Customer Reviews

Historic Walks in San Francisco: 18 Trails Through the City's Past

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If Adah Bakalinsky's Stairway Walks in San Francisco (see my review) is like touring the city with your eccentric, but lovable aunt, Rand's book is like a walk with her history professor husband.

Rand's book is very well organized and presented. He provides maps and directions, like Adah, but adds in trip length and degree of difficulty, which are welcome information omitted from Adah's Stairway Walks.


There is little of Adah's whimsy here: it is replaced with exhaustive research on the area for each walk and its architecture. This results in a very different walking experience.

The first major difference is that many of these Historic Walks are on flatter ground, meaning they both cover different ground from Stairway Walks and are more accessible to people who have trouble with all of the climbing inherent in Adah's routes.

The second major difference is that, given his focus on history and architecture, not sweeping views, Rand's walks are not as diminished by bad weather as Adah's are.

The last difference is the sheer amount of history. The walks in this book always take me much longer than I think they will because I spend so much time standing around reading. Sometimes this is good, e.g. the Castro walk's extensive information about how Harvey Milk helped shape the area, but sometimes, like when there is an extensive discussion of old maps and how hard it is to trace exactly when a particular nondescript house was converted from a nondescript barn, you just want him to get on with it.

I like this book as a contrast and follow on to Adah's Stairway Walks book but, unless you are a history buff, I'd do Adah's first.

Rand Richards' Historic Walks In San Francisco provides 18 self-guided walks and requires only access to San Francisco streets in order to prove inviting. Pair stories about the suites and buildings and the colorful characters which surround them with anecdotes of San Francisco history and you have a superb travel book which does double duty as both a destination guide and as an excellent San Francisco survey.

This book provides 18 mapped walks through different neighborhoods in San Francisco, focusing on the history of the city, each walk taking about one to two hours, each one accompanied by detailed stories keyed to specific buildings or sites. For instance, the walk through Chinatown takes you to some of the tiny alleyways that used to be entrances to the innumerable bordellos in the region before the 1906 earthquake, along with the still functioning "Tin How" temple up three flights of stairs. This book is not to be confused with a guide to places to eat and so on. Obviously it's only going to be useful to those who are willing and able to spend many hours discovering the city. But if you're interested in seeing and learning about the historical background to this great city, it's hard to imagine how this book could be beat.

I got this book a while back and I'm still reading it ! Good points: It creates a really good insight into the history of the place, the way the streets were created by the changing environment, and municipal demands as SF., grew. The writer is careful to note historical significances, both human and material, interweaving them into the dialogue.
Bad points: The book would be improved most considerably by the inclusion of relevant pictures related to the text. Time after time, the author references some point that would be best served by a illustration. In colour would provide even more interest, but this would be optional.
Overall, I still rate that book, but it's not perfect.

I purchased this book after moving to San Francisco years ago so I could learn more about my new town. 5 years later I still haven't finished every walk. There are quite a few! The walks I've done have been absolutely amazing. It's great to go at your own pace, or skip stuff you don't find very interesting (compared to a guided tour). Every time my mom comes to visit we do a new walk and she is in hog heaven. The walks are pretty easy (I've taken my small son) and extremely informative. It gives you a whole new perspective of the town. highly, highly, highly recommended.

I received this book from my brother as a gift for he knows I enjoy historic landmarks. I found this book a great read without even being present in San Francisco. Rand really puts in some great nuggets of information. The book is categorically divided by district and has a routed map along with it. My only gripe is the very little amount of pictures. I go on trips to San Francisco but I do not reside in the city. If pictures accompanied the book then the reader could enjoy it without a walk necessarily and would second as a reference during the walk in the case the reader miss located the building. It would have been an easy five stars otherwise!

Very well put together book. Each of the 18 walks gives you an overview section of:

- Length of walk in miles
- Duration in minutes
- Walk rating (easy to hard)
- Hills
- Public transit options to and from start/end points
- Parking
- Restrooms

I really enjoyed the book's focus on architecture and history. I'm not much for the usual history stuff, but he paints a vivid picture, esp. when the topics turn to the great San Francisco earthquake of 1906. He takes pains to point out interesting items ("notice the top story on that building. It looks out of place and it should; it was added 50 years later"). The directions are clearly labeled with just enough info at each point (1-2 ppg, often more for major buildings).

Some highlights:

For the engineering-minded the cable car barn is a must see (Nob Hill walk)

During the North Beach walk you'll see famed Beat generation hangout Cafe Trieste. This is also where Francis Ford Copolla spend his days writing the screenplay of The Godfather. You see first-hand The Condor: America's first topless joint, which is now a friendly sports bar. Also of note: Vesuvio, Jack Kerouac's beatnik spot. You'll also see where Lenny Bruce got his start (as well as he allegedly fell to his death). This is the stuff of legends.


The Haight walk sends you strolling past the former homes of Jefferson Airplane, The Grateful Dead, and the infamous Charles Manson.

During the the Pacific Height walk, the fanciest area of the City, you'll bear witness to Danielle Steele's house. Nearby, there is a single home that has sat on the market for decades. The homes around it have sold for millions. It has a view of the Golden Gate Bridge and there is nothing physically wrong with the house. Why won't it sell? Go on walk 12 to learn why.

The Chinatown walk is spectacular. It should not be missed. Learning about how the seedy underbelly of this area used to work.

Unless you enjoy banking, you can probably skip all the Financial District tours. The only exception might be to duck into the Federal Reserve on Friday and get a free tour. They have a spectacular collection of money free to the public.

My wife and I went on our first two walks out of the 18 in this book on New Year's Day, and it was a great experience. I'm a San Francisco native, but I learned a tremendous amount in a couple of hours that I never knew. Richards has uncovered an amazing trove of stories connected with buildings and other sites, and he tells them well. Directions and maps are clear. The text helpfully identifies how strenuous (or not) each walk is, and about how much time it will take.

One reviewer here was bothered by the time it took to read some entries, but I wouldn't want to cut any detail. If you like, you can read the text for a walk before starting out and use the time on the walk itself to refresh your memory by skimming each passage. But I didn't mind stopping for five minutes at a time.

We'll do all the walks, and I'll be returning to many locations with or without the book now that I know more about them. I'll also be reading the book for enjoyment even when we're not out walking with it. It is already one of my favorite local history books. Unreservedly recommended.

I spent many years in Canada but San Francisco was always in my heart .... these walks are one of many ways to get intimate with California's most breathtaking city.

while completed in a methodical way, this book on San Francisco slights North Beach. does not mention coit tower, the many italian restaurants and coffee houses of the quarter. if mr richards rewrites for another edition, it is hoped he would correct this egregious omission.