We support the idea of bringing the Warriors to San Francisco, but not just to have a pro basketball team. The benefit of getting the Warriors is that it becomes what they call an anchor tenant for a 20,000 seat arena. Then, the arena can host any number of events from sports to concerts to political conventions. We would have wholeheartedly supported an arena in 1989.

However, if it is true that they want Piers 30-32 for the arena, then we are totally against it. The Waterfront Advisory Board (which we served on) worked very hard in the late 1980s, early 1990s to create a land use plan for the 7.5 miles of waterfront that is controlled by the Port of San Francisco. One of the key elements of our plan was the requirement that any development on the water have some connection to the water. An arena would go against that, as it doesn’t have to be on a pier. If the City can find a location on the city side of the Embarcadero, we’ll certainly be open to that – assuming it’s a net positive for the City. If Mayor Lee goes for Pier 30-32, then he’s going to face his toughest battle.

We’ve been here before.

In 1989, when the former owner of the Giants, Bob Lurie, was trying to get $35 million out of the City to replace Candlestick Park, we joined the campaign against a new ballpark. Now, we are great baseball fans. But we just couldn’t accept that public money that should go to schools, infrastructure, and many other purposes, would go to multi-millionaire owners and ballplayers. Baseball is a multi-billion dollar industry. ALL independent studies prove that cities that subsidize ballparks actually lose money. Why should people who are just getting by have to spend their tax dollars on team owners and players?

Your correspondent was asked to participate in debates, against the team put together by Mayor Art Agnos, who spearheaded the campaign for a new ballpark. We appeared on KRON 4 news at 6 pm after the Mayor announced the deal he had struck with the team to give the anti-ballpark argument. Got to sit at the desk with two anchors, which was pretty cool.

We also did many debates at community groups, often against the lead debater for the pro-ballpark forces. My main point in the debates is that if the voters believed subsidizing professional baseball was that important to them, then they should vote for the ballpark.

On election night, we waited until 3 in the morning for the final results to come it – the ballpark was defeated by 1.5 percentage points. We did not cheer. We shed tears, but we knew we did the right thing, even at the cost of losing the Giants.

When the new ownership took over the Giants in 1993, we met with Larry Baer, the then the Giants’ Vice President (currently team president). We discussed what it would require for the Giants to win support for a new ballpark, after voters rejected a ballpark twice in San Francisco and twice in Santa Clara County. What he heard from us is what he had to have heard from everyone else – reach out to the community with your plans and try to address the community’s concerns over the impact of a downtown ballpark.

The Giants’ decided to build AT&T Park (originally Pac Bell) without cash subsidies from the government. They did get free land and infrastructure improvements, but that is actually what a city would have to do for any new development. This was a deal we could agree to. And, the Giants won the next election handily, with more than 60% of the vote. Nothing passes by 60% of the vote in San Francisco!

We think the baseball Gods were looking down on us. The ballpark that would have been built after the 1989 election, if it had won, would have been a non-descript stadium probably like the new White Sox Park in Chicago. Because they would be using government funding, it would have been over-budget and late, because it wouldn’t have mattered to that ownership.

But the new ownership built the most beautiful new ballpark in America, and it opened on budget and on time (April 2000), because they built it with their own money. We were proud to buy a charter seat in the new ballpark. Our charter seat cost $1,500 – frankly, it should have been higher – and that helped fund the park. We did our part to help keep the Giants in San Francisco.

Today’s Contest: Name three professional sports franchises that played in another San Francisco arena – the Cow Palace. The first five correct responses receive two gift certificates for a San Francisco Walks and Talks Walking Tour. Send your response to peter@sfwalksandtalks.com .

We hope 3 things:
(1) You will “like” our blog on Facebook and Twitter.
(2) You will donate to our favorite non-profit, the Homeless Prenatal Program.
(3) You will take our historic San Francisco walking tours. Whether you are a resident or visitor, there is a reason you are in San Francisco. Our tours will explain it to you!

