WHAT KIND OF SHOWERS COME OUT OF A GOLDEN HYDRANT? (A Quick 'Where Is This? Post)

Okay, a quick, sidewalk-themed, two-part-er.  First, an easy one (you should know this one); it's in San Francisco (and no, it's not a prop for the big Academy of Friends party):

And the real quiz; it's on a pavement in San Francisco (and they're not some fish that fell out of a bin in Chinatown and onto the sidewalk):

Just like last time, the first person to come up with the right answer gets a prize (the first person to guess the first one'll get something).

And the winner of the last "Where?" is...my dear friend Kali!  Sorta.  She guessed that she'd seen this view from somewhere around 16th & Valencia in San Francisco (because it was "close, but no cigar, she gets a set of postcards instead of notecards :-P ):

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In reality, it's on Capp just south of 18th; it was interesting to see how the three small cottages had been placed on one standard lot with a small alley entrance and a small garden in back, and the view to the church just closed the deal.  In the great way that histories and peoples and communities overlap in an older urban neighborhood, the 19th century religious structure is now the Korean United Presbyterian Church; the corner of Capp and 18th houses Balompie Cafe, a great Salvadorean eatery; and out of view to the left of the church is the classic early-60's era Whiz Burger Drive-In.  Anyone know if these may be "earthquake cottages?"

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ON THE STREETS OF SAN FRANCISCO

 A zeizen pesach, y'all.


Okay, I have to admit something embarrassing and shameful: I'm addicted to "The Streets of San Francisco" re-runs on KOFY.  I record it daily and probably watch one or two episodes each week.

But how can I resist?!  The great low-tech montage opening (I wish I'd had the Fisherman's Wharf segment when I ran a workshop with their business improvement district!), the Henry Mancini score, Karl Malden and Michael Douglas, old-style single-stream plotlines, police work without glitzy CSI techniques or even cellphones, the vintage cars and clothes and slang, "special guest stars" like Desi Arnaz Jr. or Ricky Nelson or Susan Dey, and all the tv character actors I remember from my youth.  You can literally see the smoke of the whole post- Summer of Love/Patty Hearst/Zebra Killer middle-America/establishment fascination and fear of San Francisco swirling around in the long shots.  And of course there are token African-American, Latino, Asian-American, and women good and bad guys, and so far I've seen one lesbian killer and two different male characters in two different episodes pretending to be gay...

I remember watching the show with my father as a kid in New York.  Now one of the great attractions is seeing familiar or lost buildings and sections of the city--a common locale is the flophouses along the Embarcadero.  And while, as a San Franciscan, I'm still not up to my New York caliber of "that's the corner of 28th & 8th," it's a joy to be able to recognize quite a bit even in the nabes, and catch those "they just turned from Market onto 19th Ave" splices.

KOFY airs the episodes in order, and the time slot right after TSOSF is a viewer-chosen half-hour; right now it's "The Flying Nun."  I kid you not, peeps voted for it ("you really like her, you really like her").  You know what that's a play on, right???

KNOW WHERE THIS IS ??? GUESS CORRECTLY AND WIN A PRIZE...

 Ah... an early-spring view of picturesque whaling cottages set in a salt-air swept Nantucket garden, with the village Congregationalist church in the background.  

NOT.  It's in San Francisco.   Do you know where? 

I realize I've been collecting these unexpected glimpses as I explore and photograph the Bay Area, New York, and other places.  And I thought a fun way to share them would be to see if anyone else recognizes them.  Then I can give you the skinny in an upcoming post.  

So if you think you know your city, and are first to guess correctly, you'll get a prize: a limited-edition set of four notecards and envelopes from my recent photography show.  Hey, people paid ten bucks for them during the show (and they'll soon be available on etsy)! 

(P.S.  Keep posted: Awaken's asked me to create a new show for sometime in the summer!)

GREAT FINDS: FAVE DOUGHNUTS, BURGERS, AND ICE CREAM IN THE BAY AREA

No surprise that all this good food's in San Francisco's Mission. None of these three places are brand-new, but if you haven't tried them you owe yourself a visit; each has great food and focuses on sourcing ingredients locally and from organic providers.  Any faves you wanna share?

