San Francisco & 20th Century Design
April 19-25th, 2010

The next destination of our award-winning travel program is San Francisco. We hope you can join us for a cultural adventure of art, architecture, design, and food!

In addition to San Francisco, we’ll also travel to the East Bay cities of Berkeley and Oakland. Plans include viewing the works of Bernard Maybeck, a prominent architect in the Arts & Crafts style, although his works often include Gothic, Asian, and Beaux-Arts elements. We’ll see some of the marvelous Art Deco buildings of Timothy Pfleuger, and works by one of America’s first female architects, Julia Morgan. Although she is most famous for her work on the Hearst Castle, Morgan designed over 700 other structures during her distinguished career. Finally, we hope to include murals by Diego Rivera and other WPA-era artists.

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This is close to a final  itinerary.  There may be a few changes as we approach April 18th.  Please check back a few days before the tour for last minute updates.

Sunday, April 18, 2010

(optional pre-tour gathering)
7:00-9:00pm  Meet for "non-hosted" cocktails at the Pied Piper Bar in the Palace Hotel.  Named by Esquire Magazine as one of the "World's Seven Greatest Bars," this historic space dates from 1909.  The backdrop is the Pied Piper mural by Maxfield Parish, a rather fitting beginning to our tour that will feature many murals!  En route to the bar, be sure to stop and admire the equally famous Garden Court (also 1909)--with its arched glass ceiling and crystal chandeliers.   This is a very short 0.2 mile, 5 minute walk from the Galleria Park Hotel.  
Yes, with a name like The Palace, it's pricey.  And it usually attacts a dressy crowd. 
The Palace Hotel, 2 New Montgomery St (at Market St.)  (www.sfpalace.com/pied-piper-bar)

Monday April 19, 2010

8:30am Registration and opening day breakfast buffet at the Galleria Park Hotel. We are very pleased that Therese Poletti will be able to join us and provide a brief introduction about Timothy Pflueger.  She is author of the book: Art Deco San Francisco: The Architecture of Timothy Pfleuger. She will also be one of the tour guides on Saturday for the Downtown Deco Tour.
10:30am Depart Galleria Park Hotel for an introductory tour (via minibus) of San Francisco.
11:00am First stop will be Coit Tower (Brown & Howard, 1933) This 210 foot Art Deco Landmark has PWA murals by 26 different artists.  Our private tour by San Francisco City Guides will include some areas not typically open to the public.
12:30pm Depart Coit Tower (Telegraph Hill)
1:00pm  Ferry Building Marketplace for lunch.  (www.ferrybuildingmarketplace.com)
2:00pm Depart the Ferry Building.
2:25pm Arrive Alamo Square.  Take pictures of the "Painted Ladies" (row of Victorian Houses) with the San Francisco skyline in the background.
2:45pm Depart Alamo Square.
3:00pm Arrive at the corner of Powell St and Clay St in Chinatown.  Short--mostly downhill--walking tour of Chinatown: highlights include the former Chinatown YWCA (Julia Morgan, 1932.)  
3:30pm Reboard the minibus near the corner of Grant St and Bush St, at the Chinatown Gates.
4:00pm Arrive Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park.
4:45pm Depart Tea Garden.
5:00pm Arrive Beach Chalet, to see some historic murals, and have a drink.  Drinks on your own, but we'll provide some light appetizers.  (www.beachchalet.com)
6:30pm Depart Beach Chalet and return to the Galleria Park Hotel.

The Galleria Park Hotel is an 8-story boutique hotel located between Union Square and the Financial District. It was selected as our host hotel because it offers excellent customer service, a wonderful location, and an fine value. The building dates from 1911, so the rooms are "cozy" (travel euphemism for "on the small side") but feature some sylish touches like Italian sheets and in-room minibars. The bathrooms are simple, with plain white tile and a pedestal sink. Various travel guides rate the hotel between 3 and 3.5 stars. Think of it as a three star hotel with four star service.