1 00:00:00,620 --> 00:00:22,160 A hilly city with water on three sides, a steep street with eight curves, cool foggy summers and warm winters, people from all over the world, sourdough bread, fresh crab, gelato, and dim sum. 2 00:00:22,160 --> 00:00:34,939 Gingerbread houses called painted ladies, cable cars, fireboats, and pedicabs, even abandoned ships buried deep beneath its buildings and streets. 3 00:00:35,820 --> 00:00:40,979 What city is this? San Francisco, the city by the bay. 4 00:00:40,979 --> 00:00:50,119 For centuries, perhaps millennia, San Francisco and its Bay were known only by native peoples 5 00:00:50,119 --> 00:00:58,500 who lived in small communities throughout Central California. Typically, each community had its own 6 00:00:58,500 --> 00:01:06,640 distinct language. As a result, there was never a common name used for the population as a whole. 7 00:01:06,640 --> 00:01:13,459 When the Spanish arrived, they called the natives costeros, or coast people. 8 00:01:14,400 --> 00:01:20,060 Later, the English-speaking settlers referred to them as costanoans. 9 00:01:20,640 --> 00:01:25,879 Today, descendants of the early natives generally call themselves Ohlones. 10 00:01:25,879 --> 00:01:36,799 In the late 16th century, explorers from around the globe began sailing the waters surrounding the San Francisco Peninsula. 11 00:01:38,000 --> 00:01:46,840 Since that time, San Francisco's population has been made up of an ever-changing mosaic of cultures. 12 00:01:48,420 --> 00:01:49,099 Chinatown 13 00:01:49,099 --> 00:01:55,980 That means Happy New Year in Chinese. 14 00:01:56,859 --> 00:02:04,260 New Year's is a special time in this neighborhood, the largest Chinese community in the Western Hemisphere. 15 00:02:04,260 --> 00:02:15,879 People wish one another good luck and happiness, and children receive lei si, small red envelopes, filled with money. 16 00:02:15,879 --> 00:02:24,259 The holiday is celebrated in January or February, depending on the cycle of the moon. 17 00:02:25,099 --> 00:02:31,580 Each year is named after one of the 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac. 18 00:02:32,300 --> 00:02:34,840 There are many parades and ceremonies. 19 00:02:35,500 --> 00:02:42,500 Lots of firecrackers are set off to scare away evil spirits and bring good fortune. 20 00:02:43,419 --> 00:02:46,379 Chinatown is colorful all year round. 21 00:02:46,379 --> 00:02:55,680 Walk down Grant Avenue with its street lights that look like lanterns and street signs written in Chinese. 22 00:02:56,319 --> 00:03:03,460 Look at the fresh vegetables and fruits overflowing out to the sidewalk from the grocery stores. 23 00:03:04,259 --> 00:03:07,879 Smell the aromas coming from all the different restaurants. 24 00:03:08,780 --> 00:03:11,780 Is it time for dim sum, a Chinese lunch? 25 00:03:12,500 --> 00:03:20,819 The Japanese Tea Garden. During the month of March, the Japanese Tea Garden comes alive 26 00:03:20,819 --> 00:03:27,979 with the fluttering color of pink cherry blossoms. Originally designed for the California 27 00:03:27,979 --> 00:03:37,800 Midwinter Exposition in 1894, this magical five-acre garden was later embellished by 28 00:03:37,800 --> 00:03:47,120 master gardener Makoto Hagiwara. In the middle of the city, he created an oasis filled with the 29 00:03:47,120 --> 00:03:56,199 quiet of the countryside. Here, visitors can cross a graceful drum bridge, have a warm cup of tea, 30 00:03:56,199 --> 00:04:04,699 and enjoy a fortune cookie, a treat that was invented by Hagiwara. Amid the foliage of the 31 00:04:04,699 --> 00:04:14,580 garden sits a bronze statue that is ten and a half feet tall. Cast 