Around Nob Hill

The new year's resolution I made for 300 blog posts in 2009 weighs a little heavy on me to be honest. Do you take your digital camera with you everywhere you go? I'm starting to. I promised 300 blog posts, so I better get used to it. This is the 18th blog post for 2009, so I'm doing okay. But I can't afford to start slacking off. Not yet. Not in January.

Hence, a blog post.

Today I visited a friend who lives across town in Nob Hill. And by Nob Hill, I mean the San Francisco neighborhood, not the grocery store. Or do you not have Nob Hill grocery stores where you are?

Where am I?



I'll tell you what time it is.











Why, I'm outside the Masonic Auditorium obviously. Well, I was. Now I'm looking at it from across the street. I saw Cassandra Wilson perform there. And Caetano Veloso. And Eddie Palmieri. That may be all. I can't think of anyone else.



I love all the symbolism. I vote for more symbolism.



The society of garden bloggers should adopt such rich symbology.



Across the street from the Masonic Auditorium is Grace Cathedral. From the south:



Full-frontal, cameraman facing west:



I learned today that it's hard to take wide shots in Nob Hill. Everything is so big, you can't back up far enough to get any all-inclusive shots.

Grace Cathedral is an Episcopal church, in the neo-Gothic style. It has replicas of the Ghiberti Doors.



More symbolism.



Bronzy symbolism.



And there's a maze, or should I say labyrinth. Actually, there are two--the other one is indoors.



The tall building on the right is the Mark Hopkins. There is a restaurant on the nineteenth floor called the Top of the Mark that I've never been to. According to the menu (PDF), a martini cocktail is $12, which seems like a bargain considering the view that must go with it...well, not today.

This is the building on the left in the picture above. I believe Kim Novak drives her Rolls Royce Silver Cloud in to this parking lot in the movie Vertigo. I would love to ride around San Francisco in Kim Novak's Silver Cloud. Wouldn't that be fun?



Today is not a great day for pictures. But, that's okay. This is about making 282 blog posts in the next 341 days.











There are some nice doorways



and gates



and many surprising stairways.



And some surprising street trees too.

What is more surprising?

Pollarded sycamores (Platanus x acerifolia) with Algerian Ivy (Hedera canariensis) boxes?



Or an apparently stump-sprouting Ficus elastica shrub? You tell me. I'm too close.



There are many possibilities for stylish living arrangements in San Francisco. You can live in a house like I do. You can live in a flat. An in-law unit. There are certainly lofts. In Nob Hill, I think most people live in old apartment buildings, like the one we're visiting today. The hallways look the same in all of them.



Tight, narrow stairways are common.



Coin-op laundry room in the basement. (That clock is totally off. Someone needs to change the batteries.)



The price for a load of laundry has not changed since I lived in a building like this in 1989. And the drier is still $0.75.



The elevators are non-descript.



You open the door, and pull back the gate. The elevator itself is a little bit larger than a phone booth.



Glass doorknobs are very common on apartment doors.



And the rooms tend to be small. But I think this one is uncommonly stylish.





350 sq. ft. I am told.



Clawfoot tubs are never in short supply in San Francisco. If you want a clawfoot tub, you can always find one.



A big kitchen on the other hand, good luck.







And your bedroom? It's a closet.



Instead, enjoy art. Art is abundant and affordable in San Francisco.



Everyone has art.



I think my friend might be hanging this one sideways.









And I think the most common houseplant in San Francisco must be a contorted Dracaena marginata. Who doesn't have this plant?