Quirky fun things in San Francisco?
 

Hi there,

I'm looking for cool things to do in San Francisco, the kind of quirky stuff that only locals know about. I've found some great tips in this forum already, like riding the elevator at the St. Francis and the view from the (police?) parking garage in Chinatown. Someone wrote about a lone republican in Noe Valley with a window display in his store.

What are some of your other favorites? It doesn't matter which neighborhood.

Thanks a lot!

Type "StuDudley" into the search box, and read his posts. He has a wealth of information on San Francisco.

Lee Ann

I just added a comment about this on another thread, but I'll jump in here, too. My daughter and I just took a walking tour of murals in the Mission district and really enjoyed our experience. Our guide (a mural artist) first showed a slide show so we would learn a bit about what we would see and then took us on a wonderful walk through the colorful Mission district. We must have seen over 30 murals in just an hour and a half. The tour was through the Precita Eyes Mural Project on 24th Street. We are locals but hadn't even heard about this until we had to research ideas for a project for my daughter's Spanish class.

Another fun outing is to visit Fort Point for an unusual view of the Golden Gate Bridge. This is also where Kim Novak supposedly jumped into the water in one of Alfred Hitchcock's movies.

I also enjoy walking down the Filbert Street steps (near Coit Tower) and enjoying the gardens the residents have planted. You may also catch a glimpse of a flock of wild parrots that have made the gardens their home.

I'm not a local, and this certainly isn't insider info, but my kids loved the Tactile Dome in the Exploratorium. It certainly is a unique experience!

Do they still have furniture glued to the building on 6th street? (don't go there alone!) I don't remember the cross street, but not far from Market.

Faina,
I think it's at 6th and Howard? Definitely a drive-by activity.

And, yep, the lone Rep in Noe Valley (not really, lots of old-timers in Noe Valley) still has all his literature posted up on the window of his business. 24th Street above Castro, say between Castro and Diamond. If you head over there, make sure to get a reservation at Firefly for dinner. Delish and low-key.

Leely, yes, drive-by activities with a loud bang are popular in the city :))

>>And, yep, the lone Rep in Noe Valley...... 24th Street above Castro, say between Castro and Diamond.<<

Between Castro & Noe - on north side of street. Twin Peaks Realty. Owner calls the area the "Looney Valley".

Stu Dudley

Thanks so much for all these great loopy suggestions---it's exactly what I was hoping for!

Is anyone familiar with the pirate supply store at 826 Valencia? I've not been there, but my son loves this place, and it definitely sounds quirky. Here's the web site for the store:

http://www.826valencia.org/store/index.html

Somewhere on the 9th street there is a bakery or sweets store selling very special cakes and candy.

I was well in my 40s then and I don't look younger then my age, walked in the store to see what's in. You should've seen the salesperson, how he watched me, hoping I didn't know where I'd walked in. He probably thought I'd realise those lolly-pops resemble body parts and run out.

The Wells Fargo Bank Museum is free and interesting.

Beach Blanket Babylon a lot of laughs (but news of it has spread beyond the locals).

The Grandviews Lounge in the Hyatt Hotel offers spectacular views from the 36th floor.

Well, I don't know if this is quirky or not, but go to www.mapquest.com and put in the address for Levi Straus at 1155 Battery Street. If you walk through the Plaza and towards Telegraph Hill you will see a stairway going up the Hill to Coit Tower. On the map it looks like it might be called Filbert St. (perhaps someone can help me out here). See Napier Lane and the other little lane? There are beautiful views from here and you can see the famous "birds" (pet parrots that got loose and now are wild). Recently they wanted to trim back the eucalyptus trees in that area and people objected because that is where the birds live.

My sister told me there was a documentary done on the birds but I haven't seen it. They sure make a lot of noise. I love the huge trumpet type flowers that have been planted.

You could very well start at the top and walk down, but if you take a look at the map, you will have an idea of where the stairs are. There are over 300 stairs (we lost count).

At 1360 Montgomery Street there is an Art Deco building that was used in the film Dark Passage. Julius Castle is at 1541 Montgomery.

More on the birds:

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cg...EGRAPHHILL.DTL

Newspaper article:

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cg...002&sc=926

ttt

Definitely try to see "Beach Blanket Babylon"

Thanks for all the fantastic tips, everyone!

FainaAgain: I'd love to visit that bakery you described. Do you have any idea what it's called or where on 9th it is? Were you there recently? It sounds delish.

If you're interested in avant-garde film and media, you may want to attend a screening or whatever's going on at Artists' Television Access (ATA) on Valenica Street in the Mission.

Check out the schedule at http://www.atasite.org/

It's a small space, so get there early if you're going.

this place looks like the one, x-rated cakes listed

http://www.thecakegallerysf.com/

may be not exactly the same, as I worked in that area in 1992-95

Cake Gallery Party Center at 290 9th street