200 years ago in Japan, 32 00:04:14,580 --> 00:04:24,839 it is called the Amazarashi no Hotoki, or the Buddha who sits through sunny and rainy weather 33 00:04:24,839 --> 00:04:38,139 without shelter. The cable cars and Lombard Street. Before 1922, the famous crooked block of Lombard 34 00:04:38,139 --> 00:04:47,079 Street was straight and so steep that it could not be traveled by carts or wagons. The only way 35 00:04:47,079 --> 00:04:55,600 for people to get up and down the hill was on foot. After the invention of the automobile, 36 00:04:56,360 --> 00:05:03,819 the city added eight turns so that cars would be able to travel the street as well. Today, 37 00:05:04,379 --> 00:05:12,519 tourists wait in line to drive down this twisting street. Visitors can also view Lombard Street from 38 00:05:12,519 --> 00:05:20,759 the cable car that runs along Hyde Street. Andrew Halliday introduced the cable car to San Francisco 39 00:05:20,759 --> 00:05:31,199 in 1873 because he felt sorry for the horses pulling wagons up the steep hills. People laughed 40 00:05:31,199 --> 00:05:39,399 at his idea at first, but he didn't give up. Today, San Francisco's cable cars are a National 41 00:05:39,399 --> 00:05:49,339 historic landmark. The Golden Gate Bridge. Looking from the Marin Headlands to San Francisco 42 00:05:49,339 --> 00:05:56,779 on clear evenings, you can watch the twinkling lights of the city, the Golden Gate Bridge, 43 00:05:57,120 --> 00:06:05,220 and the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. On the other nights when the fog rolls in, 44 00:06:05,220 --> 00:06:13,980 You can hear the foghorns and feel the cool fog as it wraps around the Golden Gate Bridge like a blanket. 45 00:06:15,000 --> 00:06:25,879 Although the name of this bridge is the Golden Gate, the paint used to cover it is actually international orange. 46 00:06:26,600 --> 00:06:33,220 The bridge is named after the strait at the bay's entrance, the Golden Gate. 47 00:06:33,860 --> 00:06:45,420 Some people believe that a bridge could never be built across the Golden Gate, but a group of determined engineers found a way. 48 00:06:46,279 --> 00:06:59,860 Completed in 1937, the bridge spans a length of 6,450 feet. That's longer than 20 football fields. 49 00:06:59,860 --> 00:07:09,399 The tallest tower is 746 feet high, as tall as a 70-story building. 50 00:07:10,519 --> 00:07:18,379 The amount of wire used for the main cables is enough to wrap three times around the earth. 51 00:07:20,100 --> 00:07:21,500 Mission Dolores 52 00:07:21,500 --> 00:07:26,660 Mission Dolores is the oldest building in San Francisco. 53 00:07:26,660 --> 00:07:35,019 It is one of a chain of 21 missions that stretch along the California coast. 54 00:07:35,980 --> 00:07:50,139 Founded in 1776 by Franciscan padres, fathers or priests, from Spain, the original mission was a series of wooden buildings. 55 00:07:50,139 --> 00:08:00,259 The building you see today was begun in 1782 and completed in 1795. 56 00:08:01,360 --> 00:08:07,839 The walls, made of adobe bricks, are four and a half feet wide at the base. 57 00:08:08,540 --> 00:08:18,000 The bricks were made by Ohlone Indians, who also painted patterns on the ceilings using bright vegetable dyes. 58 00:08:18,000 --> 00:08:24,060 The mission's original bells from Mexico still ring today. 59 00:08:24,720 --> 00:08:29,519 You can see them in the three archways beneath the tile roofs. 60 00:08:30,339 --> 00:08:41,039 Many of San Francisco's streets are named for historical figures whose gravestones can be found in the mission's cemetery. 61 00:08:41,879 --> 00:08:46,320 Arguello, Noe, Sanchez, and others. 