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Recent News

Registration has closed for the 2010 San Francisco Trip

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! Read More...

Galleria-fireplace
San Fransisco Host Hotel Galleria Park. Our special group rate for a Deluxe Room is $129 per night for single/double occupancy. Read More...


Registration is first-come, first-served. Space is limited to 50 participants so early registration is encouraged to avoid disappointment.
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San Francisco & 20th Century Design
April 19-25th, 2010

20th_sanfrancisco_logoThe 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 Plunger, 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.

There will be time to explore some of San Francisco’s wonderful museums: the DeYoung, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the Asian Art Museum. We hope to learn more about the extensive Latino and Asian cultures that are an integral part of this city.

One day will be spent--across the Golden Gate Bridge—in Wine Country, visiting some vineyards, including one designed by Michael Graves.

Of course, the food in San Francisco is fantastic. Plans include a visit to the Ferry Building Marketplace, a Farmer’s Market, and a Dim Sum lunch. We hope you can join us for a late night excursion (via Cable Car, of course) to Ghirardelli’s for a hot fudge sundae. And there will be a visit to a former speakeasy (really!) for a classic cocktail.



Optional Activities

The following are “optional” activities available to you during “San Francisco & 20th Century Design.” You may participate in none, some, or all of the activities—the choice is yours. [Note that our preliminary survey did not demonstrate enough interest in the Thai cooking class to meet the 12 person minimum.]

Some events require prepayment to guarantee your reservation. Other events may require a “deposit” to hold your place; this will be fully refunded to you, in cash, at the time of the event. If you fail to show for the event your deposit will be forfeited--and the rest of the group will spend your money!

All reservations, fees, and deposits must be paid by Tuesday, April 6. Note that tax (almost 10%) and gratuity (usually 20%) add significantly to the total cost of the prepaid meals. Registration and payment will be via PayPal. Please plan ahead; most of the venues require an exact count several weeks in advance. As a result, it is unlikely we will be able to add participants during the week of the tour.

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Itinerary

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.

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REGISTRATION CLOSED MARCH 15, 2010

If you would like to contact someone for further information, please email
twentiethcenturysociety@yahoo.com or call 828.778.6425.