San Francisco, December 16-31

Here are some statistics for San Francisco in 2020. It was a terrible year. Sometimes numbers help to put things in perspective.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the leisure and hospitality industries lost more than 46,000 jobs in the San Francisco metropolitan area, accounting for 43.6% of the employment reductions in that time.

Employment in clothing and accessory stores in the San Francisco area was down 40.8% year-over-year after a loss of more than 4,000 jobs. The budget legislative analyst estimates between 9.85% and 15% of all monthly retail rent in San Francisco has not been paid.

According to the city controller's office, San Francisco hotels' revenue per available room dropped from $227 in January to $30 in October, an 87% decline. Hotel tax revenue is down 79% for the fiscal year 2020.

Between January and December this year, small business revenues fell 56%, according to the Office of Economic and Workforce Development. Since February, one in 12 jobs in San Francisco have been lost.

Zillow statistics highlighted the issue of people moving away. Housing inventory rose a whopping 96% year-over-year, as empty homes in the city flooded the market like nowhere else in America (granted in 2019, San Francisco had some of the lowest vacancy rates and highest home prices in the nation). At the end of 2020, more than three times as many apartments listed for rent in San Francisco than there were at the same time in 2019 and rents dropped about 25%.

Confirmed COVID-19 cases in San Francisco for 2020: 22, 7776. Total Deaths 184. A record 621 people died of drug overdoses in San Francisco last year, a staggering number that far outpaced the deaths from COVID-19.

Behind these numbers are people. Real people with stories. People who have lost their jobs, who have moved away, who have lost others to drug overdoses or COVID-19. In my galleries I don’t feature people, but I think there are stories left behind there too - in their art, the city they helped build, in their day-to-day life in the City-by-the-Bay.

For me, 2020 was an opportunity to reset. I lost my job of 21 years at the end of 2019 - not knowing the challenges 2020 would bring. I miss being able to travel and take photographs of places I’ve never been before. But I have been exploring and taking lots of photographs of SF. More than anything, I miss my family and friends.

I am deeply concerned about what the global pandemic has done to people’s health and livelihoods and to the fair city where I live. But I do cherish the time I have with my wife. We are both healthy and working and optimistic about what the future will bring.

With that - HAPPY NEW YEAR! Here’s to 2021!

For years I’ve been taking photographs of out-of-home ads in an attempt to put my own creative spin on them. This is a San Francisco Marriott Marquis ad for The View Lounge with reflections and shadows from the trees on 4th Street.

The Four Seasons Private Residences at 706 Mission is one of the more striking high rises erected in San Francisco in 2020. The metal geometric exoskeleton that covers its lower floors reflect the sun in a dizzying array of patterns.

In 1902, James L. Flood purchased a plot of land at Powell and Market Streets and hired architect Albert Pissis to build a building in honor of his late father James Clair Flood, who passed away in 1889.  The twelve-story, 293,837 square foot building cost $1,500,000 and was completed in 1904. At that time, it was the largest building in the city of San Francisco.

The Flood Building was one of the few buildings to survive both the devastation of the 1906 earthquake, and the subsequent great fire. The steel frame structure with brick curtain walls covered in gray Colusa sandstone proved to be substantial enough to withstand the most deadly forces of nature. The building was restored and opened in 1907 with Southern Pacific Railroad as its primary tenant, where it remained until 1917.  After the departure of Southern Pacific, the Flood Building was remodeled again to accommodate for dental and medical offices. It remained a medical center through the 1920's, '30s and '40s.

After almost 30 years as a medical and dental center the Woolworth's Department Store took over the first and second floors as well as the basement in 1945. The basement had previously housed 11 retailers. However, the war years were hard on the building and Woolworth's offered to demolish the landmark in 1951. It was to be replaced with a three-story structure housing Woolworth's Department Store and offices. Luckily, the Federal Government saved the building by appropriating space to house war-time agencies such as the Price Stabilization and Civil Defense offices.

The government subsequently relinquished its occupancy and the structure reverted to commercial office space in 1953, though dramatic changes had been made in the interior to accommodate for large offices.  The Woolworth's Department Store located in the Flood Building was the largest in the United States until 1992, when it was downsized. They remained a tenant until 1996. I still remember visiting their lunch counter.

Today, the Flood Building is a microcosm of San Francisco, housing over 200 diverse tenants from all over the globe, including several Consulates and a significant number of non-profit organizations. In 2004 the Flood Building celebrated 100 years as a center for business in San Francisco.

This mural outside the Hotel Nikko was titled “It’s been a ruff year”.

Lights wrapping trees add a festive feeling on Kearny Street.

Although many of the office buildings in the Financial District were mostly empty, decorations celebrating the holiday season were still put up. This Christmas tree in the plaza of 555 California Street was adorned with thousands of tiny white lights.

One technique I like to use when taking photographs is to place my camera against a solid reflective surface. This is one of the new structures built over the BART/MUNI underground entrances on Market Street.

More reflections. This is one of the new towers in the East Cut. I love the squiggly designs that the reflections make.

And yet more reflections. This blue square is inside a Chase Bank branch on Folsom Street.

Although office tower construction has slowed in San Francisco, it does continue. I liked the way the two cranes on First Street contrasted with the spires on 345 California Street.

The gateway to pedestrian Pier 14 has a fantastic view of the Oakland-San Francisco Bay Bridge and Treasure Island.

Winter sunlight glimmers off rows of San Francisco Bikeshare bicycles.

These very strangle little elves have been posted about town by artist Joe Mitchell.

In contrast, this figure was painted on the door of Arttitud, a gallery South of Market.

This is a photograph in the window of Dickerman Prints, a photo lab in SOMA.

This truck parked on Rausch Street came complete with a house with googly eyes, flowerboxes and a front lawn.

I thought that this doll left out on some sofa cushions on 10th Street aptly represented 2020 somehow. It is a sad scene, perhaps telling a story of loss or sadness. But also can see as an opportunity for a new beginning. Time keeps passing and things keep changing. I am grateful for my family and friends and this incredible, crazy thing we call life.

Someone was creative in concrete creating a sun out of this gas valve cover.

A last photograph for 2020 is another reflection. Lori’s Diner first location in SF was opened in 1986. Open 24 hours, it featured counter service, all day breakfast, sparkling red booths, rock n roll, and Coca-Cola, Elvis and Marilyn Monroe memorabilia. This location at 500 Sutter street had been shut down in March. In December all the memorabilia had been removed and the sign came off the awning, confirming that it would not be coming back.

San Francisco, December 1-15

December in San Francisco would usually bring throngs into the city for shopping and celebrating. On weekends hotels would be full and sidewalks, stores and malls around Union Square would be packed with people. Police would be at intersections directing pedestrians and traffic in an effort to keep things moving on the gridlocked streets. Restaurants and bars would be booked with company holiday parties. Theaters all over the city would be bustling with movies, concerts and performances. And then, in the middle of December on one of the busiest weekends of the year, Santacon, an annual city-wide pub crawl, would bring thousands of inebriated young people dressed in various Santa and holiday themed outfits into town leaving a trail of bottles, barf and other debris of drunken debauchery.

