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.