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point overlooking the spectacular Golden Gate, Fort Point protected San Francisco harbor from Confederate & foreign attack during & after the U.S. Civil War. Its beautifully arched casemates display the art of the master brick mason from the Civil War period. The Palace of Fine Arts is a beautiful building, built for the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition and reminiscent of Roman and Greek architecture. ■Coit Tower, atop Telegraph Hill in North Beach, is dedicated to the San Francisco firefighters (who fought a massive blaze in 1906 after the earthquake that destroyed much of the city center), and the tower is rumored to be designed to resemble the nozzle of a fire hose. At 250’ high, it is a healthy hike from the nearby neighborhoods just below the hill. ■The Transamerica Pyramid is the tallest and most recognizable building in San Francisco, located among the skyscrapers and highrises of the Financial District. ■Alamo Square Park in the Western Addition district is home to the famous Painted Ladies row of Victorian houses on its east side along Steiner Street, with many other pretty Victorians encircling the lovely park. ■Lombard Street. The (nearly) crookedest street in America, between Hyde & Leavenworth on Russian Hill. The city has a twistier but less scenic hill-climb along Vermont Street, south of McKinley Square on Potrero Hill. You can get a view of Lombard from the Powell & Hyde cable car line. ■22nd Street between Vicksburg and Church in Noe Valley and Filbert Street between Leavenworth and Hyde on Russian Hill - At a 31.5% grade, these streets share the honor of steepest streets in San Francisco. ■The Mission Dolores Church in the Mission District is one of the oldest structures in the city with superb city views from Dolores Park. The walls of many nearby buildings, especially on alleys between Market and Valencia are painted with a fantastic collection of murals of all sorts.
Neighborhoods