Things to Do in San Francisco

Up through 1882 it was relatively easy to enter California without a passport. Come along on a tour exploring ten 1804-1898 stories depicting the land-grubbing mystique of California. From the czar-crossed romance of Rezanov and Concepcion to the wild gold-lust rush of 1849 to the Chinese railroad labor coolies to Frederick Jackson Turner's 1893 "The Significance of the Frontier in American History" thesis, this walk demands an explanation for the need for passports to inhabit planet Earth. From the delusional but generous Emperor Norton to the clear-eyed Henry George, San Francisco has provided a rebuke to the scandalous notion of limited world citizenship. We begin with Martin Luther King, jr's challenge, "Who's world is this, anyways?" then spend two hours to join Thomas Paine in declaring, "My attachment is to all the world, and not to any particular part." Along the way we'll track buried ships, Mark Twain's San Francisco neighborhood, the Pony Express (the early forbear of the internet!), and heaps of other true and truly relevant stories demonstrating you didn't need a passport!

Welcome to San Francisco!

This breathtaking 1.5 mile (2.5k) walking tour of San Francisco's beautiful hidden stairways is top rated in the Bay Area and loved by both locals and tourists alike.

See gorgeous mosaic tiled steps and hear the stories behind them, then take in stunning 360° views of the Golden Gate Bridge, Golden Gate Park and downtown San Francisco. You'll also discover beautiful neighborhoods and gardens that many locals are not aware of and that tourists rarely see.

Oh, and you might even go home with a succulent!
I'll provide commentary, context and some history along the way.

I'm Greg, also host of the top-rated Hidden Stairways of San Francisco experience. I'm a world traveler and former music radio host who grew up in Ireland. I fell in love with this city and its music scene the moment I arrived more than 30 years ago. My work in radio brought me in contact with San Francisco rock legends like Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead's Phil Lesh and Bob Weir. *PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS TOUR DISCUSSES DRUG USE AND MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR YOUNGER GUESTS*

The Haight-Ashbury neighborhood was the center of the counter-culture movement and the Summer of Love. I'll bring its bohemian history to life and even share some dark secrets from its distant past. I'll bring you to the homes of the musicians that lived here and you'll marvel at the colorful murals and beautiful Victorian houses along the way. Oh, I'll also introduce you to the world's greatest record store!

If you're up for a thought-provoking two and three-quarters hours that's about ideas as much as fascinating historical figures, you'll be thrilled by the intellectual panorama presented!

In 1879 a San Francisco newspaperman and social philosopher proposed a revolutionary piece of public policy to fix the glaring wealth divide in the United States. Treat land values as community property. Within 10 years he had sold 3 million copies of his book, upset the British Empire, run for mayor of New York City as organized labor's champion, and engaged the Pope in public discourse on the rights of humanity. I refer to Henry George, today buried in the index of economic texts, but nevertheless deserving a hearing.

Come along on a walking tour surveying San Francisco social movement history on the way to introducing you to America's most important social thinker, Henry George . . . with the twist that he disputed Karl Marx's binary thinking, maintaining that the Earth constituted a distinct third leg in diagnosing the problem of the wealth divide.

On this fast-paced walk, you'll meet the Black Panthers, the American Indian Movement, the LGBTQ quest for full citizenship, the money reform dilemma, Sun Yat-sen and China's democracy movement, and many more stories of those seeking liberation in the distinctive San Francisco spirit that outrages complacency.

Along the way we'll discover a way to honor labor, humanity, and the quest for civic life.

For thousands of years humans have got a living by the waters of Mission Creek in San Francisco. The First People, the Ohlone, dug shellfish in the bayland muck. Along came the Spanish, and Russians, and English, and then US citizens. Each successive wave of people used the land along the creek as the center of their livelihood-getting.

Come on a tour taking a close look at land contour, street and building names, and the diversity of ethnic shops and restaurants of the western Mission District as these tell the story of how land turned into real estate reveals the transit of humanity.

This walk abounds with philosophical observations on the evolution of humanity's use of land. You'll visit San Francisco's Mission Dolores, trace the course of Mission Creek, play-act fishing for wealth, learn to "read" a city, and stop by a community garden for a bite of greens! All in the heart of a vibrant urban neighborhood!

NOTE: As part of the tour I guide you through the Ohlone Indian museum at the Mission. There is a $10/person admission charge to enter. This charge is not mine, it's the museum's, but well worth this introduction to Ohlone/Spanish era San Francisco.

Welcome to San Francisco!

Sign up with us to take a trip through San Francisco to get a great introduction to this wonderful city!

We’ll visit all the main highlights, from the earliest history of the 1700s to the Wild West of the 1800s, the growth (and destruction) of the city in the 1900s, to the skyscrapers of today. Walking through Chinatown, North Beach/Little Italy, and the Financial District, we will show you the best of the city!

We start at the bustling Union Square, near the corner of Geary Street & Powell Street in the heart of the city. We'll wander through the streets and hidden alleyways of downtown history, and you'll hear all the fascinating tales along the way until we finish at the modern Transamerica Pyramid, at the intersection of Washington Street & Sansome Street.

Don't miss this tour for a memorable experience!

San Francisco features the USA's most architecturally unified Civic Center. The devastating 1906 earthquake and fire meant the city had to rebuild, and it did, choosing a Beaux Arts theme.

Come along on a thematic tour exploring the significance of culture and public policy in feeding a population. On this hour and a half walk we'll start at United Nations Plaza (bet you didn't know the UN came into existence in San Francisco!), then recount the story of cities and food as we amble through a farmers market, identify the statues and named buildings ringing Civic Center Plaza, and conclude by picnicking with our farmers market purchases near City Hall.

The statues and named buildings carry such stories as of liberation (Simon Bolivar), of colonization (the Pioneer Monument), while the Earl Warren Federal Office Building speaks of the USA's racially-sculpted history. There's plenty more, and all of it lends itself to  addressing the food and dignity question, "Whose land is this?"

Your guide, David, a high school history teacher, invites you to feed body and mind, giving names and stories to the granite forms of Civic Center.