This year, nothing is as it should be. There were some holiday shoppers, but only a fraction of what you would expect to see in a normal year. Already under stress from online shopping, many retail stores have permanently closed. Some restaurants seemed to be making a comeback with outdoor dining, but on December 3, California Governor Gavin Newsom launched a regional stay-at-home order, and the next day, San Francisco Mayor London Breed announced a new lockdown to start December 6. This closed all outdoor dining, spas, salons, barber shops, gyms, museums, and reduced retail to 20% capacity. Along with it came a 10pm to 5am curfew. On the weekend before the lockdown, I walked around and noticed that a lot of people were out taking advantage of a last chance to grab a bite at an outdoor table or get a haircut in a salon.

Even under the lockdown, San Francisco has plenty of eye candy to photograph. And despite the hard times, people and businesses kept up with the Christmas decorating to create a festive feeling, even when streets are mostly deserted. Here are a few photographs from the first two weeks of December.

One of my favorite street artists in San Francisco is Kate Tova. She has been painting beautiful, colorful hearts on boarded up buildings all over the downtown area. This piece on California near Polk Street is a tribute to California’s firefighters & all of those affected by the recent wildfires.

The city had mandated that bars needed to serve food in order to operate outdoor dining. Many bars partnered with restaurants to build outdoor dining structures. In December, quite a few of these outdoor dining structures we decorated up big time for Christmas. This one, outside Pacific Cocktail Haven on Lower Nob Hill, came complete with presents.

More evidence that Pacific Cocktail Haven was having a jolly good time were these Christmas decorations out front.

Another example of a festive partnership is this outdoor dining structure on Polk Street for Cinch Saloon and El Capitan Taqueria.

Every year the city puts up a giant metal Christmas tree in Union square. This year I walked past it while it was being constructed and was surprised to that it had been delivered in shipping containers like you see on cargo ships.

The Moncler store on Stockton Street featured a claw crane arcade game theme in their window display this year.

Cyclamen flowers in Union Square shining brightly in the December sunshine.

Although our offices are closed due to the pandemic, I got to go in one afternoon to take care of some tasks not possible working from home.

With some many businesses closed, empty signs on buildings are everywhere. Someone has been posting really strange art on them.

Crocker Galleria features designer shops in an atrium spanning three floors topped by a glass dome. Already struggling, many shops in this beautiful venue have closed permanently under the COVID-19 lockdown.

This is the entryway to the Hunter–Dulin Building at 111 Sutter Street. 25-stories tall and completed in 1927, The building served as the West Coast headquarters for the National Broadcasting Company from 1927 to 1942. The building was also the fictional location of the "Spade & Archer" detective agency in Dashell Hammett's famous 1930 book, "The Maltese Falcon". According to Hammett, Sam Spade's office was located on the 5th floor.

Looking down a mostly deserted Market Street towards the sunset on a Sunday evening.

Festive pine cones decorate 525 Market Street Plaza.

Probably my favorite holiday window display this year was the Dior store on Post Street.

San Francisco, November 15-30

The last two weeks of November 2020 felt very, very tentative to me - like we were all in some sort of strange state of stasis. The election had been decided, but there was no acknowledgment from the president that he had lost. I was working a dream job for a company I really wanted to work for, but I realized it was far more challenging than I had anticipated. Many restaurants and small businesses throughout San Francisco had made progress to again become profitable, but as the pandemic rolled on, it became clear that many more simply would not be able to make it. The days went by with endless beautiful blue skies, which would normally be fine, except that our rainy season should have started, and 2020 had been a year with draught and terrible wildfires. By mid-November, we were also supposed to be enjoying fresh, local Dungeness crab, but the season was delayed because of the fear of Humpback whales off the California coast getting caught in fishing gear. Then there was Thanksgiving - which was celebrated in spirit, was without the physical company of loved ones. Most startling for me, as I walked around taking pictures, was how quiet the streets were during the week of Thanksgiving. With few people and cars on the streets, parts of the city take on a feeling almost like somewhere else, or from another time.

The Goethe-Institut of San Francisco on Bush Street is a center for German language and culture. Currently closed due to the pandemic, sunlight shines in from the street making its colorful walls glow.

Spring Street in the Financial District is dominated by the Bank of America building.

In November, strong shadows crawl along the Financial District office towers in the middle of the day. Here, the Transamerica Pyramid unique’s shape is framed by shadows and trees.

This is one of a series of a girl growing up with a tree on a mural at Battery and Pacific Streets.

The outdoor dining structure for Mr. Bing’s Cocktail Lounge has been painted with a rather festive mural featuring Chinatown and North Beach icons. Mr. Bing’s has operated on this corner for over 50 years. Considered a heritage business and a quintessential dive bar, its known as a destination for cheap boozers who like games of liar's dice, general squalor, and cheap alcohol.

Someone has been putting these BUTTER AND SALMON stickers all over Chinatown and North Beach. This one adds to the character of a decrepit pay phone.

A home made ad taped to a light pole on Powell Street. I wonder, what do you get for $190? And what do you get for $600?

The SF Masonic Auditorium sits at the top of Taylor Street on Nob Hill. The building was designed by Bay Area architect Albert Roller and opened in 1958. On the front of the building there is a large frieze by Emile Norman bearing the inscription "Dedicated to our Masonic Brethren who died in the cause of freedom", depicting stylized servicemen from each of the four branches of the Armed Services, and a global tug of war representing global struggles. Inside the lobby is a huge mosaic window also designed by Emile Norman. The window depicts a variety of natural and Masonic themes. It contains gravel and soil from each of the 58 counties in California.
The SF Masonic serves as the meeting venue for the Masons of California during their Annual Communication, and is also used as a concert venue the rest of the year. Only two blocks from our home, it's an incredibly convenient venue for us to see shows. We've seen many amazing performers there, including Annie Lennox, Sting, Gary Clark Jr and The Doobie Brothers.

Very strange street art by Fabiobene on Bay Street.

Holiday window display at Crate and Barrel in Union Square.

Saks Fifth Avenue on Union Square always has wonderful holiday window displays. This one is for perfumes.

Daytime shadows stretch across the streets this time of year.

The Koshland Building in Levi Strauss Plaza has wonderful geometric patterns.

Darrel Place is a small walkway off the Filbert Street steps on Telegraph Hill. Someone has posted a sign there indicating no exit in several different languages.

Bougainvillea contrasts with a palm tree at the corner of Filbert and Montgomery Streets on Telegraph hill.

This walkway is just below Coit Tower atop Telegraph Hill. I would love to live there, but I’ve often wondered how residents handle bringing everything in and out of their homes without direct street access.

A peek-a-boo view through the trees on Telegraph Hill towards North Beach, Chinatown and Nob Hill.

Scaffolding in front of a construction site on Telegraph Hill.

Looking North down Chestnut Street past Saints Peter and Paul Church.

Bongos in a window display at Filbert Street and Grant Avenue.

Some creative face masks posted to a mannequin on Grant Avenue in North Beach.

Boarded up door on Polk Street.