Best Doughnuts:  It's weird the Bay Area doesn't have that many great doughnuts (though the vegan doughnuts at Awaken Cafe in Oakland are yum-my). We've only tried a quarter of the varieties Dynamo Donuts carries, but they've all been amazing: spiced chocolate with cinnamon and chipotle, pistachio and lemon, coconut and coconut milk (needless to say only the person who doesn't think coconut tastes like nail clippings really savored that one), and maple-glazed bacon apple (obviously only The Omnivore devoured that one.) They're on 24th Street between York and Hampshire (why, even before PDAs, Google, and Yelp, have Bay Area papers never listed cross streets in reviews???!!!) and their storefront window is always hopping and the staff is really friendly.

Best Burger:  Urbun Burger (NOT Urban Burger) is now my fave non-restaurant burger--heads above local mini-chains Bistro Burger, Barney's, and Burger Joint--and while the food at Mission Burger may be good, the the distracted, blank stares from the greasy-haired hipster cooks kinda spoils the experience--and besides it's only to-go.  The beef and turkey burgers here are great, as are the whole-wheat buns, and the sweet-potato fries and onion rings.  The burgers are customizable, they have veggie burgers, and the staff is really helpful.  They're on Valencia near 17th Street.

Best Ice Cream: Okay, by now everybody, even friends and strangers in fa-flung places like Eugene, New York, and France know about Bi-Rite Creamery and their great flavors, combinations, cones, ice-cream sandwiches and other treats.  And you may even be hip to their recent expansion and additional seating.  But did you know that any day now, their store-front window dispensing soft-serve (or custard ) will open ???!!! Yes.  Everything Sam and his family does is wonderful from the grocery to his gallery, so I have no doubts about this new addition, at 18th Street near Dolores.  They have great sorbets and soy ice cream options, so I'm hoping against hope they've figured out a custard (as we used to call it in New York) for the lactose-intolerant...

DOES THOM MAYNE HATE BICYCLES??? (and insider photos from special tours of two Thom Mayne-designed buildings)

A short piece in Momentum, a magazine for urban cyclists, about the struggle by employees to get bike racks installed in San Francisco's newish Thom Mayne-designed Federal Building, made me remember these posters I saw put up by frustrated students advocating for bike racks in the brand-new, Mayne-designed Cooper Union academic building in New York.

We know that architects can only design in response to their clients' project programs, but Mayne and his morphosis architecture firm--who have utilized their starchitect heft to ensure specific design elements remain in their projects--pride themselves on their progressive green and urban vision. But how sustainable and connected can new, large-scale, central city projects be without secure and accessible bike storage for tenants?

I actually love the overall aesthetic and design vocabulary for both these projects (I grew up in a mid-60s Brutalist/Corbu inspired building so I get my affinity for raw concrete honest) the way they fit into and relate to their urban contexts, and the attempt to create gathering spaces within the buildings. But I think the bike issue is a good example of a lack of follow-through: I saw first-hand that the implementation isn't well-done, detailing and construction are not top-drawer, and most importantly, many of the spaces and connections within the buildings don't work well for users.

I also got a look inside the newish, Caltran Los Angeles District headquarters when I was working with the City, Caltran, and Metro on a Los Angeles TOD (Transit-Oriented Development) Strategic Plan.

SPILLING THE BEANS + A QUICK MAGAZINE RANT

Carbs of Color: My dear friend Dena's mention in her great food blog about a recent post of mine made me realize that, in typical fashion, when I talked about our "non-white food diet" (i.e. whole foods and grains as much as possible, processed foods and 'white' carbs as little as possible), I alluded to the increasingly well-known health benefits, but neglected to mention the equally important personal reason was, as time went by, whenever I ate processed carbs, I would fall into a "carb coma," feeling tired and sluggish after meals. Now, even with whole grains and less processed carbs, I try to limit grains and starches at breakfast and lunch, since feeling a little sleepy after dinner is actually a good thing :-P And yes, that does mean no white potatoes, too.


Ecumenical Beans: To follow up that explanation and requests, here's another legume meal that we love: Black Bean Soup over brown rice (often called Moors and Christians in Latin America) and Braised Broccoli Rabe. The little egghead-y touch we love is the Chinese fermented black beans or sauce I add--I kinda love the idea of black beans and black beans--and it adds a nice salty/smokiness.


