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more photosA traditional lateen-rigged felucca of the same type used by immigrant Italian fishing families since the 1870s and earlier offers a stunning contrast to the Golden Gate Bridge rising through November clouds. After the current Fisherman’s Wharf was established around 1930 many families opened restaurants that remain in operation.
Barb Gonzalez / For The Bulletin
24 hours at Fisherman's Wharf
How to spend a full day on San Francisco's famed waterfront
By John Gottberg Anderson •
For
/ The Bulletin
Published: November 15. 2009 4:00AM PST
SAN FRANCISCO — California's famed City by the Bay has many lures for tourists, but none is so great as Fisherman's Wharf.
More than a quarter-million out-of-towners (on average) visit the Wharf each week of the year, according to the Fisherman's Wharf Merchants Association. They shop at Pier 39 and The Cannery, take a harbor cruise, eat a fresh crab cocktail and a Ghirardelli Chocolate sundae, and perhaps gawk at celebrity models in the harborside wax museum.
This isn't my style of travel. OK, a 60- to 90-minute cruise is great, especially if it allows you the opportunity to disembark and explore Alcatraz Island, as some do; but there's a lot more to Fisherman's Wharf than the everyday tourist attractions.
This is still a working-class neighborhood, as it has been since the current docks were built on bayfront landfill around 1930. Third- and fourth-generation Genoese fishermen, descendants of hardworking Italian immigrants, still take their vessels out each morning and return with a fresh catch for restaurants and fish markets. Many of those restaurants are also operated by Italian fishing families, as their names announce: Alioto, Sabella, Scoma, Tarantino. The fleet, though not as large as it may once have been, remains a focal point of the Wharf district.
Already in San Francisco for a day of meetings last Friday, I stayed an extra night to rediscover the Wharf. By approaching it less with my eyes and more for its smells, sounds and tastes, I got to know Fisherman's Wharf in an entirely different manner than I had before. I encourage you to do the same.
Start at Pier 39 and work your way west along the waterfront. Visit the aquarium, the historic naval ships, the tall ships at Hyde Street Pier. Don't rush; pause to appreciate the talents of the many street performers, from mimes to musicians to sidewalk chalk artists, and the unique wares sold by craftspeople in the various marketplaces. If you're a chocoholic, don't be shy about visiting the candy-making operation at Ghirardelli Square; but as the sun goes down, swing by The Buena Vista at the Hyde Street cable-car roundabout. The venerable inn has an Irish coffee waiting for you: I promise.
Morning at Pier 39
First developed in 1978, Pier 39 is a two-tiered marketplace of 110 shops and 13 restaurants, nearly every one has a bay view. From 10 in the morning until 8 at night (10 p.m. on weekends), visitors of all ages are drawn to its various attractions, including a colorful carousel, a games arcade, a mirror maze and a ride with a popular cartoon character: SpongeBob SquarePants.
If you're a nature lover like me, however, your attention will be immediately drawn by the floating docks on Pier 39's west marina. Here, scores of California sea lions, along with a smaller number of spotted harbor seals, maintain a continual presence. In fact, historical records indicate they've inhabited this bay at least since the 1830s, when the mission town that became San Francisco was known as Yerba Buena.
I'm not sure if I heard the marine mammals' deafening roars before I discerned their stench. It seems to me an animal that bathes as often as a sea lion should have a more pleasant odor. Multiplied by hundreds, it's amazing the smell doesn't drive more visitors away. Instead, the throngs are fascinated by the sight of sleek brown bodies sprawled one beside the next on the pier-side platforms, rolling and groaning and barking. Sentries watch closely for intruders, more likely to be passing watercraft than gawking tourists. Here and there, a senior male will raise himself on his fins, throw back his head, thrust forward his chest, and loudly announce to anyone who might care to listen that it is he, and he alone, who is in charge.
