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Friday March 29

  • 9:30 am

    Japanese Tea Garden

    After the successful 1894 Mid-Winter Exposition San Francisco decided to keep the Japanese Village exhibit. Makoto Hagiwara was hired to be the new manager of the Garden and immediately set about expanding the Garden three-fold to its size today. An impressive variety of flora greets you as you enter a Japanese inspired wonderland of small scenes created throughout the Garden. The peace and quiet of the Garden encourages one to slow down and be mindful of the surroundings - A perfect walk for those seeking a peaceful afternoon...

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  • 10:00 am

    Cityscapes And Public Places

    The 1985 Downtown Plan was one of the most important piece of red tape in San Francisco history. With accelerating downtown development, city officials laid down some ground rules: If you’re going to build here, you’re going to have to pay a little extra to cover the necessary infrastructure improvements. Oh — and you have to devote a portion of your project to a publicly accessible open space. Thus, Privately-Owned Public Open Spaces (POPOS) were born.

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  • 10:00 am

    South of Market (SOMA) Architecture Stroll

    Visit one of the greatest clusters of new buildings on the planet. Just as San Francisco quickly rebuilt itself following the 1906 earthquake, SF and tech companies teamed up to encourage the rapid transformation of South of Market after the financial downturn in 2008. SOMA became an architect’s dream: capital and demand were everywhere, and the district became an architectural gallery featuring soaring skyscrapers next to Beaux Arts and postmodern masterpieces.   We'll see how these buildings responded to both earthquake threats, and the stresses of rapid development on the community.

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  • 10:30 am

    Fisherman's Wharf: A Hidden History

    It may not look like it now, but underneath the sleek, commercial facade of today’s redeveloped Fisherman’s Wharf, hundreds of Italian immigrants built an entire industry on the backs of Dungeness crab. Not everything on this tour happens on the water. We'll look at Ghirardelli Square, once the factory of San Francisco's most beloved chocolatier. Passing the Hyde Street Cable Car Turnaround we  discuss San Francisco's cable cars and we'll explain the stories of many of the historic ships anchored at the Hyde Street Pier.  Discover a new side of the Wharf, featuring stories of the Bay that locals themselves don't know.

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  • 10:30 am

    Golden Gate Park: Mid Park Ramble
    Hidden Gems, Rarely Visited

    Discover fascinating, but seldom-visited features in the Park by hiking from the Music Concourse around Stow Lake and to the observatory ruins atop the second highest sand dune in San Francisco. Tour the Prayer Book Cross commemorating a little-known 16th century event and Lloyd Lake's Portals of the Past, a haunting reminder of the tragedy of 1906.

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  • 11:00 am

    Fort Mason To Aquatic Park

    here’s a small rocky outcrop jutting into the bay that has been a vital part of San Francisco’s history, from its very beginning right up to today. Bring your camera to capture stunning views of the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, the Bay Bridge, Aquatic Park and the Hyde Street Pier. You’ll see historic buildings, a hidden oasis, outsized art and the wild parrots of Telegraph Hill.

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  • 12:00 pm

    Pacific Heights Mansions

    Old money heirs share fences with newly minted tech billionaires in Pacific Heights, arguably one of San Francisco’s toniest and most exclusive neighborhoods. Atop a hill with majestic views, the area’s towering mansions were a manifestation of of Victorian excess and a key part of the Gold Coast’s development. After the 1906 earthquake, homeless quake refugees provided the moneyed residents a different sort of neighbor. You’re as likely to run into a celebrity resident as a diplomat visiting one of the manses-turned-consultates.

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  • 1:00 pm

    Japanese Tea Garden

    After the successful 1894 Mid-Winter Exposition San Francisco decided to keep the Japanese Village exhibit. Makoto Hagiwara was hired to be the new manager of the Garden and immediately set about expanding the Garden three-fold to its size today. An impressive variety of flora greets you as you enter a Japanese inspired wonderland of small scenes created throughout the Garden. The peace and quiet of the Garden encourages one to slow down and be mindful of the surroundings - A perfect walk for those seeking a peaceful afternoon...

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  • 1:00 pm

    Mission Dolores Neighborhood

    See one of San Francisco’s oldest and most colorful neighborhoods, the Mission, where you’ll trace a history beginning with Indigenous peoples through waves of immigrants to today’s concerns of gentrification. Begin at the famous golden fire hydrant where locals successfully fought to save the area during the 1906 earthquake. Gaze at a spectacular view of SF’s skyline from gorgeous Dolores Park.  Wander through a historic district, get a mini-course about Victorian styles, go down the hip Valencia Street corridor, see and understand the importance in the Mission of its murals, while learning about the area’s Indigenous peoples and the colonization by Spain and Mexico at the oldest building in San Francisco, Mission Dolores, the church of Saint Francis of Assisi.

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  • 1:00 pm

    Presidio: From Military Base to National Park with Tunnel Tops

    From Spain, to Mexico, to the United States — The Presidio has been home to more militaries than almost any other fortress in America.  When the military left lawmakers transformed the space into a National Park in 1996, and since then the Presidio has become one of the greatest (and greenest) places to explore in all of San Francisco. Join us on a walk through San Francisco’s panoramic, luscious park, with wooded areas and scenic views as far as the eye can see including the newly-created Tunnel Tops.

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  • 1:30 pm

    City Hall and the Civic Center

    After the original City Hall perished in the 1906 earthquake, San Francisco had a chance to think bigger the second time around. Civic Center is a campus that houses some of the city’s most important governmental and cultural institutions. Minimal walking — but maximum awe.

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  • 1:30 pm

    Gold Rush City

    "Gold! Gold from the American River!", shouted San Francisco businessman Sam Brannan, as he ran down Montgomery Street in May,1848, waving a jar filled with gold over his head, sparking the Gold Rush. As word spread rapidly around the world, the tiny village of San Francisco, tucked amidst massive sand dunes by the Bay, and frequented by grizzly bears and mountain lions, was transformed virtually overnight into a booming instant city.

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  • 3:00 pm

    Golden Gate Park: East End
    Flowers & Tunnels & Bears, Oh My!

    It was the 1860s, and everyone had heard about New York City’s Central Park — a spacious plot of green that contrasted sharply with the metallic landscape beyond. To recreate such a space in San Francisco, city officials looked west and by the turn of the century, Golden Gate Park had developed into an enormous playground for a recreation-starved city.  Breathe deep and enjoy a natural oasis on the Pacific.

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