Soaking the dried beans overnight results in an approximately 45 minute cooking time the next day: I brown sliced turkey bacon in hot olive oil in a hot pot; saute large-diced onions, carrots, and celery until soft; stir in diced green pepper, sliced cremini mushrooms, minced garlic, and ginger, fermented black beans or sauce, sage, and bay leaves; stir in some diced tomatoes or tomato paste and red wine; add the drained black beans and stock to cover; bring to a boil and lower to a simmer until the beans are tender; adjust the salt and pepper added at each stage. Serve with parsley and lemon wedges over brown rice.


Slice off any tough parts of broccoli rabe stems. Heat olive oil in a hot pan; add sliced garlic, ginger, and hot pepper flakes; add broccoli rabe (no need to dry from rinsing) and salt and pepper and cook until tender; squeeze some lemon and serve.


The Ultimate Food City???: Dena's post also reminded me about March's Saveur, a magazine I usually love because of the great way the focus on the food of a place and culture in each issue. But this cover story focused on L.A. as the "ultimate food city," and waxed poetic about their pizza, farmers' markets, Asian cuisines, and local food. Um, at the risk of offending you Angelenos, NOT. I admit I have a strange love-hate relationship with Lala-land, but compared to San Francisco, New York, smaller places like Portland (OR and ME) and many, many other places, there is good, innovative food, but definitely not the best and not even a place incubating new trends or tastes (unless you count 80's Wolfgang Puck pizzas as a good thing)--and how can anything be local when you have to drive thirty miles of seven-lane highways just to get to dinner?

(From) HAIL TO DARWIN

Hail, Hail, the Hail's All Here: We occasionally get the odd bit of hail, but San Francisco had a truly freak hailstorm today--lasting a good five minutes with hail the size of peas, accompanied by a ten degree drop in temperature, and bracketed by rain. In my quick vid you can see my window fogging up because the temp was dropping so quickly, and that's the sound of it bouncing off the windowsill, not popcorn popping:

Half an hour of rain later, the hail was still in drifts in the tree beds and in the corners of the garage doorway.


Evolving Darwin: Following in the natural phenomena vein, the Oscars hoopla reminded me about "Creation" a film about Charles Darwin writing and struggling with "On the Origin of Species," and based upon the book "Annie's Box" by Darwin's great-great grandson that my friend Tom and I saw last month. It was a well-done period piece with interesting insight into Darwin and his marriage and family, but the premise that the twenty years delay between his voyage on The Beagle and publication were due solely to internal and domestic (Unitarian!) religious angst and family tragedy seemed simplistic. So it was serendipitous to find an old Smithsonian magazine in my doctor's office with a great article on how it took that long for him to fully grasp evolution. One unbelievable thing is that the film got such a small U.S. release because of anti-evolutionist concerns.

QUICK WEEK'S END POSTS: GARDEN UPDATE, HEIRLOOM SEEDS, HIDDEN PG&E BEAUX-ARTS INTERIOR (and mini SF CHRON rant...)

Reworking the Plot: I finally admitted to myself that some of those older seeds I'd sown just weren't going to germinate--the only way to know was try--and filled in with new arugula, mache, and mizuna seeds. It was a joy working in the garden on the first recent sunny day: the adjoining mini-park was packed with parents watching their kids play, dogs and their owners, young couples, and best of all, a classical violinist playing Grieg sonatas.


Heirloom Possessions: I purchased the new seeds at the Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds retail store recently opened in the historic Sonoma Bank Building in downtown Petaluma. A fitting home for an exhaustive heirloom 'seed bank,' and the staff is warm and knowledgeable; I'll definitely be back for summer vegetable seeds once I kit out a seed-starting set-up in the garage.


Hidden Beaux-Arts Interior: PG&E was doing work on a substation I pass on my bike on the way to the garden, and it was a treat to get a glimpse of the hidden, early-20th century Beaux-Arts industrial interior with three-story colonnades supported by classical columns surrounding a central, skylighted atrium for heavy machinery. This is the kind of stuff John King could highlight in the San Francisco Chronicle if he actually knew and walked the city, or had a real curiosity or knowledge about architecture, urban design, communities, context, or precedence.

ADULT FOUR-SQUARE

A post about couples who swing, poylamorous relationship dynamics, or contra dancing? Sorry. I'm a supporter of KALW, San Francisco's small, community-based, public-radio station. Especially as NPR-affiliate KQED does less and less local programming, I've been amazed at the great shows KALW produces on a shoestring budget, like "Out In The Bay;" and other shows they carry like "This Way Out," and CBC's "As It Happens."

