Walking San Francisco

From the top of the Mark Hopkins Hotel, imposing Grace Cathedral—and seemingly the entire city—lies at your feet.

The tycoons and their opulent mansions are long gone, but Nob Hill still has a prestigious feel to it. Indeed, most agree that the name Nob Hill comes from a shortening of nabob, or rich and important person, and the air really does seem more rarefied here. In the 1870s, soon after the advent of cable cars simplified getting up the hill from downtown, the silver kings and railroad magnates moved in. Three decades later, the 1906 earthquake turned their privileged perch into an ash heap. High-class hotels, a lovely park, and awe-inspiring Grace Cathedral now stand where San Francisco’s robber barons once lived. Add to the mix a handful of unexpected curiosities, and you’ve got yourself a sweet little tour with impeccable views. Our walk ends with a dip down toward Polk Gulch and a no-frills, quintessentially San Francisco seafood experience.

Walk Description

Because Nob Hill began with the development of cable cars, we’ll start our tour at the

Cable Car Museum, at the corner of Washington and Mason Streets. If you’re a perfectionist, you can take the Powell–Mason cable car and get off directly in front of the museum. This is more than a historic site—it’s the powerhouse that makes all the cable cars move. Inside, take a look at the system of wheels that turns the cables like spindles in a cassette tape. These cables run under the tracks of the entire system. Each individual car moves by gripping onto a cable, which pulls it up or down a street. Exhibits here demonstrate how the system works and also include some historic cars and photos.

Head up Mason Street for two blocks to reach the summit of Nob Hill. At the corner of Sacramento Street, just about everything we’ve climbed these heights to inspect comes into view. At 1000 Mason St. are the stately

Brocklebank Apartments, which were featured in the 1958 Hitchcock film Vertigo. James Stewart, waiting behind the wheel of his car, began stalking Kim Novak when she emerged from this building.

Across the street, the imposing

Fairmont hotel is one of many eye-catching buildings on Nob Hill. It’s on the site of silver king James Fair’s mansion, which was torn down by Fair’s daughter before the quake of ’06. The hotel she built on the site was nearly completed when the quake and fire turned it into a burned-out hull. Architect Julia Morgan drew the plans to restore the hotel, which finally opened a year to the day after the quake. Note the statue of famed crooner Tony Bennett outside, a gift from the city in 2016 to commemorate his 90th birthday. A frequent guest at the hotel, Bennett first performed his iconic “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” here in 1961, and devoted fans can book a night in the Tony Bennett Suite, complete with his artwork, for a hefty chunk of change. Enter the Fairmont’s grand lobby, have a seat in a plush chair, pretend you’re waiting for someone, and admire the marble columns and stately stairs. Then poke around a bit. Peer into the swank Venetian Room restaurant, study the charming dated murals of circus performers in the otherwise-dowdy Cirque Bar (designed by Timothy Pflueger), and stroll the rooftop garden with its lovely fountain, comfortable chairs, and excellent skyline view. In 2010 the hotel started raising bees and cultivating their own honey; you can see their hives and boxes in an enclosed culinary garden near the rooftop garden. For the hotel’s biggest surprise, you’ll have to head down to the basement. Here you’ll find the

Tonga Room and Hurricane Bar, a tiki bar (since 1945) that spared no expense when it came to the decor. The walls are fake lava rock, thatched roofs cover the tables, drinks are served in plastic coconut shells, and every 30 minutes a simulated monsoon strikes in the lagoon while a band plays on the floating schooner. In 2011 Anthony Bourdain called it “the greatest place in the history of the world.” We suggest that you return for happy hour, order a mai tai, and judge for yourself.

Back outside, keep your ears peeled for the sound of the California Street cable car. It’s the oldest of the surviving lines, having begun service April 10, 1878.

Continue on Mason to California Street. At the southeast corner of the Mason–California intersection stands the

InterContinental Mark Hopkins Hotel. Mark Hopkins was among the Big Four railroad barons, and his mansion—which photos reveal to have been the hill’s most extravagant—stood on this site. The mansion was a quake casualty, but the stone retaining wall survives. Note the way this building and the Brocklebank Apartments, a block away, complement each other. The main attraction at the Mark Hopkins is the

Top of the Mark, a snazzy bar with 360-degree views, a martini menu that’s several pages long, and jazz combos several nights a week.