62 00:08:46,320 --> 00:08:59,340 The Spanish influence can be found not only in the city's street names, but throughout the Mission District in restaurants, building styles, and colorful murals. 63 00:09:00,759 --> 00:09:03,419 North Beach and Coit Tower 64 00:09:03,419 --> 00:09:07,340 North Beach is not a beach at all. 65 00:09:08,019 --> 00:09:14,940 It's the name of a colorful neighborhood filled with shops, coffee houses, and restaurants. 66 00:09:14,940 --> 00:09:23,220 Another name for this area is Little Italy. That's because so many Italian immigrants 67 00:09:23,220 --> 00:09:31,980 made this part of San Francisco their home. It was the Italians who helped save Telegraph Hill 68 00:09:31,980 --> 00:09:41,340 in North Beach after the 1906 earthquake. They brought out wine barrels and used red wine to 69 00:09:41,340 --> 00:09:50,539 douse the fire as the flames came creeping up the hill. On top of Telegraph Hill sits Quake Tower, 70 00:09:50,539 --> 00:10:00,139 built in 1933. Earlier in San Francisco's history, this hill was the site of a single station 71 00:10:00,139 --> 00:10:08,000 used to notify townspeople of the arrival of ships carrying mail, cargo, and passengers. 72 00:10:08,000 --> 00:10:21,259 Today, you can take the elevator up 16 stories and then climb the last 37 steps for a spectacular view of the city and the bay. 73 00:10:22,799 --> 00:10:24,639 The Palace of Fine Arts 74 00:10:24,639 --> 00:10:34,840 Although it was originally intended as a temporary exhibit for the 1915 Panama Pacific Exhibition, 75 00:10:34,840 --> 00:10:42,639 the Palace of Fine Arts was so well loved that it was later rebuilt to become a permanent part 76 00:10:42,639 --> 00:10:51,379 of San Francisco's skyline. The beauty of this graceful palace is reflected in a natural lagoon 77 00:10:51,379 --> 00:10:59,159 which is bordered by lawns and trees. The sight is especially stunning at night when the palace 78 00:10:59,159 --> 00:11:08,120 is spectacularly lighted. It's a wonderful place to take a stroll, to have a picnic, or to feed the 79 00:11:08,120 --> 00:11:16,120 swans and ducks. The palace is a majestic domed rotunda with six supporting columns that is as 80 00:11:16,120 --> 00:11:27,240 tall as an 18-story building. The angel sculptures inside the rotunda are 20 feet tall. If you want 81 00:11:27,240 --> 00:11:35,000 to get an idea of how big that is, you can go into the neighboring Exploratorium and stand next to 82 00:11:35,000 --> 00:11:46,519 one of the original angels from the 1915 exhibition. Union Square. One of the most famous shopping areas 83 00:11:46,519 --> 00:11:54,600 in the world, Union Square lights up during the holidays. A giant Christmas tree and menorah are 84 00:11:54,600 --> 00:12:01,279 lit, and flower stands brighten the street corners with colorful bouquets and holiday 85 00:12:01,279 --> 00:12:09,000 wreaths. Department store windows come alive with storybook figures, holiday clothes, and 86 00:12:09,000 --> 00:12:15,600 festive decorations. As the sidewalks bustle with the crowds of visitors who come to San 87 00:12:15,600 --> 00:12:23,080 Francisco every year, Union Square's name dates back to the time of the Civil War, when 88 00:12:23,080 --> 00:12:29,519 the northern states, called the Union, fought to prevent the South from succeeding to form 89 00:12:29,519 --> 00:12:31,399 a separate country. 90 00:12:31,399 --> 00:12:38,919 Although the war took place in the East, many San Franciscans supported the Union army. 91 00:12:38,919 --> 00:12:45,679 In 1861, Unionist patriots used the square as a rallying place. 92 00:12:45,679 --> 00:12:49,820 Ever since that time, it has been known as Union Square.