And I'm really impressed by their local news program, "Cross Currents," for its great mix of hard and topical news, and local profiles and color. I had to laugh out loud at this piece from yesterday's show, about pick-up four-square games for adults at Rockridge BART, as I flashed back to my old colleagues and I figuring out four-square configurations in Oakland schoolyard designs, when I had no idea what the game was (actually I still don't--can anyone explain???).

But I also really like the "urban playground movement" concept. Scroll down to read the transcript or click to hear or other options.

Recess isn’t just for kids anymore...

If you’ve ever walked through the parking lot at Oakland’s Rockridge Bart late on a Thursday night, you may have seen a group of raucous twenty and thirty somethings yelling and drinking beer. They’re not a bunch of hooligans. They are out there playing a friendly game of four square. Reporter Dara Kerr joins them for a round.

* * *

DARA KERR: We’re here under the Rockridge Bart train. The parking lot’s lights dimly shine down on the friends and strangers who’ve gathered here to play. Even though it’s chilly outside, most are warmed up and sweating. Four square is pretty simple, it has four people, four squares and one ball. So the players add rules to make things interesting. Sometimes everyone has to jump up and down, dance or spin in circles to get dizzy. Player Uriah Finley says a popular rule is to call categories.

URIAH FINLEY: People will call countries in the world, types of bird, things that live
under the sea, breakfast cereals, Saturday morning cartoons. And basically whenever you
hit it you have to call out one of said things.

Finley joined this weekly four square game when it started a year and a half ago.

FINLEY: Mostly it’s a good fun-based game but there’s definitely some skills
involved and finesse and style. There’s just a lot of tricks. Um, Lee’s kinda the trick shot
guy, he’s standing right there. Hey, Lee!

He’s calling to Lee Bothwick.

LEE BOTHWICK: My favorite shots are the ones where it comes to me and I kinda like
let it slide off my fingers and it gets a little spin on it. Hopefully away from the player
you’re hitting it to, so they have to run after it and look really silly. You can hit it really
hard, that’s always cool.

These guys say that four square fits into something called the urban playground movement. The movement comes from this idea—as adults we’re missing out on something. Kids walk onto a playground and can befriend anyone with a ball, sidewalk chalk or a jump rope. As grown-ups we often limit ourselves—we hang out only with people we know, commute in silence and socialize online. But not these guys. Sam Wong founded the Rockridge Bart game.

SAM WONG: I would say that the community that’s been built up here really is one of
welcome and inclusion and of silliness.

Now, urban playground groups are organizing games all over the Bay Area. They play capture the flag at Oakland City Hall, have pillow fights by San Francisco’s Ferry building and play Four square at the Bart station. They say that taking over these adult spaces brings back the spontaneity of the playground… but without bullies.

TRAVIS MUNN: A lot of us are now friends outside of four square; it’s been a good way
to meet people, you know it’s not an easy thing to meet people these days.

Travis Munn comes almost every week to play and has seen what four square can do for people’s social lives.

MUNN: There’s definitely been some four square romances. Actually, now
that I think about it, like half the friends that I hang out with now are all four square friends. Who knew?

From his square, Finley adds another benefit.

FINLEY: It’s free, that’s definitely a big plus and I think in today’s world,
that’s a factor.

Anyone can join in and between five and thirty people show up to play every week. And, that’s just in Oakland. In cities all over the U.S. people are playing four square in public places. Some are even getting competitive. In fact, there’s even a four square world championship which takes place on February 27th in Bridgton, Maine. Player Sam Wong.

WONG: I don’t think that any of the Cali cats have been able to put together the money or the will-power to go all the way to Maine in the middle of winter to play four square. It’s a dream though, it’s a dream. We do want to go to nationals.

If they don’t make it to Maine, they can be found at the Rockridge Bart parking lot, every Thursday night at 9pm.

Reporting from Oakland, I’m Dara Kerr for Cross Currents.

By Dara Kerr on Wednesday, Feb 24, 7:34pm

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ANOTHER QFP: KATE KENDELL HONORED (AND HANGING AT THE CITY CLUB)

Last night, David and I went to help celebrate Kate Kendell, NCLR's amazing executive director, being honored by the San Francisco League of Women Voters as one of their 2010 "Women Who Could Be President."

As you probably know, Kate has led NCLR in its seminal work advocating for LGBT civil rights and equality. As usual, she made everyone teary-eyed when she spoke. And afterwards, Kate and David tried to convince a skeptical group of the merits of "The Office," and I pointed out that it's not cringe-inducing for her because she works at NCLR with so many great people like my dear friend Dena.