I'm surprised these carnivorous sea lions aren't more enticed to visit the east side of the pier, where the Aquarium of the Bay is located. Here, visitors descend to 300 feet of clear, acrylic submarine tunnels that give startling access to the floor of San Francisco Bay. More than 20,000 aquatic animals — not just a variety of fishes, but also rays, octopi, sea stars and jellyfish — swim beside and around aquarium visitors. It is indeed impressive to be nose-to-nose with a leopard shark, separated by only a layer of transparent plastic.
Fisherman's Wharf has two fleets of tour boats, both named for the colors they wear. The Blue & Gold Fleet anchors at Pier 39 and adjacent Pier 41; the Red & White Fleet is immediately west, at Pier 43˝. They have similar schedules and prices ($24 and $26). Both offer narrated cruises around the prison island of Alcatraz and past the houseboats of Sausalito before doing a U-turn under the Golden Gate Bridge.
I've cruised the bay at least three times before. I love to be out on the bay, with the smell of saltwater. I recommend the visit to Alcatraz, a foreboding rock (named for the pelicans that nest there) surrounded by the icy, shark-infested waters of the bay. A maximum-security federal penitentiary from 1934 to 1964, its legend grew through Hollywood movies. For me, the spookiest moment of an escorted tour takes place when I'm led into a solitary cell and encouraged to imagine what it might have been like to be incarcerated there.
Lunch and early afternoon
By the time you've explored Pier 39 and taken a cruise on the bay, the clock will stand at 1 o'clock, if not later. Bypass Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum and the Wax Museum at Fisherman's Wharf, both in the 100 block of Jefferson Street, and head directly for the end of Taylor Street, opposite Pier 45.
Local legend holds that at the turn of the 20th century, fisherman Tomaso Castagnola would take his fresh catch directly off his boat — a lateen-rigged sailboat called a felucca — and offer it to visitors who ventured to the Wharf (then at the end of Union Street) to watch the fleet come in. The tradition still holds, as a half-dozen vendors cook up fresh seafood from a series of carts that line a sidewalk between restaurants and a parking area. A favorite is Dungeness crab, steeped in cauldrons, cracked with well-used mallets and served as take-away cocktails. I find the thick and seductive aroma of the cooking crabs impossible to overlook.
You may choose to cross Taylor Street to Boudin at the Wharf, a restaurant and bakery famed as the original creator of San Francisco-style sourdough bread. The yeasty smell of baking bread will lure you to the restaurant, which offers a full lunch and dinner menu. It's hard to top a bowl of chowder served in a loaf of real sourdough bread. If that's not your style, there are many other choices for lunch within a couple of blocks.
After you've eaten, walk to the end of Taylor Street and turn left a few paces to the Fishermen's and Seamen's Memorial Chapel. Ocean fishing is one of the world's most dangerous occupations, and this small building honors the men and women who have lost their lives while doing their jobs.
Just beyond, Pier 45 is home to two retired U.S. Navy vessels, the SS Jeremiah O'Brien and the USS Pampanito. The Jeremiah O'Brien is one of only two World War II “Liberty Ships” (out of 2,710 built between 1941 and 1945) that remain unaltered and functional. Once mothballed, the designated national historic landmark welcomes visitors to view the fully operational engine room and other portions of the ship.
Moored alongside is the USS Pampanito, a World War II submarine; a self-guided audio tour takes guests through the compact cruise quarters, the torpedo room and much more. Both of these ships open for tours at 9 a.m., providing an option for tourists who come early to start a day at the Wharf.
Tall ships and shopping
One of my favorite stops at Fisherman's Wharf is the Hyde Street Pier, known to some as Pier 49. This is the main venue of the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, whose collection of seven late-19th-century ships include a square-rigged sailing ship, the Balclutha; a three-masted lumber schooner, the C.A. Thayer; and an early steam-powered ferry, the Eureka.
Venture aboard any of these wooden vessels — and visitors are welcomed on all — to be entertained by the sounds of heavy chains clanking as the ships rock with the waves, wood creaking against wood as the tides gently introduce hull to pier. If you're lucky, your visit may coincide with a chorus of sea chanties being performed aboard the Balclutha. This tall ship often hosts school groups for overnight visits or social parties for weekend stays, even providing a cook for special occasions.
