In the early hours of April 7th, 1982, a collision in the third bore of the Caldecott Tunnel involving a tanker truck carrying gasoline caused a devastating fire. The road tunnel, carrying westbound traffic from Orinda to Oakland, acted as a chimney during the fire with the natural draft moving smoke towards oncoming vehicles. Seven people died in the accident, Read more...
The area of San Francisco now known as Cow Hollow was so named because it was where settlers in the mid-1800s established dairy farms, attracted by the natural fresh water sources and good grazing land for cows. Known then as Spring Valley, it was a verdant area of meadows, natural springs, and sand hills, which by the 1880s sustained over Read more...
The dress code at Restaurant Gary Danko in San Francisco is business casual, with jackets for men encouraged but not required. Smart dark washed jeans can be worn, but open toed footwear such as sandals or flip flops, and casual attire such as shorts, sweats or sportswear are not appropriate. Read more...
Presidio Golf Course is a public 18-hole course with driving range, practice facility and a public clubhouse with restaurant and golf shop. Tee time reservations may be made online or by phone and discounts are offered to residents of San Francisco and Northern California. Note that the separate Tudor-style clubhouse fronting onto the 9th green is a private members facility Read more...
The bronze statue of Yoda sits on a fountain at the Lucasfilm campus in San Francisco’s Presidio. The fountain is outside Building B at One Letterman Drive, where other Star Wars memorabilia can also be viewed in the lobby during weekdays. Read more...
When San Francisco’s Palace of Fine Arts was demolished in 1963, it was rebuilt with modern construction materials over the next decade, to the same design. The only parts reused were in the exhibition hall which was rebuilt on its 1915 steel frame, and retains some of the original fireplaces and doors. The Palace of Fine Arts was originally constructed Read more...
Patty Hearst was kidnapped at gunpoint from her apartment at 2603 Benvenue Avenue in Berkeley on the evening of February 4th, 1974 by an urban guerrilla group called The Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA). Hearst, granddaughter of newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, was found in San Francisco 19 months later and arrested for crimes committed with members of the SLA, including Read more...
The two windmills on the western edge of Golden Gate Park originally pumped groundwater for park irrigation. The Dutch Windmill, and the Murphy Windmill located to the south, were completed in 1903 and 1908 respectively and operated until 1913 when electric water pumps were introduced. Both mills subsequently fell into disrepair but have since been restored with turning sails, and Read more...
The Presidio of San Francisco is a 1,491-acre former US Army installation in the northwest corner of the city, at the south end of the Golden Gate Bridge, transferred to the National Park Service when it was vacated by the military in 1994. Today, the Presidio is a thriving urban park with a unique mix of residential communities, businesses, historic Read more...
Rob Hill Campground, the only campsite within the city of San Francisco, is situated in a forested area of the Presidio above Baker Beach. This group campsite is open seasonally between April 1 and October 31, and has restrooms but no showers, no RV camping and no hookups. Advance credit card reservations are required and the maximum stay is three Read more...
The fifth-floor balcony of Unit 405 at 2020 Kittredge Street in downtown Berkeley collapsed in the early hours of June 16th, 2015, and a group of people standing on it fell to the street below. Five Irish students, Eoghan Culligan, Niccolai Schuster, Lorcán Miller, Eimear Walsh, Olivia Burke, and Olivia’s Irish-American cousin, Ashley Donohoe, all in their early 20s, died Read more...
The official mascot of the University of California, Berkeley is Oski the Bear, who represents the university’s California Golden Bears sports teams. Oski originated as a cartoon-strip character in Cal’s student newspaper, The Daily Californian, and made his real-life debut on September 27th, 1941, during Cal Football’s victory in a season opener against the Saint Mary’s Gaels. Previously, Cal had Read more...
Dogs are permitted at Baker Beach in San Francisco, and are allowed off-leash in some areas provided they are under voice control at all times. Off-leash dogs are allowed on the beach north of Lobos Creek but only if they will respond immediately to commands to return to a leash when called. Dogs must be on a leash at all Read more...
UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business is named after the late Walter A Haas Sr, a Berkeley alumnus and former president of Levi Strauss & Co. In 1989, his children donated $15 million, through the Walter & Elise Hass Fund, towards the construction of the school’s current building, at the time the largest donation ever made to Berkeley. In recognition Read more...
In the city of Berkeley, California, yellow curbs indicate commercial loading zones reserved for businesses to actively load and unload merchandise or materials. General vehicles may also stop at yellow curbs for up to three minutes to pick up and drop off passengers, and the driver must remain present with the vehicle. Commercial vehicles have a 20-minute parking limit at Read more...
The closest parking to the Greek Theatre at Berkeley is a few minutes walk away at the Stadium Parking Garage under Maxwell Family Field on Gayley Road between Cal Memorial Stadium and the Greek Theatre. Event parking charges range from $25 – $45. Read more...
The nearest BART station to the University of California, Berkeley is Downtown Berkeley, which is served by trains running to and from Richmond. The campus is a block east of the station. Read more...
You can take an elevator up the Campanile (also known as the Sather Tower) followed by 38 steps to its 200-foot-high observation deck. It offers 360-degree views of the UC Berkeley Campus and, on clear days, as far as Oakland and San Francisco. The tower is open from 10 am daily and admission charges apply except for UC Berkeley students, Read more...
The Campanile at Berkeley, also known as the Sather Tower, is 307 feet (or 94 meters) tall. Completed in 1915, the Gothic Revival-style tower, designed by architect John Galen Howard, is the tallest structure on the UC Berkeley campus and is the third-tallest clock and bell tower in the world. The tower’s observation platform is located at the 200-foot level. Read more...