And since the gala was at the City Club, I got to pause and appreciate the Deco beauty of the lobby and club--it's one of my favorite spots in San Francisco. Kate and I were talking about how it's classically San Francisco: this old, WASPY, men's business club that's now led and used by members who are women or LGBT or people of color.

A QFP (QUICK FOTO POST): RIP SF's CARNELIAN ROOM

I was very sad to find out yesterday that the Carnelian Room, the restaurant and bar on the 52nd floor of San Francisco's Bank of America Building, had finally closed on January 1st of this year.

I remember going there as a little kid with my parents on my very first visit to San Francisco, not long after the building opened in 1969, and falling asleep at cocktail hour because of the time difference between here and the East Coast.

Reading that the Carnelian Room's close was imminent, David and I decided to go for cocktails this past September on our anniversary, before an as-always perfect, celebratory dinner at Delfina. It was a beautiful evening and a great way to start the evening. The decor, staff, menu, and cocktails seemed unchanged since my first visit, which helped to explain the plans to close and the primarily-tourist crowd, but it was also slower-paced, retro, and with service that was comfortably clubby: you expected to see Karl Malden and Michael Douglas shooting a "Streets of San Francisco" chase scene when we peered down into the city streets.

Anyway, it was a beautiful evening and we're very glad we got to enjoy it once more before they closed the doors. And here are a couple of quick snaps from that evening.

P.S. Know why it was called the Carnelian Room?

Reminding Me of Another Inspirational City Hall event: Del Martin's Memorial Service

Being in City Hall Monday evening for the Goldman Prize reception reminded me about another event held at City Hall that I still think about (I realize that some of my posts are going to be about past events that I would have blogged about had I been blogging): Del Martin's memorial service last October. 

Del Martin's City Hall Memorial Service: banners of Del and Phyl, Glide choir with City honor guard at top of stairs, the halls and balconies filled with people celebrating Del's life.

My dear friend, Dena, especially since she sadly moved to 'Gene, OR, always reminds me about important events in the SF LGBT community when they cross her screen at work, and I'm glad she didn't let me forget about this celebration of Del's life.

Three main themes that day especially moved me: thinking again about Del and her achievements, the nature and feel of the ceremony itself, and the words spoken by Del's daughter toward its close.

Cover of the Program for Del Martin's Civic Celebration

Del and Phyl Lyon became a couple and starting working on queer issues in 1950 (!) and they stayed focused on both of those things together until Del died in August of last year.  Del was truly a steward and icon of the queer movement; Del and Phyl started the Daughters of Bilitis, The Ladder, the Council on Religion and the Homosexual, the Alice B. Toklas Democratic Club and so much more.  And I know I wasn't alone when I cried both times Del and Phyl got married in City Hall.  But that day it really hit home again how brave both of them had been to start this work when they did.

Program text and photos

Sitting in the Rotunda that afternoon as the service started, it struck me that we don't only live in 'the bubble," we are a separate country, and I felt very proud that it felt like a 'state funeral' that led off with an honor guard of uniformed police, fire, emergency, and parks staff carrying the U.S., California, San Francisco, and gay pride flags; our mayor spoke, as did our gay assemblymember, and our congressperson sent word from DC; all of the heads of city departments, our city supervisors, and so many SF queer, civic, progressive, and religious leaders from different generations filled the Rotunda that day.  To hear and see the arc of modern queer history and gay rights in that space, from official police intimidation to our police chief sitting in the front row, was extremely powerful.  And I know we were all keenly aware of us gathering together four months after our highest state court granted marriage equality and one month before that right was being put to a popular vote (more blogging on this too, I'm sure).

And I was truly inspired by something Del's and Phyl's daughter Kendra said to close her words:

"...Mom was not an extraordinary person, but rather a person who accomplished extraordinary things. This is important because each of us is needed to continue her work - - our work. It would be a shame if you left today, thinking that Mom was somehow bigger or bolder than you could ever be. In my view, what was extraordinary about what Mom did, and what Mom and Phyllis did together, is that they had clarity of purpose, set seemingly impossible goals and then just never quit...

Two other notes: Holly Near sang a beautiful song, "All That There Is;" I haven't been able to find a clip, recording, or lyrics anywhere, but will share it if I do--please let me know if anyone else has any info.  And Jim Hormel cited this John Wesley quote when he spoke, and it really made it so clear to me what we all do need to do to move queer rights forward:

"Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can." 

