the picturesque: There are whole neighborhoods, sub-sects of history and quirky, fascinating trivia waiting to be discovered. Fortunately, this unique, indispensable knowledge is cultivated and shared by loyal volunteers who lead several walking tours around San Francisco. Here are a few ways to take a quick trip through the city's History.

City Guides
Affiliated with the San Francisco Public Library and supported by various funds and donations from the public, City Guides offers more than 200 trained volunteers dedicated to their mission of helping others discover, preserve and perpetuate the rich history, folklore and cultural diversity of San Francisco. They offer various types of tours all over the city -- you can check out their Web site to view schedules and tours offered. You can also call this telephone number:

CITY GUIDES
San Francisco Public Library
Main Branch /Civic Center
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 557-4266

Peter Cohen, an urban geographer, offers his own walking tours independently (he also conducts tours for City Guides). He leads his own specialized tours of the Mission district. You can contact him at pcohen@sfsu.edu for more information about these tours:

Northeast Mission Tour (old industrial quadrant) This tour looks at this area's transformation from industry to the modern live-work and high-tech sector of the city. One of the most controversial areas of San Francisco, the tour focuses on its intense change and the equally intense focus it has come under.

Giant Transact of Mission This tour begins at Mission Dolores (West Mission) and covers its historic beginnings. It crosses into the heart of the Mission and ends up in middle of an inner Mission residential area, which has been the real center of gentrification and displacement. The tour focuses on familiarizing people with the subareas of the Mission and all their nuances.

Mission Community Gardens Held on Open Garden Day (usually at end of September), this tour, sponsored by SLUG (San Francisco League of Urban Gardeners), organizes a walk that starts at 15th and Dolores Streets and zigzags through the Mission, stopping at half a dozen community gardens. The tour includes the history of each site, and conversation with the gardeners who run them. For more information on SLUG, go to http://www.slug-sf.org/.

KQED's Sin, Fire and Gold
For a virtual tour of San Francisco's amazing history, visit the KQED Sin, Fire and Gold Web site at http://www.kqed.org/tv/productions/sinfiregold/. Host Greg Sherwood joins tour guide and historian Daniel Bacon in sifting through the present to uncover some of San Francisco's fascinating past.
 		 







Political mural, San Francisco










 


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