We were opposing an initiative on the ballot to give the San Francisco Giants $35 million to build a ballpark to replace Candlestick Park. In our next post, we’ll explain our position on the issue. Now, this was KNBR which called itself “Giants Radio!” Needless to say, we took a beating from Ralph and all those who called in. But I must say Ralph was more than fair to us. He gave us every opportunity to state our position. At the end of the program, he referred to another anti-ballpark spokesperson, who was a pretty bland guy. Ralph said, “At least you have a sense of humor, not like the other guy.” We replied something to the effect that “to come on KNBR Giants radio and argue against a new ballpark for the Giants, we’d better have a sense of humor.”

Ralph is fighting his dismissal. We also know that Ralph has Parkinson’s. We wish Ralph the best and we are sorry that he will be off the air.

Today’s Contest: The ballpark issue failed in 1989. Many believe it would have won had it not been for a specific event. What was that event? The first five correct responses receive two gift certificates for a San Francisco Walks and Talks Walking Tour. Send your response to peter@sfwalksandtalks.com .

We hope 3 things:
(1) You will “like” our blog on Facebook and Twitter.
(2) You will donate to our favorite non-profit, the Homeless Prenatal Program.
(3) You will take our historic San Francisco walking tours. Whether you are a resident or visitor, there is a reason you are in San Francisco. Our tours will explain it to you!

It is sad that they didn’t make it through May 27, the 75th Anniversary of their magnificent accomplishment.

In 1977, Stephen Cassidy spent many hours interviewing a number of bridge workers for the 40th Anniversary Celebrations. In 1979, Cassidy authored “Spanning the Gate,” one of the two best books on the building of the bridge. He quotes the men he interviewed extensively in the book. The interviews are now on CDs in the possession of our friends at the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy. We had the opportunity to listen to a few of the interviews.

The other great book is called “The Gate,” by John van der Zee. This is more in depth than Cassidy’s book, but we highly recommend reading both books.

Today’s Contest:  200,000 people walked on the bridge the day it opened in 1937.  What was that day called? The first five correct responses receive two gift certificates for a San Francisco Walking Tour. Send your response to peter@sfwalksandtalks.com

We hope 3 things:
(1) You will “like” our blog on Facebook and Twitter.
(2) You will donate to our favorite non-profit, the Homeless Prenatal Program.
(3) You will take our historic San Francisco walking tours. Whether you are a resident or visitor, there is a reason you are in San Francisco. Our tours will explain it to you!

“A Sonora man named Charles Segerstrom had cast a rivet from historic high Sierra gold and donated it to the (Golden Gate Bridge and Highway) District. It was going to be driven into the span as the symbolic last rivet.

Shortly after 9 a.m., two companies of men from Fort Scott’s 6th Coast Artillery joined ranks behind their company band at the toll plaza. They … set out marching toward the centerspan. As they reached the first pylon they were met by a horrified … bridge official, obviously alarmed by so many close-order feet tromping over his deck. ‘Have your men break step,’ he screamed at the band leader. ‘Do you want to ruin the Bridge?’ The entire command fell into disarray and, deflated, shuffled toward the ceremony.”

The Golden Gate Bridge represented a new state of the art in building suspension bridges, with properties that were unique and not fully understood by engineers. There was something about the rhythmic pounding of a marching military unit that could damage the bridge.

Meanwhile, at the centerspan, with many political and civic leaders on hand, Edward Stanley, the man who drove the first rivet on the bridge, would drive the gold rivet. It was meant to capture the driving of the gold spike that completed the Transcontinental Railroad. But gold is very soft, and the rivet’s head broke off. They had to replace it with a standard rivet.

Not an inspiring day, but fortunately, it was not an omen, as the Bridge was a huge success.

Today’s Contest: What is the scientific explanation for what would happen to the bridge in the situation of marching troops all in unison? The first five correct responses receive two gift certificates for a San Francisco Walks and Talks Walking Tour. Send your response to peter@sfwalksandtalks.com.

We hope 3 things: (1) You will “like” our blog on Facebook and Twitter. (2) You will donate to our favorite non-profit, the Homeless Prenatal Program. (3) You will take our historic San Francisco walking tours. Whether you are a resident or visitor, there is a reason you are in San Francisco. Our tours will explain it to you!
 

