遊舊金山（2）

金融區的街道寬闊整潔。已經快十一點了，街道卻如早上六七點般的安靜。不但不覺得孤寂，反倒因為獨享這美麗又摩登的臨海街道而高興。經停的公共汽車，外觀嶄新漂亮，車體長成寬闊，讓我頓生出一種親近感。因為我來自於中國城市，在那裏，公共交通是市民主要的出行工具。即使很多有私家車的人，若無急事，很多時候也寧願選擇乘坐公交工具出行，省去了停車之苦。

在海岸大道行走時，有兩座摩天大樓吸引了我的目光。它們直入雲宵的雄偉氣勢，與位於旁邊半山上的一座座方塊宅居形成了強烈對比。於是我便在原先的目的地：電報山， 最彎曲的街道， CHINATOWN之上，又加了那兩座摩天大樓。

Here, on the street, only about a hundred yard away from SF Pacific  bay, I saw a public bus coming into the street, then stopping at a bus stop. The bus looks very nice, long and wide with red body ornamented with orange lines, bringing me a sense of the combination of modernism and classicism. Now, the public transportation is the 3^rd thing after the palm trees, the waterfront walking street, brings me a feeling of my 2^nd hometown  in China.  

1.Transamerica Pyramid(泛美金字塔大廈)

Big cities across the world are recognizable due to their unique architecture and distinguishable skylines—San Francisco is no exception. Tourists can easily pick out the Transamerica Pyramid from photographs of San Francisco.

The Transamerica Pyramid is located in SF’s financial district and just a stone’s throw away from SF’s historic Chinatown. The looming landmark features a white quartz exterior and more than 3000 windows.

Constructed in 1972, the Building was originally met by public outcry and residents claiming that SF was no place for an obelisk-shaped skyscraper.’ Its unique shape was actually built for environmental practicality in order to let natural light and airflow teach the already crowed streets of SF.

Today, the building stands as a symbol of pride for the city and an undeniable characteristic part of SF. Originally the Building was built for the Transamerica Corporation, the it was bought out in 2000 by NYC investor, Michael Shvo, and currently sever as office space for financial and insurance services. Transamerica Corporation moved to Maryland.

2. Salesforce Tower--the current tallest building in SF.

Since the completion of Transamerica Pyramid, it has been holding the title--the tallest building in SF. This title was moved to Salesforce Tower in 1989.  Salesforce Tower is a 1.4 million-square-foot, 61 story icon, is adjacent(鄰接的)to the Transbay Transit Center. The tower is a landmark addition to the SF skyline and is the 2^ND tallest building on the West Coast, with its crown soaring to a height of 1070 feet. Hines sold Salesforce Tower in April 2019, the building is owned and operated by Boston properties.

圖中最高的那座建築為SALESFORCE TOWER.

Transamerica Pyramid 並不遠，走了十幾分鍾就到了。見並無行人在此地駐足觀望它，顯得我的癡傻。於是在兒子地催促下，我也隻是經停一下，就去看大眾推薦的ATTRACTIONS了。

Transamerica Pyramid is pretty easy to get by feet. After crossing the street, getting into Financial district, it will take you about 10 minutes to get there if you have no interest to stop and take a curious glance at the street scenes, like my son.

金融區並不很大，不過二三十分鍾的步行後，建在臨海地勢較低處的高樓大廈就被甩在了身後。我們開始有了輾轉於異域海邊山城小鎮的感覺。商業民宅最多不過三四層，一戶一宅基本上是牆貼牆，像連在一起的。低處房屋的外觀不很養眼，差不多均作商鋪之用，小間的為餐廳酒吧（模樣像是意大利，土耳其，希臘裔經營的），大的有銀行，汽車修理場（那修理場位於一個平坦的三角地帶，注意到它是因為它的中文名字，讓我想到以前在國內時，位於城鄉結合部的小汽修店）。越往上走，房屋越以民宅為主，三四層樓的半山望海小樓，想來就知價格不菲。盡管地麵道路縫縫補補，極盡簡樸；上下行的道路會陡到呈30幾度角，停車行車都如在練膽。我邊走，邊想：選擇住在這裏的都是什麽樣的人呢？

又見三角梅

不知名的樹花

這種樹分布在幾條街道兩旁，想必是本地的特有樹種。樹幹為白，一枝主幹，在底部分成數個支幹。各支幹朝上生長，收放得恰到好處。看著有種鐵絲先擰合，再分拆所出的效果。樹葉小卻繁茂，你爭我趕地，朝著天空的方向成長。此樹白色的幹，蔥鬱的葉，獨特的造形，帶給人一種特立獨行的美感。

 

 

Lombard Street---the most crooked street in the world.（九曲花街） 

This street is famous for a steep, one block section with eight hairpin turns.  It is located along the eastern segment in the Russian Hill neighborhood. It is a major tourist attraction, receiving a round two million visitors per year and up to 17,000 per day on busy summer weekends, as of 2015.

2015年的世界與今天不可同日而語。當日去時見到遊客，但並不很多。站在街道高端的那頭，視野極佳，可以眺望整個海灣。

Why is it called Russian Hill?

The neighbor hood’s name dates back to the Gold Rush, when settlers happened upon a small Russian cemetery at the top of the hill. The cemetery was moved, but the name stuck. A tiny park at the top of Vallejo Street includes a small plaque and memorial from the Russian government dedicated to the cemetery.

An interesting artical gave me a glance of the life people who live in Russian Hill neighorhood

"San Francisco is a city of hills—big ones, small ones, curvy ones, ones with stairs, ones that make your stomach drop, and ones featuring views so picturesque they stop you in your tracks in wonder.

I grew up near the peak of one of these treacherous slopes in my grandparents’ three-story flat. At the top of one of the city’s most famously steep streets, I lived the kind of life where, at home, quite literally everything was “all downhill from there” I have been wondering the grade of the street in my neighborhood, but couldn’t find the data for quite a long time. Fortunately, a fellow data nerd Stephen Von Worley, who operates the visualization website Data Pointed, took the time to comb through some topographical maps in search of SF’s most intimidating inclines. Thanks to his diligent fieldwork, we have a real list."

Top 10: 31% grade

Top 2: 37.5% grade--Romolo between Vallejo and Fresno( North Beach district and the adjacent Telegraph Hill.)

Top one: 41% grade--Bradford above Tompkins.