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Informationen zum Autor Mary Burk has been walking the stairways of San Francisco since the 1980s. While researching the city and its seven hills, she discovered Adah Bakalinsky’s book and quickly fell in love with her unique way of bringing the city to life. Mary and Adah first met at a book event for the fourth edition at the San Francisco Main Public Library. The two became fast friends, bonding through their deep interest in exploring the city on foot. Adah shared with Mary how every walk has its own rhythm, and so the two of them began improvising new walks together. Three editions later, Adah passed the torch to Mary. But Mary and Adah still walk together and scout out new stairways and interesting routes for upcoming editions. When not out walking, Mary works as a software systems consultant and enjoys swimming and cooking. She shares a home with her husband, their two cats, and their 19-year-old catfish. Adah Bakalinsky grew up in Saint Paul, Minnesota, surrounded by flat land. She remembers trying as a child to walk up icy Ramsey Hill (near Pleasant Avenue) in winter, slithering down, trying again, and finally reaching the top. Fifty years later, while walking the old neighborhood on a visit, she discovered that a stairway had been built to ascend the hill! Looking for a synthesis for her backgrounds in social work, music, and film, she discovered, surprisingly, that it was walking. She walks, and as she walks, she talks to whomever will talk with her. She carries a tape recorder to capture stories; she finds that walks shape themselves into a variety of musical forms and dances, and she redesigns a walk until it has just the rhythm it must have. She walks to see and returns to photograph the objects that give flavor to the walk. She feels lucky to live in San Francisco, where walking seems the most natural way to traverse the city. Happy heeling, frisky footing, and merry walking! Klappentext Local authors and city explorers present 35 of San Francisco's best stairway walks in this comprehensive guidebook. Leseprobe WALK 4: Russian Hill South Speaking of Intangibles Every San Francisco neighborhood has its own unique character, a distillation of the folklore and stories of its early days surviving through continual modifications. Russian Hill acquired its name from an early cemetery located on the east side of Vallejo and Jones where Russian sailors were buried before the Gold Rush (a stairway is located on the site). Greek Orthodox crosses and bones have been unearthed there. The sailors had probably come down from Fort Ross, the Russian settlement, with the pelts of seals and otters. In the late 1800s and even more so after the 1906 earthquake demolished other structures, small cottages expressing the special ambience of the neighborhood adorned Russian Hill. The active Russian Hill Neighbors Association is working diligently to preserve this sense of neighborhood in the face of great economic and demographic changes. They have fought the demolition of cottages and their replacement with three- and four-story condominiums. Only about 38 cottages remain out of the 100 originally built. Russian Hill is a craggy, physically compact area. Jasper O’Farrell, the City surveyor, extended the street grid to Leavenworth in 1847. Somehow, working theoretically and on paper, he didn’t make allowance for the hills. As a result of the rectangular street configuration, the summit of Russian Hill became isolated. At Jones a ladder was placed against the bluff to access the 1000 block of Vallejo. Broadway, Vallejo, and Green were impassable for horse teams. These features attracted people who desired a measure of independence with proximity to the city center. The hilltop housing sites made possible the magnificent views, which are still a reason to live on Russian Hill. The topography also encouraged a sense of community among residents. For man...
