My San Francisco is a series of posts that describes my own personal relationship with The City. My San Francisco pieces might be photo essays; they might be life stories or they could be commentaries. They might be a combination of some or all three. My impressions won’t necessarily be paeans to San Francisco; it’s a beautiful city that often dons an ugly mask. These pieces will always have one common theme; they are my expressions of my personal San Francisco experience.
I know a lot of people who avoid Downtown San Francisco as if it were a Trump rally (Sorry, that’s how most of the people who I know roll). Me, I love it. As a prequel to another commentary on San Francisco, specifically downtown, here’s a little photo essay.
On the move.
Downtown is where people and things always seem to be on the move and in a hurry to get somewhere. Below, the 30 Stockton Bus just out of the Stockton Street tunnel heads past Union Square 
Below, reflections from a speeding commuter bus. 
Below, a Powell Street cable car crosses Geary Street. 
Below a woman rushes past a department store window on Stockton Street. I guess the prices were too high for her liking. 
High rise.
Downtown wouldn’t be downtown without highrises, old and new. Below the contrast of old versus new.
The Salesforce Tower is the tallest building west of the Mississippi. It looms over the smaller pretenders. Below are three images. Black and white; disappearing into the fog; with a little editing licence making it a blue city. 
Entertainment
Downtown has the theater district but if you want some free entertainment it’s readily found on Market Street. Below a Michael Jackson impersonator moonwalked, lip synced and looked a little creepy. 
Where it all began
My wife Cora and I met when we were working at a downtown hardware store. 40 some years later it’s still there. 
The Life in My Years 
Working at a hardware store? That sounds like a great way to meet. Much better than at a bar or on Tinder.
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It was a great way to meet. Nowadays company policies often prohibit coworkers dating. And marriage? Forget it. Of course back then there was no internet dating. There were ads in the newspapers and I believe that there were papers dedicated to dating. That job was actually the best one I ever had. No corporate nonsense.
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I can see that!
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I met my fiancé on Tinder 😊💕. It was an interesting process!!
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Given some of the stories I’ve heard and what I’ve seen my daughter go through I have to say that I’m glad that I met my wife during a time when it seemed easier to meet your future spouse.
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I had mostly good experiences, but then not so much. I may have to post about it. I’m in my 50’s – i’d be curious to know how my experience compares to your daughters!! Fun times. Haha.
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I don’t know if my daughter used Tinder per se. She was open about being a single mom of two living at home with the parents. I think she got a few inappropriate comments from guys who could’ve just passed her over without a word. You know what they say about opinions…. Things do seem to be working out though. She’s met a great guy who likes the kids and vice versa.
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16 years ago my husband and I stayed at a small inn, The Inn at Union Square. Not sure if it’s still there, loved the place but no air conditioning and the city was having a heat wave during mid September. Fun place to explore but the number of Homeless people was staggering.
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Hi Carolyn, the Inn at Union Square is still there. September is in many ways the best time to visit. Kids are back in school so the tourist population is down and the weather is the warmest of the year (as you found out).
The homeless situation is worse now than it was then. Same as in San Jose and actually much worse in Oakland. Either there is no solution or those who can actually move towards meaningful change don’t find the options palatable. I’m thinking the latter.
Thank you for visiting and commenting.
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Motion shots, very cool! 🙂
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Thank you Amy. It was my first real try at doing that sort of thing. I had to fight a natural urge to pan with the bus.
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Really nice peek at the City.
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Thank you Michael and the thank you for visiting.
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The photo of the older architecture against the new is really cool!
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Thank you. That old/new thing is a sort of a favorite theme of mine. Pretty easy to find in an urban setting, a little more difficult but not impossible in a rural one.
Thank you so much for visiting and for commenting.
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Cool shots of the buildings – do u all celebrate anniversaries at the hardware store?? 😊
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Not anniversaries but when we’re in the area we stop in and talk to some of the employees. We tell then what it was like in the store and in the general area 40 years ago. For instance (and consider this a teaser for an upcoming post) there’s a little bistro across the street from the store that used to be a dive bar. At break we would sneak into the bar, have a couple of shots and go back to work.
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Haha! Shots at work. The good old days. Cheers!
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