Hot Cookie on Polk Street was closed the day after Thanksgiving. Still, they are still promoting their hot cookies.

To promote neighborhood shopping, the city has closed some streets during the weekends. This is Grant Avenue in Chinatown.

Sharp shadows cast from a gate on Jones Street.

This Jump Credit ad on a bus shelter at Sacramento and Powell created a visual effect of a woman leaping over the Transamerica Pyramid.

San Francisco, November 1-15

November 2020 in San Francisco started with great anxiety. Just a few days from the election, no one knew what would happen. Turns out people voted and life continued.

Here are a few photos from San Francisco from the first two weeks of November.

This is my hand dropping off my ballot two days early at the voting center in front of Bill Graham Civic Auditorium. The department of elections had closed off Grove Street and erected huge tents to bring the voting facility outdoors. I like how the color of my ballot kind of matched the ballot attendant’s glasses.

The day before election day, businesses all over town started boarding up in case there was civil unrest. 2020 has been a year of boarded up businesses. After the initial lockdown in March, many businesses boarded up their doors and windows to protect them from theft and vandalism. One night in June during the the Black Lives Matter protests, wide spread looting broke out in San Francisco’s business districts and many stores boarded up to prevent further losses. This third round of preemptive boarding up measures were particularly unnerving. Knowing that the election results would be close and likely unknown for days afterword was unnerving enough. Fortunately there was no civil unrest and the election went the way 86% of San Francisco voters had hoped. The clear winner for 2020 is the plywood industry.

Autumn in San Francisco can be somewhat subdued compared to many places in the U.S. The temperatures don’t get too cold, and there are not a lot of trees changing colors and losing their leaves. The evenings can can take on a really beautiful, soft and etherial feeling. The company I work for gave us Election Day off, so I took an opportunity to hike down to The Embarcadero. I as walked between the piers I saw sea lions swimming in the bay and long rows of pelicans skimming over the water. I walked out the end of Pier 7 to enjoy the view, and just as I was returning to the shoreline, the lights on the pier lit up creating nice contrast with the sunset kissed clouds.

Several piers long the waterfront have been converted to office space. These reflections are in windows of Prologis, an industrial real estate company located in Pier 1.

With Halloween over, Christmas can take center stage in store windows. I love taking photographs of the many creative window displays around town. Out of the Closet Thrift Stores is a non-profit dedicated to helping people living with HIV and AIDS. Artist eiotown has been contributing to their window displays for years. His work is amazing. You can see more at his website here:

http://www.eiotown.com/store-window-displays.html.

On November 6, protesters painted a 240 feet long and 22 feet wide street mural on Montgomery Street that read COUNT EVERY VOTE. The mural also depicted a hand depositing a ballot into a ballot box and the words: "Jones Day, Hands Off Our Ballots." This was in front of the offices of the law firm Jones Day. The firm served as outside counsel to President Donald Trump's reelection campaign.

101 California Street is a 48-story office skyscraper bound by California, Davis, Front, and Pine Streets. Completed in 1982, its distinctive features include a cylindrical tower and a seven-story, glass-enclosed lobby atrium. It also offers some really cool window reflections of nearby office towers.

One of the strongest impressions I remember when I visited San Francisco as a kid was the hotel with my name on it: The Hyatt Embarcadero. Built in 1973, it was designed by the Atlanta-based architect and developer John Portman as part of the Embarcadero Center project. It has some of the most unique architectural features of any building in the city. Situated adjacent to Embarcadero plaza, its wedge-shaped design has angled balconies open to the plaza to the bay. Its most notable feature is the visually dazzling and futuristic 17-story atrium, with tiers of balconies to create an inverted pyramid. The hotel is crowned with The Equinox, a revolving rooftop restaurant with 360 degree views that looks like an alien spacecraft ready to detach and fly into space. In this photograph, the hotel’s exterior is framed by the The Tulip, a 1981 Portman-designed sculpture with a walkway that connects the hotel to the Embarcadero Center. The dappled light comes from reflections off the Embarcadero Four tower.

This 22-foot tall, 4,500 pound stainless steel sculpture by French artist Jean Dubuffet named La Chiffonnière ("Rag Woman") stands in Embarcadero Plaza. On November 7th there was a Count Every Vote protest there and someone had propped up this sign next to her.

This is the Salesforce East tower at 350 Mission street. If you look up the facade of the building at an angle it creates quite the optical illusion.

This 40 foot stainless steel sculpture called “Time Signature,” by Richard Deutsch stands in Foundry Square in front of the BlackRock building at 400 Howard Street.

Around 8:30am on Saturday, November 7th, our neighbors started yelling out the windows and banging on pots and pans. Fox News had called the presidential election for Joe Biden. It turned out to be a noisy day in downtown San Francisco. People spilled out into streets hooting and hollering and drove around honking their horns. Spontaneous celebrations erupted in the Castro district and in the Civic Center. Here, happy people held signs up to passers-by in front of San Francisco City Hall.

Some people driving by reciprocated holding up signs of their own.

This hitching post in front of the Fairmont Hotel on Nob Hill is a relic of days gone by when horses were the one of best modes of transportation available. I like how the person on the motorcycle contrasted with this small piece of history.

"I Left My Heart in San Francisco" sang by Tony Bennett has become an anthem for the city. This statue of Tony Bennett is outside the Fairmont Hotel. Appropriately for 2020, he wears a face mask.

Since 2015 OpenSFHistory has been curating historical photographs of San Francisco and putting them online in an interactive map. To date, they have posted over 50 thousand Historical Images. In 2020 they started OpenSFHistory in the Streets - encouraging people to become guerrilla historians posting images on streets where the photographs were taken. This one at Green and Jones Streets showed what this corner looked like after being excavated just over 100 years ago.

Sunlight kissing the corner of the New Federal Building at 7th and Stevenson Streets.

Light reflecting off windows onto a building on Dore Street in the South of Market district.

These shadows are cast by the lights that illuminate a billboard outside the Oasis night club.

A bench dedicated to Modesto Fegurdo outside Butter, I dive bar South of Market.

Colorful geometric street art on a boarded up building.

This time of year, the afternoon sun shines brightly down Market Street. City crews spray reclaimed water on the street enhancing the sun’s reflections.

The Andrews Hotel on lower Nob Hill has been under renovations since the beginning of the COVID pandemic. Late afternoon sun plays off the scaffolding and creates dramatic shadows.

I found the “Forever” in the Forever 21 store sign ironic, now that it has permanently closed.

Although this is an inanimate object, I felt sorry for this poor, abandoned “love” cow pillow on Washington Street.

I spotted this guy playing a guitar on a fire escape on Powell Street.

San Francisco, October 16-31

San Francisco is a relatively new city, but it has an interesting mix of culture, history and traditions. Liberal, bohemian, multi-ethnic and outrageously expensive - its diversity makes it difficult to define. Yet it is fun to describe! Quirky, fun, grungy, eclectic, and crazy are just a few adjectives I would use, depending on my mood and where I am.