The distinguished brownstone mansion across the street from the Fairmont belonged to James Flood, the shrewd saloon keeper who made his fortune on the Comstock Lode. Walk along California Street to get a good look at it. The 1906 quake and fire failed to bring the mansion down, but significant restoration was required; Willis Polk designed the additions. The Pacific Union Club, one of the city’s most exclusive private clubs, has owned the house since 1906.

Make a left onto California Street. Beguiling

Huntington Park shares the block with the Flood mansion and has a decidedly European flair. It’s a good spot to claim a park bench and admire Grace Cathedral, across the street. The park’s Tortoise Fountain and Dancing Sprites bronze sculptures are also worth looking at for half a minute or so.

Rather than head directly to Grace Cathedral, cross California Street. The Huntington Hotel, another of San Francisco’s finest, stands on the southeast corner. From here, your eye may naturally drift over to the

Masonic Memorial Temple, on the southwest corner. Don’t fight that impulse. The building isn’t exactly beautiful, but it is adorned by some impressive art, most notably the immense 45-by-48-foot “endomosaic” window in the lobby. Artist Emile Norman invented the endomosaic style, pressing crushed glass, sea shells, soil, and other materials between sheets of translucent plastic. The art is illuminated from behind by sunlight, giving it the vibrancy of a projected Kodachrome slide. After two years of working on it, Norman completed his endomosaic in 1957. It depicts Masonic history in California with typically mysterious symbols and a stark 1950s style. During business hours you can go inside for a closer look.

Now cross California Street and head back to the entrance of

Grace Cathedral that faces Huntington Park. Before entering, pause to inspect the bronze doors, which are lovely copies of Lorenzo Ghiberti’s Doors of Paradise in Florence, Italy. Tuck in your shirt and go inside. (The cathedral requests a $10 donation.) The immensely lofty cathedral was erected on the charred grounds of the mansion of Charles Crocker, a Big Four magnate. The cathedral was designed by Lewis P. Hobart, who studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. It was built not of stone but of formed concrete. Construction began not long after the ’06 quake and was completed in 1964. Once you step inside, you will note the large labyrinth on the floor. By all means enjoy a walking meditation in the middle of your walking tour. The progressive church offers monthly candlelit labyrinth walks and weekly yoga on the labyrinth. There is another labyrinth outside. If you’ve got your smartphone and headphones on you, the amazingly thorough GraceGuide app provides a bounty of history on the church’s past and present, complete with meditative music. Before departing, be sure to admire the elegant and awe-inspiring 25-foot-wide rose window, above the main entrance.

From here, emerge onto Taylor Street, return to Sacramento Street, and turn left for a look at some relatively modest but still eye-pleasing residential architecture. The bougainvillea-clad apartments at 1230 and 1242 Sacramento have an elegant, Belle Époque Parisian style. On the corner of Jones, at 1298 Sacramento St., the

Chambord Apartments are well loved for their extravagant rounded balconies that call to mind Antoni Gaudí’s ebullient style. Designed by architect James Dunn, the Chambord was one of the city’s first luxury apartment buildings and is now a San Francisco Landmark.

Continuing down Sacramento, turn left when you reach Hyde Street. At the corner of California and Hyde, the

Hyde Out is the archetypal neighborhood dive bar: two floors of cheap drinks, dated jukebox tunes, and friendly locals. Heading down California, turn right at Polk Street, and halfway down the block you’ll come to our final destination, the

Swan Oyster Depot. The doors have been open since 1912, when four Danish brothers set up shop and delivered seafood up and down the streets of San Francisco using a horse-drawn carriage. Under the purview of the Sancimino Family since 1946, the eatery still has just 18 seats available, and the lines invariably snake out the door for hours, but Bon Appétit magazine and hundreds of sated diners all agree that it’s worth the wait for the freshest seafood in San Francisco, served with a heaping side of Old World charm. This section of Polk Street is called Polk Gulch, and it was the city’s gay center in the 1950s and beyond, long before the Castro District became popular.