SF City Guides
LightNews LightNews
banner
sfcityguides.bsky.social
SF City Guides
@sfcityguides.bsky.social
330 followers 48 following 820 posts
Since 1978; San Francisco: One story at a time. 501 C 3
💙 70+ free walks through city neighborhoods
❤️ RSVPs Optional
Tag your photos w/ #sfcityguides
www.sfcityguides.org
Posts Replies Media Videos
Pinned
sfcityguides.bsky.social
SF City Guides @sfcityguides.bsky.social · Mar 11
Fort Mason to Aquatic Park tour covers one of the city’s most underrated waterfront stretches — with views of the Golden Gate, Alcatraz, wild parrots, & WPA-era murals. A must, whether you’re a visitor or a local who’s never explored this gem.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

sfcityguides.org/tour/fort-ma...
sfcityguides.bsky.social
Market Street in 1910. Make note of the multiple street car lines down market street.

Market street prior to the Roar of the Four, had cable cars running down market street. 5 cable car lines ran down Markey Street.

Muni Heritage Weekend - Sept 19 & 20
www.sfcityguides.org/muni-heritag...
September 16, 2026 at 3:24 PM
sfcityguides.bsky.social
Before the F Line became a fixture of SF streets, it was born out of necessity. When the cable car tracks shut down for repairs in 1980s, Muni held a “Historic Trolley Festival, which became permanent September 1, 1995.

The Cable Cars, Halfway to the Stars sfcityguides.org/tour/cable-c...
September 15, 2026 at 3:31 PM
sfcityguides.bsky.social
Old St Mary’s Cathedral built in 1854. It was once the tallest building west of the Mississippi.

www.sfcityguides.org
September 14, 2026 at 3:46 PM
sfcityguides.bsky.social
Maya Angelou was a conductor who worked on the back platform of electric streetcars, collecting fares and ensuring passenger safety.

SF City Guides Cable Cars, Halfway to the Stars

www.sfcityguides.org/muni-heritag...
September 13, 2026 at 3:26 PM
sfcityguides.bsky.social
Muni Heritage Weekend Sept 19–20!

2 days of vintage transit history at the SF Railway Museum. Streetcars, cable cars, and buses spanning 141 years — including the 1896 “Dinky” & the Blackpool Boat Tram.

SF City Guides is hosting a guided cable car walking tour.

www.sfmta.com/calendar/mun...
September 11, 2026 at 6:19 PM
sfcityguides.bsky.social
The Tower of Jewels, 1915

Rising 435 feet at the heart of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, the Tower of Jewels was San Francisco’s most dazzling illusion.

Palace Of Fine Arts/Marina Walking Tour www.sfcityguides.org/tour/palace-...
September 10, 2026 at 4:15 PM
sfcityguides.bsky.social
On April 18, 1906, a 22-year-old photographer arrived in San Francisco hours after the earthquake — and hid her camera in a baby carriage to get past the armed guards. They didn’t want photographers documenting what had occurred.

1906 Earthquake & Fire www.sfcityguides.org/tour/1906-ea...
September 9, 2026 at 3:39 PM
sfcityguides.bsky.social
Flood Mansion after the 1906 earthquake & fire.

The Nob Hill free walking tour shares this history. sfcityguides.org/tour/nob-hill/
September 8, 2026 at 3:58 PM
sfcityguides.bsky.social
Seals on the Rocks at the Farallons, photo taken 1868–69.

Photo courtesy of Carlton Watkins

www.sfcityguides.org
September 7, 2026 at 4:04 PM
sfcityguides.bsky.social
The Aquatic Park Bathhouse opened to the public in 1939, but was soon leased to private businessmen who opened the Aquatic Park Casino. 1941.

Thanks to the SF Chronicle for allowing us to post their photo.

The Fishermen’s Wharf: A Hidden History Walking Tour sfcityguides.org/tour/fisherm...
September 5, 2026 at 5:09 PM
sfcityguides.bsky.social
Built in 1898 by Bernard J.S. Cahill and reflecting the Neo-Classical architectural style, the Columbarium survived a 1901 law that banned further burials within the city limits when they relocated many burial sites and tombstones to Colma.

www.sfcityguides.org
September 4, 2026 at 3:54 PM
sfcityguides.bsky.social
One of the luxurious ways to get around the 1915 Pan Pacific International Exhibition was by these wicker motor driven vehicles.

www.sfcityguides.org
September 3, 2026 at 3:41 PM
sfcityguides.bsky.social
This 75-minute walk explores the California Academy of Sciences and de Young Museum, both rebuilt post-1989 earthquake by renowned architects emphasizing sustainability. Covers Alice Eastwood’s history, site-specific art, & the de Young tower’s city view.

www.sfcityguides.org/tour/archite...
September 1, 2026 at 7:09 PM
sfcityguides.bsky.social
Renovating the Ferry Building in October 1906 (6 months after the catastrophe).