Doyle led the efforts in the North Bay to build the Golden Gate Bridge. He was one of a number of key political and civic leaders without whom, this bridge would not have been built. (We are certain a bridge would eventually be built, but could it have been as grand as this one?). Doyle was an original member of the Golden Gate Highway and Bridge District Board of Directors. He was called “the father of the Golden Gate Bridge.”

In three years, when the new approach to the Golden Gate Bridge is completed, it will continue to be called Doyle Drive.

Today’s Contest:  Name the counties that were the original members of the Golden Gate Bridge and Highway District.   The first five correct responses receive two gift certificates for a San Francisco Walks and Talks Walking Tour.  Send your response to peter@sfwalksandtalks.com.  First five correct responses win gift certificates for 2 on our walking tours.

We hope 3 things: (1) You will “like” our blog on Facebook and Twitter. (2) You will donate to our favorite non-profit, the Homeless Prenatal Program. (3) You will take our historic San Francisco walking tours. Whether you are a resident or visitor, there is a reason you are in San Francisco. Our tours will explain it to you!
 

The Gold Dust is a contradiction in terms – a local bar in Union Square serving both locals and tourists alike. Unfortunately, we don’t think the Gold Dust rises to historic.  We also realize that the Handlery Group is legally entitled to evict the Gold Dust.  To us, neither is the issue.

What is sad is that the Handlery Group wants to evict the Gold Dust for another retail store indistinguishable from all the others.  It truly doesn’t matter what kind of store it is; it will be just one more retail store selling items that no one needs, at prices no one should pay if they care about their financial futures.  Does Union Square need still another retail clothing store?  We think not.  It does need a place for spirits and conviviality, an oasis from the overwhelming emphasis on consumerism.

We think that when San Francisco’s guests go home, they will have far more good memories of the Gold Dust.  It may not be historic, but it is part of what makes San Francisco San Francisco.

But for too many, it’s only about money.  We assume the Handlery Group is doing very well for itself financially with its hotel and real estate holdings. Perhaps it will make greater profits with a retail store, which is its right.  But if we owned the building, we would gladly sacrifice a few dollars to be associated with something that people truly care for.  It is not as if the Gold Dust is having trouble attracting customers – it does a great business.  It must be making good money for the Handlery Group.

For more information on the Gold Dust, visit http://golddustloungesf.com/

We hope 3 things: (1) You will “like” our blog on Facebook and Twitter. (2) You will donate to our favorite non-profit, the Homeless Prenatal Program. (3) You will take our walking tours. Whether you are a resident or visitor, there is a reason you are in San Francisco. Our tours will explain it to you!

We are going to provide a 15 to 20 minute talk called “Tales of the Bridge,” a shorted version of our live documentary on the bridge.  We will be there for any discussions and questions until 3 p.m.  We are excited about using the art to illustrate the challenges that had to be overcome to build the bridge, honoring those who did build it.

We quote from the Gallery website:  “George Krevsky Gallery, in collaboration with guest curator Gail Goldyne, has selected a group of talented and internationally recognized artists to memorialize the Art Deco span. The exhibition includes Bay Area Figurative artist Joan Brown, ceramicist Richard Shaw, photographers Richard Misrach, JoSon and Richard Nagler, painters Chester Arnold, Guy Diehl and Helen Berggruen, printmaker Rupert Garcia, sculptors Steve Allen and Ken Kalman, and architect William Walters. The artworks pay homage not only to the orange vermillion structure, but also the city’s infamous fog, hilly terrain, majestic beauty, windy bay, and to the construction workers who built the Bridge. These fine art interpretations are documents of the culture of our time.”

The Details:  George Krevsky Gallery, 77 Geary Street, #205, San Francisco 94108.  The opening reception is Thursday May 3, 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. and there will be an “Artists in Conversation” program on Wednesday, May 9 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.  Our program will be on Saturday, June 2, at 2 p.m.