Goldman Environmental Prize

Yesterday, on a rare balmy evening in San Francisco, David and I attended the 20th Goldman Environmental Prize Awards at our beautiful, but unfortunately-named War Memorial Opera House. And I was finally propelled (and freed?) to post my first blog entry because this event --and the awardees' stories--never fails to inspire me and move me to tears, and this year was no exception. I flash back often to something one of last year's awardees said from the stage, "We are in grave environmental danger and have so much hard work to do, but we have to remember that Martin Luther King changed the world not by scaring us, but by making us see how that changed world could look..."

War Memorial Opera House: Stage and Chandelier

This year's awards were especially glam: Christiane Amanpour emceed, Al Gore gave the keynote, Robert Redford spoke in person in addition to his regular narration of the video on the awardees, and Tracy Chapman performed. Christiane didn't look up much from the prompter, but she was still her amazingly crisply-spoken and telegenic self. Part-time SFer Al started off in his Professor Gore persona, shvitzing like mad in the heat, and he did an odd shout-out to his biz partner in the audience, but he finally hit his "Inconvenient Truth" stride. Redford was disarmingly unrehearsed and craggily handsome (David: "He's so short in person!"); I knew his very smart and generous ex-wife Lola in New York. And it was a treat to hear local resident Tracy's live versions of "Talking 'Bout a Revolution" and "Big Yellow Taxi" since she performs so rarely; she joked that it had been hard to find upbeat environmental songs. I understand there's a big debate on whether she's sapphic, but when I see her on Valencia in The Mish, I certainly think so...

Goldman Prize Awards Program: Christiane Amanpour, Al Gore, Robert Redford, and Tracy Chapman

But I digress, because the point of the awards and this post is the awardees and their amazing stories. Each year, the Goldman Prize gives an award to one grassroots environmentalist in each of six areas of the world: Africa, Asia, Europe, Island Nations, and North and South America. This year's awards highlighted work in Gabon to stop mining in newly-created national parks, in Bangladesh to halt the dumping of toxic freighters, in Russia to focus attention on chemical waste, in Bali to build safe water and trash/recycle/re-use infrastructure, in West Virginia to stop mountain-top removal coal mining, and in Suriname to prevent deforestation of tribal common lands. I always am inspired and amazed because these are truly grassroots efforts of individuals with few resources or connections who build movements and take on major issues, often facing hostile governments or well-funded corporations who put their lives at risk through intimidation, violence, and imprisonment--the awardee from Gabon alluded to how grateful he was to be allowed to leave the country to accept the award. And I don't think it is a coincidence that they are overwhelmingly upbeat, modest, and that many of them are women. As I watch and hear their stories and hear them speak in person I realize again what each of us is capable of--large and small.

Several notes: most of the awardees used the phrase "our territory" in their speeches, and I found myself wondering and hoping that they didn't intend to use those specific words with their specific connotations in English, but something more like "our home," or "where we live" since English was the primary language of only one awardee. I wish the organizers had used a lectern that could be lifted and lowered, rather than take out a mini lectern for the one awardee in a wheelchair. I sometimes wonder about the awards' hagiographic tone toward the Goldmans, but then they have done incredible things and put vast resources toward awareness around grassroots environmental efforts ($150,000 award x 6 awardees x 20 years = $18m). And I can never figure out where the award attendees are from: overwhelmingly well-off, well-dressed, older, straight, white people who I don't recognize.

The reception at City Hall that followed was again a generous and warm event overflowing with well-crafted, beautiful, and delish food and drink, and following the green theme it was a completely S.O.L.E. food gala that filled the North and South Light Courts, the Rotunda and stairs, and the balconies above. I love being in and attending events at our City Hall--it's a beautiful building that has been well-restored. And while it has some sad memories for San Franciscans, it is also has all the good memories of brave politicians and seminal legislation, gay weddings and gay pride, and other protests, movements, and memorials. I can never resist climbing the stairs and walking the halls, and I dragged David by the offices of the Gav and our Supes.

City Hall: Staircase and Main Hall

We also got to take a closer look at the cool/wild/slightly scary Patrick Dougherty willow sculptures woven into the London plane (Platanus × acerifolia) trees in Civic Center Plaza.

Patrick Dougherty artwork: toward City Hall and toward the Federal Building