Some people who live here think that San Francisco has lost its luster. They complain about the high cost of living, the endless construction, the political infighting, the crime, the homeless and the garbage. Indeed, the last few years with the Trump presidency, the opioid epidemic, and now the COVID pandemic, have all taken a toll.

I moved here on Halloween in 1987 and never left. I had always been fascinated with San Francisco, and when I started living here I quickly fell in love with this strange and beautiful place. I love its rich and colorful history, its unique mix of architecture, its hills and parks, and the way the light shines on the streets and the bay. I love the variety of food, and most important, the mix of people who are my neighbors and colleagues and friends. Almost every day I discover something new. It is such a pleasure to photograph!

These beautiful TEACH ONE - EACH ONE murals are by artist Eli Lippert. This project is sponsored by the Precita Eyes Muralists Association, a community-based non-profit muralist and arts education group located in the Mission District.

These murals are painted on the boarded up Spring Valley Water Company building at 425 Mason Street. The seven story office building was constructed in 1922 by the famous San Francisco architect Willis Polk. The building’s facade features a sculptural relief of dripping water that was designed by Emily Michals, a Mission High school art teacher who also worked in the office with Willis Polk.

The Spring Valley Water Company held a private monopoly over San Francisco’s water supply from the mid 1860's to 1930. Run by land barons, its history was fraught with corruption, land speculation, favoritism towards the elite, and widespread ill will from the general populace. Efforts to de-privatize the city’s water supply began under the progressive mayoral administration of James Phelan. Upon the sale of Spring Valley Water to the City and County of San Francisco in 1930, the building served as the headquarters of the San Francisco Water department until 2003 when it was declared as a surplus property and placed onto the market.

Sadly, it has remained unoccupied and its facade and other historic details continue to deteriorate.

These shadows are courtesy of a fire escape at 385 10th Street.

This amazing “see love” street art is outside The Market - a high end supermarket in the Twitter building on Mid-Market Street.

Protect the Sacred is the title of this mural by artist Cristian Muñoz. It is outside the Walgreens at 9th and Market Streets.

Anti-Trump sentiment in San Francisco extremely strong. This was posted at Fleet Wood, a boutique and gallery on Larkin Street.

This is the entryway to the Bellaire Tower, an iconic Art Deco building at 1101 Green Street on Russian Hill. Walking past one evening, I could not resist the allure of the warm light and shadows.

Many bars, such as PCH a.k.a. Pacific Cocktail Haven, have installed outdoor parklets so they can resume operation. They must also sell food, or partner with nearby restaurants so that food as well as alcohol is served.

This small shop of curios on Nob Hill featured a sign that really resonates with me.

Lights shine bright at San Francisco’s new Ferry Terminal.

This time of year, stark shadows contrast with a reflection of another skyscraper on 525 Market Street.

425 Market Street appears quite different depending on the angle you are looking at it.

The Transamerica Pyramid makes a peek appearance on Shepard Place, a small alley on Nob Hill.

I found this poetry posted outside a closed club in the South of Market neighborhood. I absolutely love it and admire the organic distribution method of this public poetry.

International flags fly outside the Fairmont Hotel.

Festive Halloween decor outside a residence on Mason Street.

Barrio is a neighborhood beer bar and Latin kitchen in North Beach. Thier parklet features art by Chris Peralta.

This is the empty shell of Trattoria Pinocchio, a Sicilian restaurant in North Beach closed due to the pandemic. This restaurant’s closing has an odd story associated with it.

On July 28, the owner posted a series of signs in the restaurant’s window causing controversy throughout the neighborhood. The signs, written in English and Italian, questioned the gender of the former First Lady Michelle Obama and call San Francisco a “cesspool.” The owner told reporters he was going to leave the city because its leaders are failing him. The president of the North Beach Business Association said the signs were “clearly racist and bigoted” and the owner of the restaurant is known to be “intolerant.”

Caffe Trieste is a historic cafe located at the corner of Vallejo Street and Grant Avenue. Established in 1956 by “Papa Gianni” Giotta, it was the first espresso coffee house on the West Coast. It has served as set for feature films and television shows, and its walls are adorned with pictures famous celebrities who have visited the cafe. This is a photo of Papa Gianni and Mamma Ida is in a window of the coffee roasting part of the building.

This is Fresno Street in North Beach. The small streets and alleyways in North Beach have unique character unlike anywhere else in San Francisco.

This is hitching post. Although you don’t see horses on the Streets of San Francisco anymore, hitching posts like this on can still be seen in some side streets and alleyways like this one in North Beach.

This is the underside of a pedestrian skybridge that connects the San Francisco Financial District Hilton to Portsmouth Square in Chinatown. The walkway is now also a public park. What’s really cool that it is a pedestrian walkway that literally connects two neighborhoods.

Hollywood moving making has resumed in San Francisco! For several weeks in October, a new Marvel film, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, was filmed on Nob Hill. They were shooting a chase scene with a Muni bus on our street.

A bridal shop at the corner of Sutter Street and Grant Avenue had extremely elaborate flower displays on the sidewalk.

Trees on the sidewalk in front of the Bank of America building are wrapped in lights. They reflect off the columns of the building.

These giant 555 numbers outside the entrance to 555 California Street, formally known as the Bank of America Center. Completed in 1969, it was the tallest building West of the Mississippi until the Transamerica Pyramid was completed in 1972. It was the corporate headquarters to Bank of America until they merged with NationsBank in 1998 and moved to North Carolina. The skyscraper has thousands of bay windows, common in San Francisco residential real estate. My wife used to work for McKinsey & Company on the 48th floor, and the offices and views were spectacular.

Oddly, in 2007, the building was acquired by Vornado Realty Trust with a 30 percent limited partnership interest owned by Donald Trump. Trump's stake in 555 California Street is one of his largest holdings as of 2020.

Critical Mass is a monthly political-protest bicycle ride event that originated in San Francisco in 1992. On the last Friday of every month, people ride together to make it safe for each other to ride bicycles through the streets. It is like a traffic jam on bikes with much celebration. They have no leadership or membership and are not sponsored. During its heyday, thousands of bicyclists would gather and take over the streets of San Francisco creating legendary gridlock and traffic chaos. Today, the movement is a shadow of its former self. Here, cyclists gathered at the foot of Market street the day before Halloween, many in costumes.

Ross Louis Alley in Chinatown at night.

Grace Cathedral sporting red, white and blue lighting for the upcoming election.

This year, Halloween came with a full moon. Not just a full moon, but a blue moon as well. It was first full moon on Halloween since 1944. I just had to go photograph it. I wanted to venture down the Embarcadero and shoot the moon rising behind the Bay Bridge, but I got a late start because I was carving jack-o’-lanterns. So I walked up to my favorite viewpoint on Russian Hill and nabbed this shot looking over North Beach.

I was walking up to Russian Hill to shoot the full moon, and on my way I diverted to California and Mason Streets, to see if that could be a good spot to shoot the moonrise. There was no moon shining over California Street at that time, but I did notice a photographer with a bunch of gear hanging out there. Later, on my way home, I went back to see if the view had improved. Indeed, the moon was perfectly placed over the Bay Bridge, the Financial District and California Street. By that time, a gang of no fewer that half a dozen photographers had gathered in the middle of the street shooting the scene with everything from cell phones to DSL cameras tripods. It was quite the scene!

