The six Queen Anne-style houses in Alamo Square were completed in 1895. These Victorian houses facing the park on Steiner Street, known as the painted ladies, have become a symbol of the city and can be found on posters and in guide books. The modern downtown skyscrapers behind them provide a stunning contrast.

On a clear day, the Transamerica Pyramid building and the tops of the Golden Gate Bridge and Bay Bridge can be seen from the park's center. The grassy square itself is an ideal midday break location. Don't stop at snapping a single picture and then walk away. There are many beautiful Victorian houses lining the streets around Alamo Square. Alamo Square Park consists of six city blocks at the top of a hill overlooking much of San Francisco, with a number of large and architecturally distinctive mansions along the perimeter. It is bordered by Hayes Street to the south, Fulton Street to the north, Scott Street to the west, and Steiner Street to the east. The Muni bus lines 5, 21, 22, and 24 will get you there. The best photographs are taken an hour before sunset.

San Francisco - Places to avoid

San Francisco by far is one of the safest, most beautiful, and picturesque cities in the world, however among all the beauty, and site seeing, is a dark side of the city. The following areas should be avoided because of high crime rates. Tenderloin, Hunters Point, Sunnydale, Excelsior, Lakeview, Potrero Hill, San Bruno district, Visitacion Valley, Fillmore, 24th st. from Mission to Potrero, the Mission from South of Market (SOMA) to Daly City and areas south of Powell and Market all the way to Civic Center and Market.

Sausalito

Sausalito is easily accessible by ferry from San Francisco. It is a perfect getaway for a day or half a day. Sausalito is located just north of the Golden Gate Bridge, on the south-eastern tip of Marin County. Sausalito is a village of art galleries, quaint shops and waterfront restaurants with views of San Francisco across the bay. The Blue and Gold Ferry Company's commuter ferry boats go to Sausalito, across the bay past the golden gate bridge and Alcatraz from the downtown San Francisco financial district's Ferry Building and Fisherman's Wharf. In Sausalito after walking along the shore, having lunch in one of the restaurants and shopping we stopped in an ice cream parlor for a double-dipped butter pecan waffle cone ice cream before catching the ferry back to Fisherman's Wharf.

Coit Tower on Telegraph hill

This 210 foot tower is located on Telegraph Hill. The views from the top of the tower is amazing. There is an entrance fee. The elevator takes you to the top. It is a very steep climb up to Telegraph Hill. The Muni bus No. 39 goes all the way to the top. There are some attractive murals painted inside the ground floor which encircle the tower, and can be viewed for free. They were painted during the 1930's and carry strong socialist themes, which were very controversial at that time. During the early days of the gold rush, Lillie Hitchcock Coit (known as Miss Lil) was said to have deserted a wedding party and chased down the street after her favorite engine, Knickerbocker No. 5, while clad in her bridesmaid finery. She stopped to help firemen fight a blaze and was soon made an honorary member of the Knickerbocker Company.

After that she always signed her name 'Lillie Coit 5' in honor of her favorite fire engine. Lillie died in 1929 at the age of 86, leaving the city $125,000 to 'expend in an appropriate manner to the beauty of San Francisco.' The tower was built to resemble a giant fire hose nozzle, to stand as a monument to the city's volunteer firefighters. During the Gold Rush era, settlers used the hilltop Marine Telegraph to relay news of arriving ships - thus the name Telegraph Hill.

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