The Eureka, once used as a filming location for the television series “Nash Bridges,” boasts a collection of classic cars that might have been transported across the bay as early as 1923, when the ferry was converted to vehicle use.
By the time I leave Hyde Street Pier, it's about 4 p.m. This is when I finally consider a little shopping. Facing the maritime park is The Cannery, built by Del Monte in 1907 as the world's largest peach cannery, at the foot of Columbus Avenue. I can almost smell the sweetness of the juicy stone fruit as I walk through the arched entryways of the waterfront marketplace.
Two blocks away is world-famous Ghirardelli Square, which got its start as Domenico Ghirardelli's Italian chocolate factory back in 1852. Even today, 45 years after the adaptive reuse project that converted this red-brick block to a world-class shopping-and-dining complex, the wonderfully sweet smell of chocolate descends upon every visitor like manna from heaven. Ghirardelli Square comprises specialty shops, restaurants, wine stores, a condominium development and the Ghirardelli Ice Cream and Chocolate Shop, where visitors can watch through large glass windows as pure milk chocolate is poured and molded into candy bars sold around the world.
The clanging you may hear on the west side of Ghirardelli Square is the cable car approaching the Hyde Street roundabout. If it's not yet 5 p.m., you might squeeze in a brief visit to the nearby San Francisco Maritime Museum, which occupies an Art Deco-style building designed to resemble a cruise ship. Or you can take a quick look into Lahaina Galleries (Beach Street and Columbus Avenue), which presents works by many of the same artists that Bend visitors might find in the galleries' store in the Old Mill District.
My preferred stop, around this time of day, is The Buena Vista. Local legend maintains that newspaper columnist Stan Delaplane returned to San Francisco after a 1952 trip to Ireland with the perfect recipe for Irish coffee. After some trial and error, and repeated taste tests, the casual restaurant was able to claim to be the first American restaurant to serve Irish coffee. It continues to set the standard today.
Evening dining and lodging
There is no shortage of dining establishments in the Fisherman's Wharf precinct. My personal favorite is Gary Danko, an intimate spot near Ghirardelli Square that is named for its owner and executive chef. The menu might be described as creative continental with Pacific Rim accents. But excellence doesn't come without a price tag, which here may easily exceed $75 per person for three courses, not including tax, tip and wine.
The Wharf itself is the place to look for a filling and casual seafood dinner. I love the local cioppino, a tomato-based stew of crab, shellfish and other denizens of the deep, from Alioto's, a local institution since 1925. Much more contemporary, but still serving great seafood, is the Fog Harbor Fish House at Pier 39. Both are moderately priced.
Nearby, for an after-dinner drink, I may be drawn up a narrow flight of stairs to Lou's Pier 47 Blues Club, which boasts live music starting at 4 p.m. every Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and daily in summer.
Many of the major hotel chains — including Best Western, Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, Radisson and Sheraton — have Fisherman's Wharf properties. I recommend two others.
The Argonaut Hotel, a boutique Kimpton Hotel within a 1907 warehouse at The Cannery complex, opened through a unique renovation partnership with San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park. The décor that extends from its lobby to 252 guest rooms reflects the historic nautical flavor of the floating tall ships just across Jefferson Street on Hyde Street Pier.
If you're bent on saving money, look no farther than the San Remo Hotel, four blocks south of Pier 43 on Mason Street. Built as San Francisco recovered from the 1906 earthquake, it has survived as a friendly, three-story, European-style establishment with at atmospheric Italian restaurant on its ground floor. You'll have to tote your own bags up the stairwells between floors, as well as share bathroom and shower facilities with other guests, in exchange for which you'll get some of the cheapest urban hotel rates on the West Coast.
And you'll wind up with extra cash in your pocket to appreciate the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of always-vibrant Fisherman's Wharf.
John Gottberg
Anderson
can be reached at janderson@bendbulletin.com.
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