These are the carved pumpkins that delayed my departure to shoot the moonrise. Totally worth it. Life is a balancing act. Silly traditions are important. So is roasting pumpkin seeds. I am so happy to be living here in San Francisco and to have celebrated another Halloween here with my little family.

San Francisco, October 1-15

As the weeks zoomed by (get it - “zoomed by”) in early October, San Francisco continued to settle in to the “new normal” living with COVID-19 in 2020. Barber shops, salons, tattoo and massage parlors all opened back up. Outdoor dining structures in front of restaurants had become ubiquitous. Limited capacity indoor dining also resumed. More hotels opened and more tourists were wandering about. Fewer businesses were boarded up. Museums opened at limited capacity. We actually visited the Asian Art Museum!

Still, many businesses have permanently closed and others still have not reopened. Poverty and desperation are prevalent on the streets in San Francisco, one of the wealthy cities in the country. Even though San Francisco’s Coronavirus infection numbers have been low, we have a long way to go to recover from the pandemic.

This banner outside the Gentlemen’s Barber Lounge on Lower Nob Hill features a member from The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. Notice the #practicesafesix hashtag.

The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence are an order of queer and trans nuns. They believe all people have a right to express their unique joy and beauty. Since their first appearance 1979, the Sisters have devoted themselves to community service, ministry, outreach to those on the edges, promoting human rights, and respect for diversity and spiritual enlightenment.

This outdoor dining structure for the Sutter Pub and Restaurant is particularly impressive because it’s built on such a steep hill.

This poster encouraging voting was on a bus stop on Leavenworth Street.

Colorful flags adorn the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall on Stockton Street.

Much to my delight, video production resumed in San Francisco. This was a small video commercial crew with a car camera rig at the top of Stockton Street.

In the Tenderloin and Civic Center, many local artists have contributed street art to St. Anthony’s “70 Years Inspired by Hope” anniversary celebration. This mural by Kalani Ware is outside the Orpheum Theatre. Had it not been for the pandemic, the smash Broadway hit Hamilton would be playing here to sold out audiences every night.

Founded in 1979, Zuni Café on upper mid-Market Street is famous for its roasted chicken over bread salad. Made to order, guests must wait 40 minutes for it to be prepared. Zuni Café now offers this and any many other delicious dishes to go and with limited outdoor dining.

This mural by Ravi Poovaiah is outside Kantine - a Scandinavian inspired cafe at Market and Laguna Streets.

This “Rest in Power” tribute to the notorious R.B.G features the famous San Francisco Twins, Marian and Vivian Brown. Marian and Vivian were identical twins who appeared in many talk shows and television commercials. They were renowned for being extremely well dressed in identical outfits. Short of stature and simply adorable, they became San Francisco icons. They lived across the street from us on Nob Hill. Back in the early 1990s, I worked as a waiter a restaurant near Union Square and often served them dinner.

In a previous blog, I mentioned my obsession with photographing abandoned chairs on the streets of San Francisco. This scene near the Safeway in the Castro district seemed particularly bleak to me.

These two figures from Burma are a part of the Southeast Asia gallery at the Asian Art Museum. The crowned male figure, making a gesture of respect, looks on to the monk Shariputra, the chief disciple of the Buddha. They evoked a sense of peace that I carried with me throughout the day.

“Pause” is a site-specific installation at the Asian Art Museum by artist Jean Shin. Using discarded cell phones and computer cables, Shin’s work is intended to point out how technological innovation contributes to climate change.

Afternoon light on spider plants on Pine Street.

Light refracting through a boom lift parked on Russian Hill.

Evening light gracing the sidewalk at the top of Nob Hill.

In some areas of town, entire streets have been blocked off for outside dining. These folks were enjoying a Saturday night out on Fern street next to Lush Lounge in the Polk Gulch neighborhood.

Empty bike racks on 7th Street made some cool shadows.

An artistic van parked on Sutter Street.

Scary holograms decorated an office window in the Financial District.

I really liked the creativity of this mural on Montgomery Street.

San Francisco, September 23-30

I got a break between jobs in late September. Lucky me! It allowed me to get out with my camera during my favorite time of year in San Francisco. There is something about the quality of light in San Francisco during the fall that is unlike any other time of the year. If I were to try to describe it one word, it would be “vivid”.

I dedicate this gallery to my love of light. Beautiful reflective, refractive, energetic, dynamic, transparent, invisible light. Light and shadow. Chasing light. Hope.

A series of murals with the theme “70 Years Inspired by Hope” sponsored by St. Anthony’s have sprung up on mid-Market Street.

Light and shadows reflecting on 44 Montgomery Street.

Looking up at the Transbay Terminal on Minna Street.

Shadows on Minna Street created by the Transbay Terminal.

Another perspective of light and shadow on 44 Montgomery.

Light and window reflections on 333 Market Street.

Waterbar window reflections.

Dredging equipment next to the Bay Bridge.

A very handsome and colorful sea lion statue stands guard on the Embarcadero.

This 70 foot tall metal sculpture called “Sea Change”, by abstract expressionist sculptor Mark di Suvero, is located at South Beach Park, near Pier 40 and the SF Giants ballpark. Weighing in at 10 tons, its circular top moves in the wind.

Boats moored at South Beach Marina.

The Lefty O'Doul Bridge, also known as the Third Street Bridge, is a bascule drawbridge that crosses Mission Creek Channel. Located next to the San Francisco Giants ballpark, it connects China Basin to the Mission Bay neighborhood via Third Street. It was completed in 1933, and was designed by Joseph Strauss - the same Joseph Strauss who designed the world famous Golden Gate Bridge.

Construction is almost finished on the Four Seasons Private Residences at 706 Mission Street.

This beautiful mural outside the Walgreens flagship store on Powell Street, by artist Farnaz Zabertian, is part of the #restore49 project.

Pumpkins outside Le Beau neighborhood market on Nob Hill.

Jackson Street bay windows.

Walking the dog on Russian Hill.

Looking west on Chestnut Street.

Broadway Street sunset.

I was doing a headshot photoshoot for a friend at Salesforce Park. A security guard walked past us and I thought that he might give us a hard time because my friend was not wearing a mask. Instead, he enthusiastically directed me to this spider web to take its picture.

Shadows on boarded-up windows on the Flood Building.

I love the way bills posted become wrinkled and create textures, and reflect light. Plus I’m a big fan of Alicia Keys!

San Francisco, September 16-22

In mid-September, the winds in the upper atmosphere shifted and started blowing from the west. At last, cool, fresh air, rich with oxygen from 5000 miles of Pacific Ocean swept over San Francisco. After weeks of terrible wildfire smoke, we went from living in a depressing urban nightmare to enjoying a beautiful, sparkling city again.