The Ferry Building free walking tour shares many stories of this iconic building: sfcityguides.org/tour/ferry-b...
August 31, 2026 at 3:58 PM
sfcityguides.bsky.social
San Franciscans lined up by the thousands when the Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Building opened — the city’s first true skyscraper.

Downtown Deco Free Walking Tour: www.sfcityguides.org/tour/downtow...

Thanks to SFMOMA for the Pflueger drawing.
August 30, 2026 at 3:44 PM
sfcityguides.bsky.social
In 1974, 135 Chinatown garment workers—mostly Chinese immigrant women—struck Esprit’s Jung Sai factory for nearly a year, facing 64 arrests. Their fight sparked lasting Asian-American labor activism in SF.

Dogpatch West. www.sfcityguides.org/tour/dogpatc...
August 29, 2026 at 4:25 PM
sfcityguides.bsky.social
Perched atop the InterContinental Mark Hopkins, Top of the Mark has been a San Francisco icon since the 1930s. Once a glamorous gathering place for World War II servicemen & women, this legendary penthouse bar still offers sweeping 360-degree views of the Bay.

sfcityguides.org/tour/nob-hill/
August 28, 2026 at 3:53 PM
sfcityguides.bsky.social
Powell at Market streets, c.1915. San Francisco, CA. Located right where the cable car turnaround is today. Thanks to John Bosko for allowing us to repost their photo.

www.sfcityguides.org
August 27, 2026 at 3:22 PM
sfcityguides.bsky.social
Starting in the mid-1860s, Carlton Watkins photographed the first Cliff House from nearly every angle: perched on its cliff above Seal Rocks.

The Lands End: Sutro Heights Walking Tour. sfcityguides.org/tour/lands-e...
August 26, 2026 at 3:55 PM
sfcityguides.bsky.social
The pagoda was built as temporary indoor display in the 1915 Panama Pacific International Exposition’s Palace of Food Products & relocated to the Japanese Tea Garden in 1916, where it sat outdoors for more than a century.

The Japanese Tea Garden free walking tour. sfcityguides.org/tour/japanes...
August 25, 2026 at 5:08 PM
sfcityguides.bsky.social
Passengers bought a ticket on the Apollo from the East Coast and sailed around South America Cape Horn. When they came into Yerba Buena Cove, they abandoned ship and repurposed the ship by beaching it on the waterfront where it was modified for use as a storeship in Jan 1850.

www.sfcityguides.org
August 24, 2026 at 3:42 PM
sfcityguides.bsky.social
Most visitors assume the ornate Italian Renaissance bandshell in the Music Concourse. The very first bandstand, built in 1883, was just a small wooden structure on an elevated patch of ground.

Special thanks to OpenSFHistory for allowing
Us to repost their photo.

www.sfcityguides.org
August 23, 2026 at 4:58 PM
sfcityguides.bsky.social
In the 1940s and 50s, a new generation of poets rebelled against the conventions of mainstream American life and writing. They became known as the Beat Poets.

BEAT GENERATION IN SF: REBELS, WRITERS, AND VISIONARIES. RSVP ——> sfcityguides.org/tour/beat-ge...
August 22, 2026 at 5:42 PM
sfcityguides.bsky.social
Back in 1914, as San Francisco prepped for the Panama-Pacific International Exposition. A sign “California Welcomes the World — Panama-Pacific Exposition,” and a banner across the entrance announced, “The Panama Canal is Open.”

Ferry Building Free Walking Tour www.sfcityguides.org/tour/ferry-b...
August 21, 2026 at 3:49 PM
sfcityguides.bsky.social
When cable cars were installed on Nob Hill, it made the hills accessible and they migrated across the city to Nob Hill. Cable cars made Nob Hill accessible. The photo shows a house at 555 Harrison in what was known as Rincon Hill.

www.sfcityguides.org
August 20, 2026 at 3:27 PM