(A quick note on Stanton Delaplane – he brought the recipe for the Irish Coffee to the Buena Vista Café  www.thebuenavista.com on Fisherman’s Wharf, which you can read about here.)

The San Francisco Chronicle  reprints the columns from one of these great columnists in the Sunday Datebook section.  They provide a glimpse into the San Francisco of a half century past.  This past Sunday, April 22, The Datebook published a quintessential Herb Caen column that incorporates several of his “topics,” for lack of a better term:  plays on words, clever witticisms supplied by his readers, San Francisco society, San Franciscan-only names for neighborhoods and places, and comments on human foibles.  If you haven’t heard of him, or read his columns, let us introduce you to him with this one column that will give you a pretty good idea of his style: http://tinyurl.com/6nxl39s 

He encouraged readers to send “items,” short quotes, puns, observations etc. If one of your items made it into Herb’s column, you made it as a true San Franciscan, we liked to believe.  We made it on our only attempt.

In 1987, we worked as a precinct captain on the winning mayoral campaign of Art Agnos.  During his first term, some of Art’s strongest liberal backers felt he was moving to the center, abandoning positions on which he ran (not unlike liberals’ disappointments with President Obama).  We cannot remember what it was that he proposed that caught our attention, but we do recall that it seemed to favor “downtown interests,” which liberals and progressives were at war with.   We thought it was a position that his centrist predecessor, Dianne Feinstein,  would take.

Mayor Feinstein often wore bow ties with her business suit.  So, we sent Herb a comment with a brief introduction of the issue, then wrote: “When does this man start wearing bow ties?”   Herb clearly got it and sent us a note saying, “keep them coming.”  Unfortunately, we don’t write “funny” very well or very often, so that was our only submission.  We only wish we still had the column and the note – how does memorabilia like this get lost?

The Chronicle has a collection of Herb Caen’s columns on line, as well as pieces written about him, which you can read at http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/columns/herbcaen/tribute.

Although Herb was primarily a columnist in the three-dot, Walter Winchell mode, we don’t think he received enough credit as a writer.  He wrote a few books about San Francisco, but to us, his best work was in his Sunday paeans to San Francisco, the City he loved.  They were truly beautiful pieces of writing.

The City held Herb Caen Day in 1996.  A stretch of the Embarcadero in front of the Ferry Building was named “Herb Caen Way.” To a crowd of 10,000, Herb concluded his remarks: “God, I love this town.  I loved it before I was born and I’ll love it after I’m gone. But when it’s time, if I get to heaven, I’m going to say what every San Franciscan says when they get to heaven: ‘It ain’t bad, but it ain’t San Francisco.’”

Be sure to check out the Museum’s calendar of events which ar definitely worth attending, even if you live in San Francisco. Coming up is an Earth Day celebration on Saturday, April 21; historic movie night showing George Lucas’ “American Graffiti” on Thursday, April 26 at 5:45 p.m. and on Sunday, May 6, a garden party in honor of the Golden Gate Bridge’s 75th Anniversary, featuring games, crafts, prizes, trivia, music, and dancing, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Today’s Contest: In what town was American Graffiti filmed? Send your response to peter@sfwalksandtalks.com. First five correct responses win gift certificates for 2 on our walking tours.

We hope 3 things: (1) You will “like” our blog on Facebook and Twitter. (2) You will donate to our favorite non-profit, the Homeless Prenatal Program. (3) You will take our walking tours. Whether you are a resident or visitor, there is a reason you are in San Francisco. Our tours will explain it to you!

Today’s Contest:  Name a famous North Beach restaurant that made its reputation in the 1970s and 1980s because the whole staff was rude.  The first five correct responses receive two gift certificates for a San Francisco Walks and Talks Walking Tour.  Send your response to peter@sfwalksandtalks.com.

We hope 3 things: (1) You will “like” our blog on Facebook and Twitter. (2) You will donate to our favorite non-profit, the Homeless Prenatal Program. (3) You will take our walking tours. Whether you are a resident or visitor, there is a reason you are in San Francisco. Our tours will explain it to you!