This is one of my favorite times of year in San Francisco. The weather is generally pleasant with daytime highs in the 70s, and the evenings can be crisp and cool with hint of autumn. It’s also the time of year where there is usually a lot going on in the city. Conventions would be taking place, bringing in a huge numbers of visitors. Events like street fairs and festivals and concerts would be everywhere. Just a few of the events we would normally see in San Francisco in September include: San Francisco Symphony’s Opening Night Gala, San Francisco Opera’s Opening Night Gala, San Francisco Fringe Festival, San Francisco Green Film Festival, Ghirardelli Chocolate Festival, Muni Heritage Weekend, The Giant Half Marathon Race, San Francisco Opera in the Park, Chinatown Autumn Moon Festival, Comedy Day in Golden Gate Park, Oktoberfest by the Bay, and the Folsom Street Fair. Of course all of these have been cancelled, postponed, or have gone virtual/online this year.

So we celebrate the small things. A beautiful day. A delicious meal. A long-closed favorite store or restaurant opening again. Seeing a friend we haven’t seen in months. 2020 has made us appreciate what we have and feel lucky for having it, while longing for the good old days (just 7 months ago), when the world was just doing its normal thing.

Some bus shelters in San Francisco now have electronic ads. This one on Powell Street in Fisherman’s Wharf was shattered, creating these cool designs.

This door in Chinatown was full of interesting designs and textures, so I couldn’t resist photographing it.

A dry cleaner on Nob Hill started selling masks (I was tempted to buy the Hello Kitty mask!).

Hydrangeas in bloom along Lombard Street.

This sign is at the top of Lombard Street, where there is a great view of the city and the bay.

A handrail creates zigzag shadows on a stairway on Russian HIll.

This basketball on 7th Street, like much of San Francisco, has seen better days.

A discarded panhandler’s sign on Bryant Street.

DNA Lounge has a sense of humor in their bills posted South of Market.

I’m not sure what the difference is between “self education” and just “education” in this context, but I thought it worthy of a photograph.

California Street still has no cable cars climbing halfway to the stars, but the tracks are waiting to take you there.

Afternoon light on Pier 7.

Late afternoon light at the Gateway Apartments.

San Francisco, September 1-15

September 2020 in San Francisco started with smoke. Lots and lots of wildfire smoke. By the 14th, we experienced 28 consecutive spare the air days - a record number. Many of the fires in the Bay Area had been mostly contained, but large fires as far away as Oregon and Southern California blanketed the entire West Coast under a blanket of toxic smoke on a scale never seen before. If 2020 was not already stressful enough, seeing evidence that the world around us was burning up added a whole new layer of anxiety.

During this time I was working long days, and with the all the smoke I had little motivation to get out and take pictures. I did take a few opportunities, and the first was on the weirdest day ever. On September 9th, we woke up to darkness. Something was definitely wrong. As the morning wore on, the sky lightened a bit, but became a deep shade of orange. It was unlike anything we had seen before. The first three images below are from that day.

The rest of the images are of various pieces of street art that I took walking back from the farmers market.

This was the view in front of the building where I live on the morning of September 9th.

Looking down Powell Street on the morning of September 9th. Notice how few cars and people are about downtown at 10:30am on a Wednesday.

Stockton Street meets Blade Runner 2049.

Black Lives Matter artwork by Donavon Brutus adorns a door on the Donatello Hotel.

Evolution flags on the side of the U.C. Hastings Law School building on Leavenworth Street.

The artist who does these posters continues to come up with material that is more bizarre and disturbing.

Mario Brothers street art on Post Street.

Who ever is posting these has a sense of humor.

The eyes have it outside of Yogi Food Market.

San Francisco, August 16-31

The middle of August started off as normal as can be expected with the the “new normal” under the cloud of a global pandemic. It is the time of year when San Francisco can get some humidity from the remnants of tropical storms coming up from Mexico.

This is not an ordinary year though. This year, we had a heat wave that lasted a full week (much longer than usual) and tropical storms rolled through the Bay Area bringing thunder and lightning. The lightning sparked hundreds of fires - some very small and easily contained - others in places so remote and rugged that they could not be easily reached by firefighters. The result: the third stage of the 2020 apocalypse. All of a sudden wildfires started burning to the North, East and South of San Francisco. There were so many, firefighters could not respond to them all. The fires exploded in size and quickly burned thousands of square miles and hundreds of homes. The number of fires and their size and destruction was on a scale never seen before. It was terrifying.

For San Francisco, this not only brought anxiety and concern for those in nearby communities, it also brought smoke. Until a few years ago, San Francisco rarely had an issue with wildfire smoke. But over the last few years, wildfires have gotten progressively worse, and wind patterns have changed bringing smoke from distant fires into the region. Under COVID, we are getting accustomed to staying inside more, but I still need my daily walkabout with my camera.

Here are a few captures from those two weeks:

One Maritime Plaza is actually an office tower next to the Embarcadero Center in the financial district. It was built in 1964 and is very distinctive because it was one of the earliest buildings to use external trusses and X-braces for seismic bracing. The surrounding plaza with this fountain was completed in 1967 and is a full floor above street level.

This is an artist’s studio on the corner of Union and Leavenworth Streets. I really like the charming array of potted plants that surround it.

A rather imposing entryway at 1120 Union Street.

This is a mural is outside Abrazo, a Spanish restaurant. I liked the way the recycling containers contrasted with the mural.

These moody clouds over the Marina district on August 17 were part of the tropical storms that caused the thunder and lightning that sparked the wildfires in the region this year.

Flowers on Russian Hill overlooked a smoke covered city.

Smoky skies made deep, rich colors on these jasmine flowers.

A woman walking her dog on Russian Hill.

Evening light made the cable car tracks on Washington Street shine brightly.

Black lives matter marches continued. This one was on 8th Street.

Many Walgreens were looted during riots in May and have kept their windows boarded up. Street artists have partnered with the stores and local organizations to use the plywood exteriors as canvases.

On Wednesday August 12, a 21 year-old man, Frank Beltran, was shot to death at 3:22 pm in front of San Francisco City College’s downtown campus at 4th and Mission. This is a street memorial for him a week later. The suspect in the killing was later found and booked on weapons and murder charges.

I like this message on a store window on Sutter Street. I strongly believe that COVID-19 is the best excuse we have had in years to find ways to make things better.

Someone was having fun with paint of this sidewalk on Russian Hill.

This little park named Vallejo Street Crest is one of my favorite spots in San Francisco. I has beautiful views of North Beach and the Bay Bridge. On this day, August 24, it was hazy.

Fog rolling in behind the San Francisco Ferry Terminal building and Embarcadero Four. On smoky days, the fog is always a welcome sight, as it pushes out the smoke.

At a certain time of day in the late afternoon if the fog is just right, a shadow from the Transamerica Pyramid appears over the San Francisco skyline.

The Stinking Rose is a famous “garlic” restaurant on Columbus Avenue in North Beach. It’s currently closed due to the pandemic, so I took advantage of photographing its empty booths through a window.

Bruce Lee mural battling a backhoe in Chinatown.

COVID-19 inspired street art on a utility box. Her eyes tell the story in this one.

