Course Catalog

Coastal San Francisco Journeys

This course will consist of five urban journeys that will focus on San Francisco's northwestern and northeastern shorelines. During this course, the class will enjoy a variety of architectural styles while soaking in the surrounding bay and ocean vistas as we explore various neighborhoods, parks and historic sites. Vintage photos and maps will round out the instructor's commentary. San Francisco’s past has a significant presence and it co-exists all around us, and in this course we’ll learn where to look and develop a new perspective of the city. SPECIFIC MEETING INFORMATION WILL BE PROVIDED TO ENROLLED STUDENTS. Week 1 Walking Tour: The Presidio/Main Post - 2 hours The course begins where San Francisco itself began in the 18th century. This looped walking tour will explore/discuss the development, history and architecture of the Presidio's Main Post under three flags: from the Spanish era to the Mexican period and finally to the American takeover in the mid-19th century. Week 2 Walking Tour: Presidio/Crissy Field/Fort Point - 3 hours Our exploration of San Francisco's Presidio continues as we head westbound to the National Cemetery, Crissy Field and Fort Point with views of San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge. Along the way, we'll touch upon films, fairs, trees, lighthouses and the triangular defense of the Golden Gate. Week 3 Walking tour: Land's End/Sutro Heights - 2 hours This journey takes us even further west to the area we now know as Lincoln Park, formerly known as the City Cemetery. From there, the class will walk along northwest waterfront of Land's End where the ocean meets the bay. With a view of the Marin Headlands to the north, the class will makes its way to the ruins of the Sutro Baths and Sutro Heights Park. Week 4 Walking tour: North Marina District - 2 hours This class session will explore the area originally known as Harbor View and the chosen site for the Panama-Pacific International Exposition of 1915. Following the PPIE, a new neighborhood was created in its place featuring an array of early-20th century architecture such as Mediterranean Revival, "Marina"-style along with Art Deco. This journey will also include sculptures, a remnant of the PPIE and the last remaining industrial building in the neighborhood, dating from 1893. (wave organ, Dynamo Donuts/coffee, Passages, 1893 Gas Light Bldg.) Week 5: Walking tour: Telegraph Hill/Waterfront - 3 hours Our final journey will take us to the northeast end of the city to the Spanish-named Loma Alta ("High Hill"). We will begin by exploring Coit Tower and its murals. That will be followed by a stairway walk down the eastern slope of the Hill to Telegraph Landing and along the former working waterfront of "East Street.” Monika Trobits is a New Yorker by birth and a San Franciscan by choice. She has been studying San Francisco and California history since the mid-1980s and is a local historian, a long-time walking tour docent/guide (since 1989) and a published writer of non-fiction works about San Francisco. Monika earned a B.A. in political science/history from San Francisco State University. THIS CLASS BEGINS IN THE 2ND WEEK OF THE SESSION ON 4/11

This class is not available at this time.

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