for Vacation: Alameda, California, May 2006, Part 4
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San Francisco, Part Two

After my visit to SFMOMA, I crossed back over Market Street and walked a couple of blocks to Union Square. If you walked off camera right, you'd find a half-price theater tickets booth. If you walked on the pinkish diagonal stone walkway going to the middle left of the picture, you'd end up across the street from Maiden Lane, an alley of fashionable shops and restaurants, closed off for foot traffic to encourage al fresco dining in good weather. That's where we're going.

This is the exterior of the gift shop on Maiden Lane designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. It's since been turned into an art gallery. Wright liked to create tight walkways or tunnels that the visitor moves through, making the opening up into a larger interior space even more dramatic. This is emphasized here by the brick and steel wall that closes off half of the entry arch, with the arch set into a massive, closed wall. I like how the raised brick in the archway is offset by the recessed brick in the vertical band on the left. There's a lot of textural play in this facade.

As soon as you move into the narrow walkway of the building, you enter a world of white light, full circles, and soft curves. Quite a change from the formal exterior. Although the glass and chrome arch reflects the main exterior feature of the building, the effect is very different. The joining of the exterior with the interior through a tunnel of glass creates a sense of openess and continuity, another element typical of most Wright buildings. It's easy to see why so many see this interior as an early draft of NYC's Guggenheim Museum, although the Guggenheim's exterior is more in keeping with its interior, and I don't recall much drama in its entranceway.

A fifteen minute walk from Maiden Lane takes you to California Street and the Tadich Grill, the oldest operative restrurant in San Franciso, over 150 years old. The man in blue is walking in the direction of Market Street, not far from the Ferry Building. The man in red who will be walking past the camera is going in the direction of a very steep part of California Steet, a challenge to even the cable car that runs up and down the street. The Tadich Grill is very popular and long lines are usually out front, but it's worth visiting, so a mid-afternoon visit, like this one, is recommended.

Here we are, sitting at the Tadich's long, horseshoe bar. Your narrator is the guy in the mirror, taking a picture from the bar. If you're a single or a couple, the wide, comfortable bar is recommended. It's a great room with lots of character.

Here's what R. W. Apple, Jr., the New York Times food critic, recommends in his book, Apple's America: cioppino, a tomato-based seafood stew. I wasn't disappointed; a crisp white wine and slabs of minced garlic bread were a fine compliment.

Next: Still Even More Vacation!

Previous pages: One, Two , Three , Four



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