I love the painted details on this building on Rausch Street in the South of Market neighborhood. I’m assuming the 1907 is the year it was built. I have no idea what the “Priestley Place” refers to.

Eclair Bandersnatch is an acclaimed street artist who stencils can be found on sidewalks all over San Francisco. This one in the SOMA district is particularly elaborate.

Social distancing lines on a sidewalk outside Mr. S Leather.

I was pleased to find that someone had fun with this gas main on Market Street.

San Francisco, August 1-15

The beginning of August is usually one of the busiest times of year for tourism in San Francisco. In a normal year, it feels like all of Europe is visiting, particularly if you are in Chinatown or Fisherman’s Wharf. I used to work as a waiter at a restaurant a block from Union Square. In August it felt to me like that everyone’s second language was English. One of my favorite chants at that time was “Italians and Germans and French - oh my!”.

It is also the time of year when many locals go on vacation. If you are not in one of the tourist hot spots, city neighborhoods can seem quiet. It can be a good time to visit local parks and cafes that are normally crowded on most weekends.

This year there are few if any tourists, and many of the locals are still out of town on vacation. Plus, people are moving out of town in droves. There is an exodus from San Francisco that I have not seen in the 30+ years I have lived here. This makes the vibe in San Francisco feel weirder than ever. On one hand, it is nice to have the city streets to ourselves. On the other hand, it feels almost dystopian walking around an empty city that was very recently bustling and vibrant.

San Francisco was long overdue for a reckoning of some kind. While the tech boom over the last ten years provided a huge economic boost, it also was creating some serious problems. The cost of housing skyrocketed so much that it simply became unaffordable to live here unless you made six figures a year. With fewer and fewer working class people able to afford housing, the city had become more gentrified. Some neighborhoods, such as SOMA, The Mission and even Chinatown were losing their unique characters that had withheld for generations. Many long-standing institutions and businesses simply could no longer afford the rents. And the economic success had other downsides too: construction everywhere and terrible traffic.

The City and its residents are resilient and we will make it through this pandemic. We may never be quite the same, but for better or worse, San Francisco will endure and continue to reinvent itself.

This mural by Eddie Gangland in the South of Market neighborhood is different from his work I have seen previously. He usually makes a political statements and his work is a more cartoon like. I was drawn to this piece because it reminded me about the rebirth of San Francisco.

Old Navy on Market Street is open! Yay! I always enjoy photographing the reflections in their windows.

I really like this mural on Kearny Street by illustrator and designer Shawna Chan.

The Hearts in San Francisco project debuted in 2004. 131 heart sculptures were created by local Bay Area artists that raised more than $3 million for the San Francisco General Hospital Foundation. This one sits in the lobby of Moscone Center West.

Shadows from a fire escape make some fun patterns on a gate in Chinatown.

This is a window display for a small gallery that recently opened up on Sutter street called Cosmic Travel Outpost.

This mural on Post street is part of the Restore - 49 project, a new initiative to beautify neighborhoods with boarded up businesses and empower artists with paid opportunities to create publicly viewable works of art.

Looking up at a beautiful blue sky at Pine and Kearny streets in the financial district.

Late afternoon light reflects off skyscrapers onto a large brick building in the East Cut.

Someone used a large number of sticky notes to make this “Thank U Dr. Fauci” message along the Embarcadero.

Glowing light on a downtown office tower.

Looking up at the Trulia building. I like the way the glass reflects and almost blends into the clouds and sky.

I starting photographing chairs abandoned on the streets in San Francisco in 2006. San Francisco is a relatively dense metropolis with strict garbage and recycling rules, so when people move they often leave debris and furniture of all kinds behind on the sidewalks. With so many people moving out of town, I’ve been finding more abandoned chairs to photograph than ever. Here is a link to my gallery of Abandoned Chairs.

I really like all of the yellow lichen on this fence near North Beach.

Wispy clouds in the sky above La Galleria condominiums on Bush Street.

San Francisco, July 22-31

Late July is usually the foggiest time of year in San Francisco. As the rest of the country bakes in summer heat, a cold Alaskan current cruises down the Pacific Coast and sends cool air and clouds through the Golden Gate, over The City and into San Francisco Bay. Most days in the middle of summer, we have fog in the morning, blue skies with some wispy clouds in the afternoon, then the fog comes racing in back full force in the evening. Sometimes it can be quite chilly. As an example, the record high temperature for July 24 is 78° F. Average is 67° F. For tourists who aren’t expecting the fog, it can be quite a shock. Imagine you’ve been touring the U.S. and visited Las Vegas and Los Angeles and then you come here. Most years, vendors at Fisherman’s Wharf do a brisk business selling sweatshirts and hoodies with San Francisco designs to tourists freezing their shorts off. This year we’ve had plenty of fog but the sweatshirt and hoodie business is far less brisk.

I like the fog. It keeps the temperatures moderate, the air clean, and makes some really cool designs in the sky as it settles over the streets of The City. I don’t like it when it’s so dense you don’t see the sun for days. And some days the urban streets can be a bit of a drag. In the summer I find myself longing for a camping trip or a weekend wine country getaway but then I remember how uncomfortably hot and crowded some of those places can be in the peak of summer. Most days I am very content to chase the fog with my camera through the now not-so-crowded streets.

The Louis Vuitton store in Union Square is open and often has a line of people waiting outside to shop there. I have never understood the appeal of their expensive handbags and accessories, but their window displays make for some great photographic fun.

This street art featuring a phoenix rising from the ashes is outside Pacific Cocktail Haven on Sutter Street. Veni • Vidi • Vixi (I came, I saw, I survived) is an old rallying cry from Candlestick Park, where fans were given “Croix de Candlestick” pins for enduring extra inning Giants games in the notorious San Francisco fog.

The Masonic Auditorium on Nob Hill, framed with wisps of fog.

Messages of S.F. left-wing liberalism adorn a window on Russian Hill.

Street artist fnnch has been creating his wildly popular Honey Bears in San Francisco since 2011. When COVID-19 hit, he started designing them with masks (some with glasses of wine, too). As a fundraiser, he then designed a series of 11 different Honey Bears with masks for people to order and hang in their windows. The Honey Bear Hunt was born so neighbors could walk around and spot them as a kind of treasure hunt. He has donated all the proceeds to COVID-19 charities - over $130,000 so far.

View from Russian Hill looking down Taylor Street towards San Francisco Bay.

“Black Trans Lives Matter” street art on a boarded-up business in the Tenderloin.

Shadows on concrete columns on lower Polk Street.

I just had to photograph these purple flowers behind some construction fencing at Powell and California Streets. A kind of reminder that nature will prevail.

On Green Street in North Beach, street parking has been replaced by outdoor seating for the many restaurants along that corridor. This was a Wednesday evening and the area was bustling.

Flowers in front of the Rue Lepic restaurant on Pine Street.

This Victorian on Mason street reminded me of a wedding cake.

The August Hall marquee has some wise words for residents.

Stark shadows in a nearly empty Embarcadero Center.

What made those shadows? These concrete lattices that frame the base of the Embarcadero Center towers.

Looking down Davis Street through a corridor of steel and glass towards the Salesforce Building.

Another beautiful day on San Francisco Bay (notice the fog starting to encroach from the west).

Primo Pizza has added a mask to the pizza design on its windows.

Someone placed all these “TAKE” sticky notes in a doorway on Divisadero Street. They were just there for the taking.

Words of encouragement on a business on Divisadero Street.

This beautiful piece of street art by Deirdre Weinberg (@dwei100) is outside Everlasting Tattoo. All tattoo parlors in San Francisco remain closed.

This dead tree at Moscone Center South is kind of a sad reflection on a convention business that died quite suddenly. I like the way the shadows of the branches look like its roots.

The Library Bar is closed but there are still books in their window.

San Francisco, July 14 - 21

2020 brought the strangest July I have ever experienced in more than 30 years of living San Francisco. Just as more businesses were opening back up, COVID-19 cases started to spike and openings were paused or reversed. Bars and salons are still closed. How is one to get a drink or haircut?

I did manage to go to an art gallery and have lunch with a friend. The city continues to offer many photographic opportunities. Here are a few offerings from that week.

Orchids for sale at the Civic Center Farmers Market.

A boarded-up corner store in the Tenderloin made a for a handy blackboard for someone’s conspiracy theories.

We had a comet visit in early July 2020. In San Francisco, it was difficult to see because there was too much light pollution. Plus, most nights are completely socked in by the famous summer fog. Still, someone on Nob Hill drew a chalk tribute to the earth and the celestial forces around it.

Strange virus stencils next to a “Justice for George” stencil on a sidewalk in the South of Market neighborhood.

Sunlight reflecting off a building created interesting designs on a sidewalk South of Market.

Colorful names adorn SFIEC Cosmetology school. Who knows when it will reopen?

Spiderman guards Coit Liquors in North Beach.

Patricia’s Flowers in North Beach brightens the neighborhood.

As part of the @PaintTheVoid project, street artists paint boarded-up windows of Hotel Zetta on 5th Street.

Old black and white photographs outside the closed Comstock Saloon on Columbus Avenue.

One by one, retail stores are opening up in Union Square. This is a reflection in the BVLGARI store window. Neiman Marcus is across the street .

Floating blue dress in Macy’s window display.

This is one of several similar pieces of street art on Stevenson Alley near 6th Street.

Black lives matter street art by Rodney Ewing.

Frida Kahlo makes a point to wear a face mask at the entrance of one business.

I have walked past 455 Market Street many times but have never seen the light shining off the corner of the building in this way.

At the same time the light was shining off 455 Market Street, light was also reflecting off another skyscraper, illuminating Front Street and One Maritime Plaza.

A woman taking a stroll with a tram at Embarcadero Plaza.

A brand new, expanded ferry terminal is opening up on the Embarcadero. The late afternoon light makes for some interesting shadows.

The reflection of the Bay Bridge never gets old.

The Providian Financial Building (completed in 1981) reflected in the Park Tower Building (completed in 2019).

The exoskeleton of the Transbay Transit Center as seen from the inside.

The Chinese Hospital has a picture out front of what must be employees.

Someone in Ross Alley is creative with the spelling of their address.

Street art in Chinatown.

San Francisco, the week of July 4, 2020 - a Fourth of July that barely happened

The Fourth of July in San Francisco has always seemed a bit strange to me. I grew up in Ashland, Oregon - a small town with a wonderful Independence Day celebration which includes a morning run, a big parade, festivities in Lithia Park with food vendors, a crafts fair, live music at the bandshell, and then at night, a fireworks show.

In San Francisco, the Fourth of July includes none of that except a fireworks show. And while the fireworks show in SF is amazing, it is often obscured by the fog that usually makes an appearance here in the summer. Unfortunately all Fourth of July celebrations were cancelled in 2020 in Ashland and San Francisco because of the Coronavirus pandemic. Ironically, there was no fog in San Francisco this year.

Every year, people set off their own barrage of illegal fireworks all over the San Francisco Bay Area, and for some reason there were more of those than ever in 2020. It sounded like we were in a war zone. This just added to the strange vibe in the City with everyone wearing masks and many businesses closed and boarded up.

The Fourth of July came and went, the days of summer dragged on without any tourists, and San Francisco continued to struggle under the weight of the COVID-19 restrictions.

Here are a few images my camera captured the first week of July.

The Stud, San Francisco’s oldest LGBT bar, sadly closed in June 2020 after 54 years in business. Known for its drag and burlesque shows, The Stud was an icon of queer culture. Its vision was “providing a safe, welcoming venue for creative expression, celebration and nightlife”. The Stud was located at 9th and Harrison in the South of Market district, and I worked a half block from the bar for over 17 years. I only visited a few times, but it left a strong impression on me as an important part of San Francisco history and culture. After it closed, the colorful exterior was painted in a drab beige color. During Pride Week, it got tagged up big time.

Someone was taping these smile mask emojis on light poles around town. Somehow the face does appear to smile through the mask.

Every year for the July Fourth holiday, the Fairmont Hotel atop Nob Hill replaces the flags of the world with all U.S. flags. This year, the Fairmont Hotel is closed, but the flags still flew.

All kinds of really strange and interesting street art has been popping up all over downtown San Francisco. This was outside Sanraku restaurant on Sutter Street.

I was drawn to the way the light was shining into this apartment window on Aladdin alley on Lower Russian Hill.

Pat’s Cafe near Fisherman’s Wharf always brings a smile to my face with its welcoming and colorful exterior.

Betty Boop chalk artwork on a sidewalk in Fisherman’s Wharf.

Street Artist Yon Meister is know for his big-eyed characters sporting fun hats. He has dozens of murals all over town.

On St. Patrick’s Day 2018, a four alarm fire ripped through Rogue San Francisco Public House in North Beach. The interior of the building was gutted and the business never reopened. Local street artists have painted superheroes on the remaining exterior walls to represent the real heroes: the San Francisco firefighters who saved adjacent buildings from burning as well.

One Bush Plaza, also known as the Crown Zellerbach Building, was built in 1959 at the corner of Bush and Market Streets in San Francisco’s Financial District. The 19-story office building designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill was the first International Style building built in San Francisco and one of the first in the U.S. It was innovative at the time it was built for its use of horizontal steel girders stretched across the entire width of the building, eliminating the need for interior supports. It also featured one of San Francisco's first glass curtain wall towers, which are now ubiquitous in high-rise towers all over the world. I walk past this building often and marvel at its graceful architecture and the way other buildings reflect off its facade.

Sunlight reflects off glass high-rise buildings to make patterns on the exterior of the new Transbay Transit Center.

First Street in the Financial District is one of the main thoroughfares to the Bay Bridge. On the afternoon of July 5th, it was almost entirely empty.

The exoskeleton of the Transbay Transit Center creates really cool shadows on the pavement inside the building.

Plants are growing through the glass wall at Salesforce Park.

F streetcar line along the Embarcadero.

Shadows on stairs at the new Ferry Terminal expansion project.

The Ferry Building exterior is being worked on and the scaffolding out front is covered in plastic to protect the workers.